Inna Kovtun is DAWN’s Director of Health Equity and Culture. She is a Ukrainian singer, folklorist, ethnographer, and cultural advocate. She is recognized as a Culture Keeper through the University of Oregon’s Oregon Folklife Network. Inna is also the first Ukrainian in the United States to receive the prestigious national Taproot Fellowship from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA), one of the country’s leading programs supporting traditional artists and culture bearers. The fellowship recognizes exceptional individuals whose work preserves, strengthens, and passes on cultural heritage to future generations. As a leading ambassador of Ukrainian cultural heritage in the United States, Inna has performed, presented, and shared her talents at numerous concerts, festivals, and community events, including her fellowship concert CHORNOBYL: A Song Never Silenced, the Portland Rose Festival Parade, Portland Welcoming Week, Ukraine 360, Winter Fest, Ivana Kupala celebrations, and many other cultural and educational events throughout the United States.

In March 2026, I released my new solo album, “Knyahynia (“Princess”),” a deeply personal and artistically significant collection that celebrates the beauty, power, and authenticity of Ukrainian traditional song.

Far more than a musical release, “Knyahynia” is the result of my lifelong dedication to preserving and sharing Ukraine’s intangible cultural heritage. Over the course of my career, I have released more than ten albums through solo projects, folk ensembles, international collaborations, and ethnographic music initiatives. Yet Knyahynia occupies a special place in my artistic journey.

The album was created over two years and completed in February 2026. It brings together thirteen songs: ten traditional folk songs and three original compositions. Most of the traditional repertoire was collected directly by me during folklore and ethnographic expeditions across different regions of Ukraine. These songs were learned from tradition bearers themselves rather than from internet sources or previously arranged versions, preserving the authenticity of melodies, vocal styles, and cultural context.

For me, authenticity is at the heart of the project.

Inna Kovtun Honored as a Ukrainian Culture Bearer/ Concert: CHORNOBYL: A Song Never Silenced

As both a performer and folklorist, I have devoted much of my work to helping audiences understand the distinction between genuine folk tradition and later stylizations or adaptations. While I appreciate contemporary interpretations of traditional music, my mission is to preserve and present the original vocal techniques, melodic structures, and expressive qualities that have been passed from generation to generation.

The album’s repertoire reflects the remarkable diversity of Ukrainian folk culture. Listeners encounter ancient ritual songs, including carols, spring songs, and seasonal ceremonial pieces, alongside lyrical family songs, humorous songs, soldiers’ songs, and other archaic genres that form part of Ukraine’s cultural memory. Some of these songs are centuries old, carrying stories, emotions, and traditions that have survived through oral transmission.

Alongside these rare archival treasures, I also included two beloved Ukrainian folk songs, “Ivanku, Ivanku” and “Porizala Palchyk,” inviting listeners to reconnect with melodies already woven into the collective memory of many Ukrainian families.

The album’s three original songs offer another vocal dimension. While rooted in the emotional and musical language of folk tradition, these compositions serve as personal reflections — what I describe as a “confession of the soul,” shaped by lived experiences, memories, and deeply felt emotions.

A key collaborator throughout the project was musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and sound engineer Michael Caruso. His contribution helped shape the album’s rich and nuanced soundscape. Caruso performed on more than ten instruments, including bandura, drums, jaw harp, guitar, piano, accordion, harmonica, vibraphone, and others. In several tracks, he also joins Inna vocally in duet performances. As producer and recording engineer, he played a vital role in balancing contemporary arrangements with the authentic spirit of the source material.

I believe this balance between tradition and modernity is one of “Knyahynia’s” defining strengths. The album demonstrates that contemporary production and arrangement can coexist with traditional vocal practice without sacrificing authenticity. Rather than modernizing folk music beyond recognition, I sought to reveal its timeless relevance while maintaining its original character.

The album’s title carries profound symbolic meaning. In Ukrainian folklore, the word knyahynia has never referred solely to noble rank. In wedding traditions, it often describes the bride. In Christmas carols, it could refer to the lady of the household or a cherished young woman. In lyrical songs, a beloved might be affectionately called a princess. More broadly, the word evokes a woman of dignity, strength, grace, and resilience.

For me, this symbolism became deeply personal. The title reflects not only the women celebrated throughout Ukrainian folklore but also the journey of every woman who continues forward despite hardship, preserving her strength, identity, and inner light.

At a time when Ukraine’s cultural heritage faces unprecedented challenges, I hope that Knyahynia serves as both an artistic contribution and an act of cultural preservation. Through these carefully collected songs, authentic vocal traditions, and deeply personal stories, I invite listeners to experience the beauty, resilience, and living legacy of Ukrainian folk culture—a tradition that remains as powerful and relevant today as it was centuries ago.

“Knyahynia” is available on all major streaming platforms and can also be purchased through Magnetic West Music Bandcamp page:

For listeners seeking an authentic connection to Ukrainian folk culture, Knyahynia offers not only music, but a journey into memory, heritage, and the enduring spirit of Ukrainian song.