KORALI is proud to announce its upcoming 10-year anniversary concert hosted on June 29 at 14:30 at Het Zeeheldentheater in The Hague.
“It’s more like a birthday party,” says KORALI director Nataliya Malhanova. “We are inviting our friends and family to celebrate this milestone together and express our gratitude to all our supporters over the years.”
In this interactive concert, KORALI invites – but in no way requires – the audience to sing and clap along to familiar Ukrainian folk songs that the choir has perfected over the years. Songs with warm melodies, impressive harmonies, and a deep folk music heritage. “It’s going to be interactive, but I don’t want to give it all away. It’s a birthday surprise!” Nataliya hints.
Humble beginnings
When KORALI started, the Ukrainian a capella group was nothing more than a few parishioners from a Greek Catholic church in The Hague. Coming to the Netherlands from all different corners of Ukraine, the 11-strong choir has for the past decade shared a passion for singing traditional Ukrainian folk songs while wearing traditional Ukrainian clothes.
They named themselves “KORALI” after the Ukrainian word for “coral stones”. One pebble on its own may be pretty, but strung together, they make a beautiful necklace.
Roots or routes?
KORALI has titled its anniversary concert “ROOTLESS” to reflect the diasporic nature of its choir members. “We only found each other in church because we were missing a part of our roots, which was the connection to our home culture. And we found that through singing.”
KORALI dedicates this concert not only to the community of displaced Ukrainians in the Netherlands, but anyone who has had to leave their home for one reason or another.
“We invite the listeners to discover what ‘rootless’ means to them through this performance,” says Nataliya, arguing that the suffix “-less” doesn’t have to be negative.
“What gives you roots? Maybe it’s more than just your birthplace. Maybe it’s a loved one, maybe it’s your child who was born here.” The performance will explore the notions of home and identity through a repertoire of folk songs that follow the seasonal calendar, from summer love songs to Christmas songs in the winter.
“The seasons reflect not just the cycle of life, but our cycle as a choir. Over the past ten years we’ve grown into more than just a choir. We are there for each other’s weddings, births and funerals. We are a family.”
More than just a choir
“When we established the choir, it was not the purpose to act as a cultural diplomat. We just wanted to sing in concerts and competitions,” Nataliya recalls. But audiences all across the Netherlands resounded in their fascination and curiosity about Ukrainian folk music.
In its ten-year history, from support-singing for GO-A in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest to performing on NPO choir show Zing! in December 2024, KORALI has consistently heard the feedback from Dutch audiences that although they couldn’t understand a word of the foreign lyrics, the music spoke to their hearts.
“We saw that as an opportunity to share more about our country’s traditions and culture. People can relate through music sometimes faster than through the protests on the street, where music acts as a language in and of itself.
Save the date!
Join KORALI in celebrating the beauty and depth of Ukrainian folk music and their ten-year anniversary concert at Het Zeeheldentheater, Trompstraat 342, The Hague on June 29, 2025 at 14:30 with snacks and refreshments.
“Ten years is a huge milestone for us,” Nataliya concludes. “It takes resilience to get there, and resilience is about keeping on going.”
