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Kayla Ankeny came to Svitanya during a year off from Sarah Lawrence College where she studied performing
arts including dance, theater and puppetry, as well as politics and French. Past vocal experience includes Spiral Song, a
feminist spirituality vocal group, the Sarah Lawrence Women’s Vocal Ensemble,
First United Methodist Church of Germantown’s choruses, and numerous theatrical
and musical productions during middle and high school. Currently, Kayla works in the Philadelphia
area as a Certified Massage Therapist, and studies Capoeira, a Brazillian martial art, with ASCAB Capoeira.
Anne Ehrhart has been an enthusiastic singer and folk dancer for most of
her life. She has performed with diverse ensembles; from large choral groups such as Bucks County Choral Society and the Philadelphia Revels to tiny ensembles such as the Greenwood Singers, a Rennaissance madrigal group she also
founded, directed & costumed. She plays percussion occasionally with Svitanya, and was the primary producer of "First Light".
In 1998 she joined Slaveja with her daughter Leela, and they became part of Svitanya together as well. After 20 years as a
software engineer at Mellon Bank, she is now Managing Director of Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.
Leela Ehrhart is a student at Drexel University, where she is majoring in Psychology. She first began
performing at age six, starting with several years in The Philadelphia Revels, then singing with school choruses and
learning the recorder for several years. She began singing with Slaveja Slavic
Folk Chorus at age 11, before becoming part of Svitanya. Jewelry making is her other artistic passion, and she
works regularly at BumbleBeads where some of her jewelry is displayed for sale. She works from time-to-time at Junction Music, a recording and rehearsal studio, and in the past has worked as a Research Associate for International Corporate Management,
Inc.
Kim Fedchak is our musical director, and has also enhanced our repertoire with several original arrangements.
In addition to singing, she plays a variety of instruments including piano, ney (Turkish flute), clarinet, recorders,
accordion, flute and percussion. She currently performs Middle Eastern music as instrumentalist and vocalist with
world fusion band Animus, and plays English country dance music with Socks. Kim is of Ukrainian descent, and -- small world -- turns out to
be related to Mary! Kim earned a PhD in Russian, has taught Russian language at Swarthmore College, and currently teaches math at Lower Merion High School.
Yelena Forrester (on leave), who is half-Croatian
via Bosnia, is a student at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is the vice president of the Women's Choral Ensemble.
She plans to major in Linguistics with a certificate in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. In high school, Yelena toured in
Sicily with the Silvertones select chorus. When she was 10 years old, she joined her mother Sibelan in Slaveja. Svitanya
considers itself fortunate to include Yelena when a concert happens to coincide with one of her visits back to Philadelphia!
Laura Howson was captivated by Slavic folk music when
she first heard it at a Slaveja rehearsal in 1995, and she now considers it her musical passion. A former barbershopper and Sweet Adeline, she particularly appreciates the tight harmonies and pureness of sound that are shared by the seemingly divergent genres. Laura also enjoys ringing with the Philadelphia Handbell Ensemble, an auditioned community handbell choir that performs extensively throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Laura is a biochemist at Merck & Co, and has also spent the last five years earning a Master of Science
in Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs and an MBA in Pharmaceutical Marketing.
Mary Kalyna is the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants and a native Ukrainian speaker. She formerly sang in the
"Kobzar" Ukrainian National and Verdi Opera Choruses, both in Los Angeles. She has studied traditional singing with Mariana Sadovska. In June 2005 she accompanied an expedition organized by Mariana, working as a translator for the west-coast based vocal
group Kitka, and taking part in workshops with the most highly-regarded singers and folklorists in Ukraine. Professionally, Mary works
with grassroots women’s organizations at the Crossroads Women’s Center.
Chrissy Steele sang along with recordings of Bulgarian folk music for many years before joining Svitanya in
2006. Inspired by the fun of making music, she is now learning the Macedonian tambura and the doumbek.
Though she doesn't know any Eastern European languages, Chrissy has studied Tamil, Arabic, and French. A
graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Chrissy is currently writing and illustrating some children's stories.
She also makes Artists' Books, which are hand-assembled limited editions of imagery and text. Chrissy has a Master's
degree in TESOL and is currently teaching English as a Second Language at Drexel University.
Born in Bulgaria, Petia Zamfirova moved to Baltimore with her family when she was 14 years old. Since
then she has made it her goal to keep in touch with her roots and culture. As a child she would often stand at the steps of
her grandmother's house (she really liked the acoustics) and sing folk songs. Her love and fascination with ethnic and
international folk music and dance is what brought her to Svitanya. Petia's musical background also includes 12 years of classical
training on the piano, and a future goal is to "rock out" the accordion! She recently graduated from Drexel University,
majoring in "Unified Science" as well as studying Math, Biology, and Dance. Currently she contemplates graduate school
while working as a research assistant in a Cancer Institute at University of Pennsylvania.
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