Rosemarie Todaschuk Trio

Around the North
Singer moves the crowds
Makes first foray into jazz world with debut album
by Karen Wade - Winnipeg Free Press - Wednesday, December 10, 2003


Whether singing in front of a sold-out stadium or in an intimate lounge, Rosemarie Todaschuk knows a thing or two about how to move a crowd.

No stranger to Winnipeg audiences, this Garden City chanteuse has just made her foray into jazz with the recording of her debut jazz CD entitled Come Dance With Me. Her CD Release celebration takes place at Window’s Sports & Entertainment Lounge in the Sheraton Hotel on Friday at 9:30 p.m.

"I’m so at ease with jazz. It’s almost meditative for me." says Todaschuk, who does double duty teaching music at R. F. Morrison School and theatre arts at H. C. Avery Middle School, both in Seven Oaks School Division.

And her students certainly don’t mind being taught by a celebrity. “They look up at the poster advertising my CD release and you can just see it on their faces. It’s like, ‘Wow! Is that really you?’”

Come Dance With Me consisting of 13 tracks, is actually Todaschuk’s fourth CD. She has recorded three others featuring traditional and Ukrainian compositions as half of the Ukrainian duo The Todaschuk Sisters, along with younger sister Charlene.

The release of this CD marks a departure in my life,” says Todaschuk, who credits jazz legends such as Billy Holiday, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Ira and George Gershwin as well as Shirley Horn with influencing her love affair with the jazz medium. “I’ve always been so used to having my sister by my side and I would always sing harmony while she’d sing melody. So the pitch of my voice is perfectly suited to the jazz genre, as it’s in the lower range, so it works out well. But I do miss having Charlene by my side.”

Rosemarie and Charlene were born and raised in the North End, and their mom Sylvia still owns and manages Todaschuk Sisters’ Ukrainian Boutique on Selkirk Avenue.

Both sisters are graduates of York University in Toronto. A classically trained vocalist and pianist, Rosemarie received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music. The sisters have sung the Canadian and American national anthems at Blue Bomber games for the past few seasons, as well as appearing in television commercials. As well, Rosemarie has appeared in various musical productions.

“Performing has always been a passion of mine, so I’m very lucky to have been able to follow my dream as well as being able to pass my love of performing on to my students in my teaching profession,” says Todaschuk.

Come Dance With Me can be purchased at the CD release, the boutique and at McNally Robinson Booksellers stores.

Photo by Mike Deal - Winnipeg Free Press - Karen Wade - Winnipeg Free Press

CD Review
by Darryl Sterdan - Winnipeg Sun - Friday, January 23, 2004


JAZZ
Rosemarie
Come Dance With Me
Independent

HOME: The piano bar at a revolving restaurant.

GENRE: Jazzy standards for those with high standards.

LOWDOWN: Singing siblings Rosemarie and Charlene Todaschuk are familiar faces - not to mention voices - on the local scene. For the jazzy Come Dance With Me, however, Rosemarie goes it alone - at lest on the mic. Backed by an impeccable combo, Todaschuk applies her velvet vocal touch to timeless classics like Sentimental Journey, Cheek to Cheek, My Man and All Of Me. All of which are reproduced with enough grace and swellegance to make you feel underdressed without a tux. This sister is doing it for herself quite well, it seems.

ON THE WEB: www.RosemarieTodaschuk.com


Randy Bachman has been theorizing for years that Winnipeg’s vibrant music scene has a lot to do with our harsh climate - for several months every year, it’s so freaking cold that musicians are practically forced to stay in the basement, rehearsing and writing material. At this time of year, we are more that a little inclined to agree. Maybe that explains why we’re seeing more and more local CD releases every year. And why more and more of them are high quality productions that can stand alongside anything a major label has to offer. Bend an ear to some of thewse recent local offerings. We’ve included their websites so you don’t even have to leave the house to find them. - Darryl Sterdan - Winnipeg Sun

Spotlight on Rosemarie Todaschuk
by Brenda Fehr - The Times - Wednesday, January 26, 2005


Rosemarie Todaschuk is certainly not one to sit idle.

By day Todaschuk keeps busy teaching music and theatre arts to students in the Seven Oaks School Division. By night, she performs as a jazz singer at venues throughout the city. Todaschuk also serves as the assistant director for the Ukrainian National Federation School of Dance.

A dancer herself, Todaschuk was among the local dancers who appeared in the Richard Gere/Jennifer Lopez film, Shall We Dance? which was filmed in Winnipeg.

The full schedule is just fine for Todaschuk, who says she enjoys keeping busy. These days she is working on a student production of the musical Grease and is also celebrating the release of her debut jazz CD, Come Dance With Me. Todaschuk also performs contemporary Ukrainian music with her sister Charlene and the two have released several CD’s, including a Ukrainian Christmas CD.

Winnipeg audiences can see Todaschuk perform at the Inn At The Forks.

