{"id":115841,"date":"2025-07-08T14:56:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T18:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=115841"},"modified":"2025-07-09T08:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T12:00:01","slug":"interview-singer-musician-marichka-talks-daughters-donbas-life-war-correspondent-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/07\/08\/interview-singer-musician-marichka-talks-daughters-donbas-life-war-correspondent-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Singer, Musician Marichka Talks About Daughters Of Donbas \u2014 And Life As A War Correspondent In Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_115843\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115843\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-115843\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-18.jpg\" alt=\"Singer, musician and war correspondent Marichka in concert (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-18.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-18-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-18-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-18-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115843\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Singer, musician and war correspondent Marichka in concert (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Singer, musician \u2014 and war correspondent. It\u2019s an unusual resum\u00e9, and one that has garnered several awards for Marichka. Her new music project, Daughters of Donbas \u2014 Songs of Stolen Children, makes its live debut on July 27 at the Scarborough Folk Festival.<\/p>\n<p>In between, she\u2019ll be shuttling back and forth to Ukraine to continue with her duties as war correspondent and medical volunteer with the Ukrainian army.<\/p>\n<p>LvT caught up with her to ask about her work.<\/p>\n<h2>Marichka<\/h2>\n<p>Ukrainian-Canadian singer and human rights advocate Marichka has had a remarkable career as both a musician and war correspondent. She\u2019s performed in Carnegie Hall, The Barbican Centre in London and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, founded a <a href=\"https:\/\/folk-ukraine.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">folk music website<\/a>, and won an Amnesty International Prize.<\/p>\n<p>The former longtime singer of Toronto\u2019s popular Lemon Bucket Orkestra and Balaklava Blues has a new project that incorporates both her passions, called Daughters of Donbas \u2014 Songs of Stolen Children. It revolves around the fate of the estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children who\u2019ve been abducted from Eastern Ukraine and taken to Russia.<\/p>\n<p>Marichka graduated from the National Music Academy of Ukraine with a Major in Ethnomusicology\/Folklore Music. She\u2019s won two Dora Awards, and a First Edinburgh Fringe Festival Award.<\/p>\n<p>She joined the Ukrainian Army Forces in 2023 as a volunteer combat medic, and an embedded journalist in the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>The first single from Daughters of Donbas was released on June 20:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Re5OjpAU10o?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Marichka: The Interview<\/h2>\n<p>How do you go from singing lead in Lemon Bucket Orkestra to working as a war correspondent?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI woke up and thought, should I be a war correspondent?\u201d Marichka laughs.<\/p>\n<p>Her time singing with Lemon Bucket and Balaklava Blues ended with her romantic relationship to Lemon Bucket\u2019s leader and creator.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was painful for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>It left her somewhat at loose ends. That\u2019s when she was approached by journalist, and record and radio producer Daniel Rosenberg about the Daughters of Donbas project. It connected with her both musically and on a personal level.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I am worried about mostly,\u201d she says of the plight of kidnapped Ukrainian children. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t shown very much on the news.\u201d Even though coverage of the issue has increased somewhat over the years since the Russian-Ukrainian war was launched, it\u2019s still minimal, she notes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always like to do something meaningful through the music that I create,\u201d she says. It goes along with her educational background. \u201cBecause I am an ethnomusicologist by training.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The project struck a chord with her, both idealogically and musically.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I\u2019m perfectly trained a musician, I can play the classical music and arrangements,\u201d she says. She performs the songs, which include original music as well as arrangements of folk songs, with a string quartet.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t hard to find collaborators, largely Ukrainians based in Toronto. \u201cI posted something that said literally, who wants to be part of this project?\u201d she says. \u201cFor me, it has to be a female project. It\u2019s mostly about mothers trying to find a way to rescue their kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Violist Zo\u00eb Santo was an existing connection, and violinists were relatively easy to find. She almost got stuck on a double bass player.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI asked probably all existing musicians,\u201d she laughs. \u201cI got lucky. One of them was very, very interested.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Music with a Social Conscience<\/h3>\n<p>Music is a uniquely effective method for getting messages across to a larger audience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe love to do it as a musicians. I know I can bring a very important message to the people through their heart and their emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She was initially worried about the fact that all the songs would be in Ukrainian, and considered incorporating English in some songs, or having surtitles during the performance. \u201cEveryone around was, no Marichka.\u201d She became convinced that performing in Ukrainian offered a more organic and authentic sound.