Hryhory Kytasty

Hryhoriy Trokhymovych Kytasty (Ukrainian: Григорій Трохимович Китастий) (January 17, 1907 – April 6, 1984) was a Ukrainian émigré composer and conductor. In 2008 he was honored with the Hero of Ukraine state decoration.

Hryhory Kytasty was born in the town of Kobeliaky, Poltava oblast. After completing initial music studies at the Poltava Musical College, Kytasty studied under Mykola Hrinchenko, Levko Revutsky and Viktor Kosenko at the Institute of Music and Drama named after Mykola Lysenko from 1930-35 in Kiev. He completed his studies there in choral conducting majoring in Operatic choral conducting. He learned to play the bandura quite late in his life.

After graduating in 1935 he joined the Kiev Bandurist Capella and continued to refine his playing of the bandura. In 1937 he became concertmaster and in 1939 the assistant conductor. During this time Kytasty's first arrangements and compositions began to be played and recorded by the Capella.

With the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, the Kiev State Bandurist Capella was disbanded and its members were mobilized to the front. Although recruited, H. Kytasty was able to avoid being sent to the front.

The members of the Kiev Bandurist Capella who had survived, during the German occupation re-established a professional ensemble. In 1942, Kytasty became the artistic director of this reconstituted Bandurist Capella which in time became known as the Shevchenko Bandurist Capella. During the course of the war the Capella toured Western Ukraine and Volyn and was later in Germany to perform for the Ost-arbeiters. In Germany, after initially being incarcerated in Hamburg, they were released to perform for the Ostarbeiters housed in special work camps in order help raise the productivity of those who worked in near slave like conditions.

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