Here are some facts about Rosemarie Todaschuk:

Name: Rosemarie Todaschuk
Born in: Winnipeg
Age: same age as Jack Benny...29 & holding!
Currently a resident of: Garden City.
My very first job was: My first paying gig was singing with my sister, Charlene, in Ottawa at the Official Opening of a new Orthodox church in 1979.
Family: I am blessed with a very supportive and encouraging mom & dad, as well as one sister who doubles as my best friend. Charlene is married to a professional musician...they have 2 terrific & talented children and live in Montreal.
One thing I couldn’t live without: singing & being mobile...I love to be active whether it's dancing, downhill skiing, exercising...
Favourite food: salad & pizza.
Favourite TV show: Friends & Sex In The City
Favourite music/musician: jazz & funk, and Canadian musician Bryan Adams.
In my spare time I like to: What spare time?
One of the most important lessons I have learned is: to respect others as you would want to be respected! - Brenda Fehr - The Times

Presenting Sponsor Canad Inns and Media Sponsor The Winnipeg Sun join forces to support Oseredok Ukrainian and Cultural Centre for their inaugural sold out Met to the Met benefit concert gala dinner.

The event held May 10th at Canad Inns Metropolitan Entertainment Centre featured Winnipeg’s own, world renowned, Canada’s premier coloratura soprano Tracy Dahl and Winnipeg’s own up coming Opera superstar soprano Andriana Chuchman. A great story, Tracy the teacher, Andriana the student have independently performed on stages around the world including the Metropolitan Opera House but never together. Oseredok brought these two opera superstars together for their debut at Winnipeg’s own beautifully decorated Metropolitan Entertainment Centre. Their performance was sensational receiving standing ovations.

Guests were entertained with a fabulous cocktail hour, outstanding opera performance, exquisite meal, a opera flash mob, dessert bar party with entertainment by jazz duo Rosemarie Todaschuk and Ron Paley. If that wasn’t enough, the night ended with roof top dancing on the warmest night in Winnipeg since October under the crest of a full moon. Oh what an event, it was fabulous. As Tadeusz Biernacki, musical director and conductor of RWB and Manitoba Opera put it “I believe this was the best fundraising event with the best entertainment and best organizational aspect I have ever witnessed in Winnipeg. - Winnipeg Sun

The back-to-school bustle has an extra layer of excitement this year at R.F. Morrison Elementary School.

Music teacher Rosemarie Todaschuk recently launched her fourth Ukrainian music CD with her sister Charlene, and the duo are spending their weekends in a whirlwind of tours.

Charlene and Rosemarie Todaschuk recently released their fourth CD, entitled Until We Meet Again.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
Charlene and Rosemarie Todaschuk recently released their fourth CD, entitled Until We Meet Again.
Dedicated to the memory of their late father, Until We Meet Again features both contemporary and classic Ukrainian songs. The internationally-renowned musicians launched their latest album in August at the Ukraine-Kyiv Folklorama pavilion.

"Half the songs are written by composers of today in Ukraine. In the Ukrainian community, they’re very popular. People can feel the rhythms and want to get up and dance," said Todaschuk, who has also recorded a jazz album.

"The other half are traditional songs that are popular in the community as well. There are a couple of beautiful ballads. Even in the non-Ukrainian community, people would appreciate the music."

The sisters were always in harmony with their musical career, thanks to artistic development at an early age. As children, the pair pursued piano, violin and singing lessons, while also performing in a mandolin orchestra. At ages four and five, the Garden City girls began Ukrainian dancing and took classes at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.

But their first real break stemmed from singing in Mother’s Day concerts at their church. Gaining popularity, the pair were then invited to sing at a church opening in Ottawa. After that, they landed a gig in Chicago, followed by a performance at the bicentennial celebrations in Los Angeles.

In 1983, they recorded their first CD, Todaschuk Sisters, while studying fine arts at York University. Nearly a decade later, they released their second album, also called Todaschuk Sisters, to commemorate the centennial of Ukrainian settlement in Canada.

Then in 2002, they recorded The Spirit of Ukrainian Christmas in Montreal, where Charlene lives and works as a visual artist. Her husband, Andrij Czerny, has contributed his talents for musical arrangement to each album.

Throughout the decades, the musicians have gained international interest by touring North America and Ukraine. To promote their new album, they will perform this month at Ukrainian festivals in Montreal and Toronto.

For the Seven Oaks School Division teacher, family support is the key to their success.
"Our mother and father have been our biggest supporters from the very beginning, taking us to music and dance lessons as well as being at every one of our performances, locally and abroad," Todaschuk said.

"On our first album, we recorded a song written by an Italian composer C. A. Bixio, with lyrics translated into Ukrainian and English. This song brought our mother and every mother to tears when we would sing it. Unfortunately, there haven’t been many songs about fathers, so we felt blessed to dedicate this album to the memory of our father who recently passed away."

For their next local show, the Todaschuk Sisters will perform a Ukrainian Christmas concert at McNally Robinson (1120 Grant Ave.) in January.

Until then, fans can find their CDs at local Ukrainian stores and at McNally Robinson. They can also order albums online at www.RosemarieTodaschuk.com - Winnipeg Free Press