“Spring Chimes” at Sumy State University
Spring is a time of awakening, beauty, freshness, and love. It is also a time when talents and abilities blossom, and inspiration comes. It is no wonder that every spring, since 2010, Sumy State University holds the annual “Spring Chime” competition, where those who usually watch students on stage — the university’s lecturers and staff — sing and dance.
The idea for the event belongs to the university’s trade union committee, particularly Valentyna Borovyk (head of the trade union) and Maina Kovbasiuk (head of the cultural and mass commission of the trade union), with the implementation supported by the heads of the trade union bureaus of all faculties and departments of SumDU. The university administration also supports the event.
Report on the “Spring Chimes-2013” competition-review
On March 27, 2013, before the competition-review began, from 11 AM to 3 PM, the “My Hobby” exhibition took place in the foyer of the SumDU assembly hall. About 240 handmade items from 88 authors, university lecturers, and staff were presented. The sizes and themes of the works amazed the viewers: from toy soldiers to a water boat, from wedding accessories and dolls to holy icons. Voting was conducted anonymously, and each visitor could vote for only one work they liked the most. The counting commission tallied the votes and identified 10 winners, who were immediately awarded certificates from the trade union and received a reward of 200 UAH each.
At 3:00 PM, the “Spring Chime” competition-review began on the stage of the university’s assembly hall, where participants demonstrated their abilities in singing, choreography, artistic reading, playing musical instruments, theatrical art, and also presented their own creative works.
The concert was opened by the administrative and economic team. They impressed the audience with an a cappella Ukrainian song performed by the women’s ensemble “Hospodarochky.” A highlight of the performance was an original poem about the fleeting nature of life, skillfully combined with a theatrical presentation.
The staff of the Faculty of Foreign Philology and Social Communications presented a variation on Shakespeare’s idea that everyone in the world plays roles and searches for themselves in comedy, drama, melodrama, or arthouse cinema. According to the concept, participants performed a ballroom dance, a song about unrequited love, recited poems by Vasyl Chubur, a senior lecturer at the Department of Journalism and Philology and a member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine. The audience was captivated by the a cappella “Song about Mother” and a KVN mini-skit by the lecturers.
The Faculty of Economics and Management chose a cabaret style for their presentation. The team created an atmosphere of luxury and celebration with red and black glittering costumes, extravagant dances, and the famous song by Liza Minnelli. The main theme was complemented by a humorous number “Holmes, Einstein, and Presley in the Casino.” The final song “Hit the Road Jack” pleasantly surprised the audience.
Next, the Medical Institute staff took up the creative baton. Transforming into ancient Greek gods, they explored the facets of the human soul. The medics sang songs accompanied by guitar, impressed with a heartfelt poem about a stray dog, energized the hall with an Arabian dance, and even held political debates. Additionally, a humorous boxing match took place between a professor and a lazy student.
The representatives of the Law Faculty performed right in the airport waiting hall. The team talked about feminine charms, amused the audience with the humorous skit “In the Minibus,” and added national color to the concert with the song “Oh Whose Horse is Standing.”
The Faculty of Technical Systems and Energy Efficient Technologies focused on the famous cartoon “The Bremen Town Musicians.” The theme was fully matched by a humorous dance composition of the robbers and a poetic mini-skit about a detective. The male duo that performed the lyrical song “The Golden Sun Ray” captured the hearts of the audience. A comic illusionist’s skit added a special touch.
During the performance of the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology team, a romantic atmosphere reigned on stage. At the “ElIT” bar, the audience was enchanted by piano sketches, the lyrical song “I Will Never Give You to Anyone,” and a melodic romance on the guitar performed by a female duet. There was also room for a peculiar black-and-white dance and a humorous skit about the language issue.
The competition program concluded with a performance by the administrative and management staff, who presented a passionate Spanish dance, a touching song by a mother and daughter, a humorous skit by Pavlo Hlazovyi, and a puppet number with ostriches created by Maina Kovbasiuk, the head of the contract relations department. The song “Spring Girl” at the end of the AUP performance became a sort of anthem for the “Spring Chimes.”
The concert lasted over three hours, but the audience felt neither fatigue nor discomfort. Students watched each performance of their mentors with enthusiasm, seeing them from a different, previously unknown side. On stage were associate professors, postgraduates, doctoral students, and service personnel. The hall was filled with an elevated, festive atmosphere.
According to the jury’s decision, the winner’s cup went to the Faculty of Technical Systems and Energy Efficient Technologies. The second place was shared by the administrative and management staff and the Faculty of Economics and Management. The third position was awarded to the Faculties of Foreign Philology and Social Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, and the administrative and economic team.
University Rector A.V. Vasylyev, trade union head V.O. Borovyk, and cultural and mass commission head M.G. Kovbasiuk awarded the participants and prize-winners of the festival. All of them received commemorative cups, diplomas, and certificates from the trade union and the university administration: 5000 UAH for 1st place, 3000 UAH each for the two 2nd places, 2000 UAH each for the three 3rd places, and two encouragement prizes of 1000 UAH each. Thus, no participant was left without an award.
As Rector Anatoliy Vasylyev noted, Sumy State University will continue to support staff in their creative development. Thanks to events like this, talents are discovered at the university. For instance, in 2012 alone, three SumDU teams received the honorary title of “National Amateur Team of Trade Unions of Ukraine.” Hence, Sumy State University is not only a highly ranked institution but also a socio-cultural institution.
Traditionally, with the onset of warm spring days, all participants of the competition-review, with the support of the trade union, will go on excursions together to summarize their creative work in nature and outline plans for the future.
This year’s “Spring Chime” competition was held within the framework of the city folk art festival “Sumy Stars” and the regional cultural and art festival “Talented Land – This is My Sumy Region!” Since our competition was judged by a respected art jury from Sumy, the best numbers of our event will be included in the final concert, which will take place in May at the M.S. Shchepkin Regional Academic Theater of Drama and Musical Comedy.