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what language I\u2019m using, it literally works,\u201d she says. \u201cThey will tell the stories of the people who are going through this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She relates how, a few weeks ago in Ukraine, she met a girl about 17 or 18 years old who\u2019d been through five \u201cfiltration\u201d (aka concentration) camps in Russia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI asked her if she wants to be part of the project. She agreed immediately,\u201d she says. \u201cOf course, it\u2019s painful to tell what she went though, but at the same time, she says it\u2019s very therapeutic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She says the message is that much stronger when the singer is directly involved. \u201cIt was a very special moment for us,\u201d she says. \u201cWe even have a big plan to perform in The Hague,\u201d she adds. \u201cSo she will be a part of our project as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marichka is working on a presentation of the musical\/human rights project at The Hague in the Netherlands, home of the International Criminal Court.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115845\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115845\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-115845\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-NEWS-24.jpg\" alt=\"Singer, musician and war correspondent Marichka (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-NEWS-24.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-NEWS-24-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-NEWS-24-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Copy-of-NEWS-24-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115845\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Singer, musician and war correspondent Marichka (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>A War Correspondent<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI started 12 years ago,\u201d Marichka says. \u201c12 years ago, I just brought my instrument, the keyboard, went to the front line to play for the soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The effort, though, struck her as not doing enough for the soldiers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, I became a volunteer first. A couple of years ago, when the full scale invasion started, I questioned myself again, what more can I do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marichka took courses in field medicine, on how to save people wounded on the battlefield, and became certified. She also brought medical supplies to Ukraine. A friend told her, you should be part of our battalion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought, oops,\u201d she says. \u201cNow I am kind of part of his platoon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She packs the medical bags for the platoon, and by extension, a larger battalion, and describes a familial atmosphere. Still, she looked to do more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think I can do more if I can be a journalist and write,\u201d she say. She notes that many journalists weren\u2019t allowed direct access to the Ukraine army, access that she already had. She used the opportunity to delve into the lives of the soldiers on the front. \u201cI interviewed them,\u201d she says, bringing the details of their lives to light. \u201cI did my research.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the topics she has covered is sex during war time. \u201cHow do they survive outside their duties?\u201d She notes that the soldiers are all volunteers, and many have been away from their families for a decade or more. \u201cSo, how are they surviving?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s with a large dose of black humour, she relates. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge part of their life and existence,\u201d she says. \u201cI just started to write it down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s back in Ukraine in early July, partly to film videos for a filmmaker creating a documentary about her.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115846\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115846\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-115846\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Daughters-of-Donbas.jpeg\" alt=\"The Daughters of Donbas musicians (Photo courtesy of the artists)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"860\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Daughters-of-Donbas.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Daughters-of-Donbas-300x215.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Daughters-of-Donbas-1024x734.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/Daughters-of-Donbas-768x550.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115846\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Daughters of Donbas musicians (Photo courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Daughters of Donbas \u2014 Songs of Stolen Children<\/h3>\n<p>Prior to Daughters&#8230; Marichka says she hadn\u2019t written any of her own songs for several years. \u201cFor ten years, for some reason, I didn\u2019t do that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>The first five songs on the album were written last year in Ukraine on a training field. They fit perfectly with the Daughters of Donbas project.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so happy because my dream became true. I will perform with a string quartet and it will sound so magical,\u201d she says. \u201cI love it. I grew up with classical music. I never played with a string quartet,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll finally hear it live.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Songs of Stolen Children will premiere live at the Scarborough Folk Fest in Toronto on July 27.<\/p>\n<p>In the advance single, titled 4.5.0, Marichka sings from the perspective of a mother, sending a song to her stolen daughter to send a message of hope and resilience, even as things are falling apart. Other songs on the album are based on the testimony of the few children who\u2019ve been rescued from their kidnapping.<\/p>\n<p>Marichka performs on vocals and piano with a classically trained quartet that includes: Mariia Hurak, backing vocals; Olga Kostianyuk, violin; Zo\u00eb Santo, viola; Lusine Navoyan, cello; Natalie Kemerer, double bass.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find out more about her performance at Scarborough Folk Fest on July 27 [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scarboroughfolkfest.com\/featured-artist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? 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