Music Department Chair Adriana Helbig is one of the world's leading scholars of Ukranian music. Her knowledge is in demand with the local and international press. This page will be updated with new resources as they become available.
For additional information on Music in Ukraine please see Society for Ethnomusicology Resources on Ukraine - March 14, 2022
Ethnomusicologists specializing in the music of Ukraine and Eastern Europe continue to update the page with current information..
Dr. Helbig's public lectures:
Wartime Music From Ukraine: A Cyber-Ethnography - March 28, 2022 (video, 20 minutes) - Dr. Adriana Helbig, University of Pittsburgh
This video lecture is a first attempt to create a theoretical and ethnographic structure for understanding the role of music during Russia's war in Ukraine since February 24, 2022. It draws on videos uploaded to social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. It offers a representative sample of musical genres and examples from four cities that have endured varying degrees of attacks from Russian forces - Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa. This lecture is intended for university students with an interest in Ukraine. The lecture is appropriate for high school students as well. The lecture does not include any graphic images.
For Students About Ukraine - March 1, 2022 (audio, 20 minutes) - Dr. Adriana Helbig, University of Pittsburgh
Recent Publications:
Ukraine’s War-Time Pianos and the Sounds of Resistance - Musicology Now - April 6, 2022
Music from Ukraine: A Collaborative Portrait Gallery in March 2022 - Musicology Now - March 13, 2022
Recent Translations:
Dr. Helbig has resumed her work as translator for Romani media outlets in Ukraine. She documents her role as an activist scholar in her forthcoming book ReSounding Poverty: Romani Music and Development Aid which will be published by Oxford University Press in Fall, 2022.
Recent Media:
AJ McDougall , The Daily Beast - April 5, 2022
Ukraine’s Musicians Orchestrate Massive ‘Fuck You’ to Putin
Musicians across the country are swapping their instruments for guns in the fight against Vladimir Putin’s army.
Jeremy Reynolds, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - March 15, 2022
Ukrainian anthem, suddenly everywhere, shows music’s ‘jaw-dropping’ role in Russian invasion
BBC Radio 5 Interview - March 14, 2022 (MP3 to follow)
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic - March 10, 2022
The Military Weapon That Has Become a Musical Touchstone in Ukraine
These are the songs of a country under siege.
Rina Tochinsky, npr.org - March 9, 2022
10 books to read about Ukraine
Nichole Faina, Pittwire - March 1, 2022
Learn about Ukraine's resilience and its history with Russia through these 4 songs
Punya Bhasin, The Pitt News - February 25, 2022
Pitt’s Russia, Ukraine clubs come together to protest Russian Invasion
Learn more about Adriana's book, Hip Hop Ukraine: Music, Race, and African Migration