Hryhory Kytasty's bandura

Today is the birthday of the Ukrainian bandurist, composer, conductor, and music educator Hryhory Kytasty (1/17/1907-4/6/1984). Kytasty was the long-time director of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus, and was almost singlehandedly responsible for introducing the bandura to hundreds of young Ukrainian-Americans in the 1970s and '80s.

Our museum collection has this bandura which was owned by Hryhory Kytasty. It was probably made in the 1930s by the Kyiv instrument maker O. Kosenko, and may have been one of the first instruments that Kytasty played.