Maria Hrebinets'ka papers

Biographical / Historical

Maria Hrebinets'ka Novovirska (Марія Гребінецька Нововірська, also spelled Hrebenetska, and also known in English as Maria Greben) was a Ukrainian and Ukrainian American singer and music educator.

She was born in the city of Kyiv in what was then the Russian Empire. She studied voice at the Lysenko Music and Drama School in Kyiv under Oleksandr Myshuha (1905-1907) and in Milan, Italy (1907-1911). She performed at the Odessa Opera (1911-1912) and with the Sadovs'kyi Ukrainian Theater (1914-1919).

After the closing of the Sadovs'kyi Theater, she performed with the L'viv Ukrainian Discourse Theater (Театр Української Бесіди), as well as in Uzhhorod and Prague, where she joined the Ukrainian National Chorus under the direction of Oleksandr Koshyts'. She traveled with the Chorus to the United States in 1922 and toured with them until 1924.

In 1931, she joined violinist Roman Prydatkevych and pianist Alisa Korchak to form the "Ukrainian Trio" in New York City. She also returned to stage work, directing a production of the opera "Kateryna" by Mykola Arkas in 1932. She sang the vocal part of the title character in V. Avramenko's 1938 film "Marusia" (though the on-screen role was performed by a much younger actress).

In the 1930s she married Nestor Novovirs'kyi. In 1941, she graduated from the Washington Irving Evening High School in New York City with a Gold Medal for Scholarship. This enabled her to attend Hunter College, from which she graduated in 1949. She worked alongside her husband in the bacteriology and pathology laboratories of Kings County Hospital from the 1940s to the 1960s while continuing to be active as a singer, accompanist, and director of stage productions.

For nearly 20 years she taught voice and piano in New York City at the Ukrainian National Home and at the studio that she helped create in 1944 at the Surma Book and Music Company. She also formed a female vocal quartet that performed as part of the radio programs produced by Myron Surmach. She recorded at least two songs for Victor Records (catalog number V-21039). Her brother Mykhailo Hrebinets'kyi was also a well-known vocal soloist.

She died in 1972 after being struck by a taxi on the way to visit her sick husband in the hospital.

Scope and Contents

This collection primarily contains materials related to Maria Hrebinets'ka's performing and teaching career, including concert programs and advertising flyers from the 1920s through the 1930s, newspaper clippings, photographs, and sheet music. It also includes some personal items and correspondence.

Зміст фонду

Фонд складається здебільша з матеріалів, пов'язані з виконавською та педагогічною діяльністю Марії Гребінецької. У фонді концертні програми та реклами з 1920-х по 1930-х рр., газетні вирізки, фотографії та ноти. Фонд також включає деякі особисті речі та листування.

Related Materials

Letters from Hrebinets'ka, obituaries, and materials related to her funeral and erection of a cemetery monument can be found in the Iurii and Ol'ha Perkhorovych papers. Her Victor recording can be found in the Maksymjuk Collection.