Founded when you look at the 1979, Kitka began since the a great grassroots number of beginner singers out of diverse backgrounds just who satisfied on a regular basis to express its love of the stunning dissonances, asymmetric rhythms, detailed ornamentation, luxurious harmonies, and you may resonant power off East Eu women’s singing music. According to the guidelines of Bon Artist out-of 1981 to 1996, Kitka flourished into a processed professional getup generating all over the world renown getting its art, independence, and you will mastery of demanding process out-of old-fashioned and you may contemporary Balkan, Slavic, and Caucasian singing styling. Beneath the co-assistance out of Shira Cion, Juliana Graffagna, and you will Janet Kutulas while the 1997, Kitka has exploded to earn detection throughout the National Endowment to possess brand new Arts, Chorus America, therefore the American Choral Directors’ Connection among this nation’s largest touring singing ensembles. On top of that, many worldwide musical regulators thought Kitka the fresh main interpreter of Balkan and you will Slavic choral repertoire involved in the us.
During the 2002, Kitka entered Ce Mystere des Voix Bulgares while the “in the world visitors off honor” because of it business-famous choir’s 50th Wedding Gala from the National Palace of Society from inside the Sofia, Bulgaria
Into the 2005, supported by a major grant regarding the Trust to have Mutual Wisdom, Kitka traveled so you can Ukraine getting a few shows, globally artist-exchange group meetings, broadcast and television broadcasts, and you may search outings inside the rural communities. Kitka’s vocalists continuously run fieldwork into the cultural organizations through the The united states because really once the overseas. Personal Kitka professionals possess investigated and you will compiled musical inside the Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia, Georgia, Russia, Chicken, and you can Ukraine. A lot of Kitka’s singers are talented composers and you may arrangers just who perform brand spanking new configurations out-of songs they have gained in the field.
From inside the 2000, Kitka gotten major gives from the National Endowment to the Arts as well as the Rockefeller Foundation’s Map Financing to release the latest Folksongs Commissioning Venture, and therefore engages probably the most pleasing sounds from inside the contemporary sounds to write brand new performs that utilize Kitka’s greater-ranging voice palette
Kitka’s novel sound and you can inming provides triggered all those other fruitful collaborations, ranging from a repair of your medieval Carmina Burana pageant having CalPerformances, (Thomas Binkley, director), to work alongside Movie industry composers and you will separate movie-manufacturers to your motion picture soundtracks along 
with Braveheart, Jacob’s Hierarchy, and you can Queen of one’s Damned. Other collaborations out of mention were undertaking the newest role of one’s Greek Chorus/Troerican Conservatory Theater’s about three vitally-acclaimed overall performance operates of Hecuba (Carey Perloff, Director) wherein Kitka received a drama Critic’s Network Honor nomination; producing Feamales in Black, a multi-disciplinary work passionate because of the in the world Feamales in Black colored Against Combat Movement (Thais Mazur, choreographer; Katrina Wreede author) by which Kitka gotten an enthusiastic Izzie prize nomination to possess better audio share to help you a-dance program; and you will Sounds of Mama’s Desk, a celebration of the commonalties and you will contrasts between Balkan, Slavic and you will Dark colored ladies vocal way of living with Grammy nominees Linda Tillery while the Cultural Traditions Choir. Inside the , Kitka, together with composer Dan Cantrell, Yiddish folk artist, multi-instrumentalist and you will dancer Michael Alpert; Balkan Romani multiple-instrumentalist and you can vocalist Rumen Sali Shopov; and you may stage director Aaron Davidman premiered Tunes Luck, an alternative track duration driven because of the intersection from East Eu Jewish and you will Romani (“Gypsy”) countries.
The newest Folksongs profits debuted at this point are configurations of the Pauline Oliveros, Chen Yi, Dan Cantrell, Marcel Khalife, Janet Kutulas, David Lang, Linda Tillery, Sara Michael, Daniel Hoffman, Raif Hyseni, Thilo Reinhardt, Roy Whelden, Vladimir Zenevitch, , Kitka first started work with it is really ambitious commissioning investment so far: The newest Rusalka Duration: Sounds Between the Planets, a unique vocal-theater project directed from the Ellen Sebastian Chang, with unique songs from the Ukrainian composer and you can everyone musician Mariana Sadovska. Weaving dated Slavic myths and contemporary layouts, The fresh Rusalka Cycle’s prime activities taken place in order to over the top personal acclaim in the Oakland’s Malonga Cardiovascular system inside the . The fresh new Rusalka Course try restored in the San francisco bay area in the and you can then toured to your Innovations Globally Theatre Festival in the Albuquerque, NM. A Eu concert tour of your own Rusalka Cycle was slated to possess , that have activities at significant celebrations and you can venues for the Germany, Poland, and you can Ukraine. In the , Kitka will premier Richard Einhorn’s The origin, a unique oratorio co-accredited because of the ARTSwego at SUNY Oswegomemorating this new 200th Anniversary from Darwin’s beginning, and the 150th wedding of one’s publication of your own Origin out-of Varieties, The foundation would be scored to possess Kitka, symphony orchestra and you will chorus that have film projections because of the award-winning films artist Expenses Morrision.