The DNIPRO CHORUS was formed in 1955 by post-WORLD WAR II refugees to continue their native Ukrainian traditions of choral singing. Named for the most powerful river in Ukraine, the group was organized by Eugene Sadowsky, the choir director at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church. The group had 50 male members in 1959 and that year presented its program of religious music, ballads, operettas, and Cossack songs to audiences in Detroit and Pittsburgh, as well as in Cleveland. Soon after becoming a mixed chorus in 1962, it numbered 100 members; during the 1960s it appeared on television and at the World's Fair in Montreal in 1967. In 1973 one local ethnic historian praised the Dnipro Chorus as "one of the best vocal groups in the free world." In 1995 the 50-voice ensemble gave about 2 concerts yearly.
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