Walter V. Bozyk

Who was Walter V. Bozyk?

Volodymyr Bozhyk or Walter V. Bozyk was a Ukrainian bandurist, choral conductor and the arranger primarily for the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus.

Born in Rava-Ruska in Lviv Oblast, Bozhyk studied choral conducting and voice completing his studies at the Lviv Conservatory in 1931 and Lviv University in 1935. He sang in a vocal quartet for Polish radio initially in Lviv and then moved to Warsaw where conducted various choirs.

In 1940, Bozhyk became the music director of the Opera Theatre in Ivano-Frankivsk. In November 1945, he was invited to co-conduct the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus in Germany.

In April 1949, he emigrated to the United States where he initially settled in Rochester and working in a bakery. He was later invited to Detroit in November 1949 to once again direct the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus. In 1951 he recorded an album of records with the Chorus and continued to direct it until 1958.

In 1957, he toured Europe with the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus as co-conductor with Hryhory Kytasty. The tour was not a financial success and the following year he moved back to Rochester to work in a tool and die shop.