UKRAINE CONDUCTOR VISITS SCHOOLS; LANGUAGE IS NO BARRIER TO MUSIC

Until recent years, military bands in Ukraine had never heard John Philip Sousa's classic march "Stars and Stripes Forever."

Col. Jaroslav Gorbal, chief conductor for military bands in Ukraine, has some catching up to do.

The uniformed Gorbal was at Southeast Missouri State University Thursday to conduct a rehearsal of the university's Symphonic Wind Ensemble. First they played "March Prelude," a tune written by a Ukrainian march master who is as unknown in the U.S. as Sousa previously was in Ukraine.

Dr. Robert Gifford, a professor of music at Southeast and director of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, brought Gorbal to the U.S. after they met two years ago in Ukraine. It has taken two years to get permission for him to come. And when the time came, the questions of officials being nervous about a recent defection by Ukrainian musicians in New York made him miss his flight.

Gorbal spoke to the 40 university musicians through an interpreter, Dr. Peter Yaremko. Yaremko, a professor of political science at Southeast, was born in Ukraine.

But language is no barrier to musicians. The conductor's gestures were immediately understood, and he sang the notes of passages he wanted them to modify.

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Gorbal has traveled to Germany and France to learn more about Western music.

One of his projects is collecting music written by Ukrainian musicians in the United States. He wants to return the music to his homeland.

Ukraine is now rediscovering its musical national identity after so many years of playing the Soviet Union's tune. "We want to create our own national music," he said.

His children, Helena and Vadim, "will have their own unique Ukrainian music," he promised.

Ukrainians also are interested in Big Band music, he said.

He was glad to see so many women in the Symphonic Wind Ensemble. No women play in Ukrainian military bands. "Equality is coming. Just be patient," he said, though those may have been the dry-witted Yaremko's words.

Gorbal asked the students to guard and cherish their instruments. Ukrainian musicians make do with far less, he said.

Southeast students collected $100 so Gifford could take reeds and oboe parts to Ukraine on his last visit. The professor hand-copied the "March Prelude" in Ukraine and reproduced it so his students could perform the work for Gorbal.

Gifford has brought other foreign conductors to Southeast in the service of broadening his students' knowledge of music and of other cultures. "They're learning something about the social and political climate," he said.

"The arts are a reflection of the culture."

Gorbal is interested not only in learning about music in the U.S. but also its educational systems.

"It's a relatively new country in terms of being independent since 1991," Yaremko said. "He's looking for exemplary things to adapt."

Gifford plans to take his visitor to see Jackson and Cape Central high schools before both conductors go to Chicago next week. There they will be among 7,000 attending the Midwestern International Band and Orchestra Clinic.

At the end of the rehearsal, the ensemble thanked Gorbal by playing one of his new favorites -- "Stars and Stripes Forever" -- with Gifford conducting.