Sonjašnyk: Litomyšl choir, founded to teach Czech to Ukrainian women, now touring for two years
Sonjašnyk is an all-female Czech-Ukrainian choir, based in the eastern-Bohemian city of Litomyšl. Founded two years ago to help Ukrainian women who had fled the war, it has continued to tour and raise money for charitable causes around Czechia.
For Martina Sirová, singing is a true passion. Ever since she was young, she has been performing at music events for charity, and that continued during her studies at Brno’s Masaryk University. Two years ago, her singing took on an international dimension, as Russia unleashed its war on Ukraine and refugees began to arrive in Czechia. Mrs. Sirová saw that music could help them.
What began as an effort to teach Czech to the Ukrainian newcomers to Litomyšl has led to musical performances for charity all across Czechia. Performing under the Ukrainian name Sonjašnyk and the directorship of Mrs. Sirová, the choir is entirely composed of women, and they meet to rehearse every Thursday in the church of the Church of the Brethren in Litomyšl. The modern venue, opened in 2010, offers plenty of space and its leadership has been very welcoming to the choir, Mrs. Sirová says.
The name of the ensemble, Sonjašnyk, is Ukrainian for ‘sunflower’. The choir’s founder and leader explained the choice:
"I was looking for something that was related to Ukraine and at the same time captured femininity. A flower came to mind first. So we gradually worked on translating it, and finally a friend said ‘Sonjašnyk’. I said ‘yes, that’s the one’.”
The combination of music and community offers strength to the women who have left their Ukrainian homeland behind, yet remain all too aware of what is happening there.
“It is our way of fighting, so that we do just not sit at home and cry with folded arms. We do what we can … We don’t want to accept that it will end like this … The horror happening there won’t let us close our eyes and say that it doesn’t concern us.”
The choir performs together at charity events all over Czech, singing for both civilian and military audiences. Their repertoire includes Ukrainian songs, which are sure to evoke a strong emotional response in both the singers themselves and those listening. Mrs. Sirová also remembers one performance by the choir at which half of the audience was Ukrainian:
"Representatives of universities from Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia and the Donbas region came. They sat the whole time and alternately just cried or applauded until we were all crying. That was really something.”
With their singing, Sonjašnyk have raised more than two million crowns in two years. Some of the money raised has gone to help Ukraine, but some also goes to deserving causes in Czechia, including St. Joseph’s Home, which helps people with multiple sclerosis, and also to people affected by the floods this September.
For this choir, Martina Sirová concludes, singing has become their personal expression of the fight for freedom in dark times.
