Olya Fryz: 'Carol of the Bells'

Olya Fryz is a vocalist & bandura player who grew up in New York City and performed for many years in the tri-state area. Olya has been a Connecticut resident for over 20 years, and shares her Ukrainian music and heritage with many different audiences around the world through performances, workshops, and collaborations. Here, she shares the well-known Ukrainian Christmas song, “Carol of the Bells.” Originally recorded in the summer, now the timing is perfect!

The Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CCHAP) is the state’s folk and traditional arts initiative, with the mission of documenting, presenting, and sustaining traditional artists and their communities. Living traditional practices are also known as folklife—the everyday, extraordinary creativity that people share with one another.

Beginning in March 2020, CCHAP reached out to cultural heritage artists around the state to ask if they would be willing to create videos showing their many different art forms to a broader audience—something to connect their homes to ours, something that they wanted to share with their cultural communities, too.

Cultural heritage arts are alive and deeply meaningful. They take skill and dedication. They contribute to the well-being of people and their communities. They create a sense of home. Get to know Connecticut folklife, at home and with you.

Learn more about Olya Fryz and her music: