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Fiddler Peter Ostroushko bringing Ukranian sound to CR

By Hillary Foster

At four years old, Peter Ostroushko picked up the mandolin for the first time and his life as an extraordinary musician began.

Growing up in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, his Ukrainian roots influenced everything from his love of borscht to the raucous parties that often turned into mandolin jam sessions.

The first-generation Ukrainian, who will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday at CSPS, 1103 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids, recalled in an interview with Mandolin Quarterly that it was a natural thing to watch the adults in his life express themselves and have fun with music.

While the mandolin may not be the most popular of instruments in the United States, it was widely used in the close-knit Ukrainian community. Ostroushko recalled listening to mandolin orchestras during local church services. He grew up hearing traditional Ukrainian music like the mandolin, balalaika and bandura songs, sounds that have stayed with him throughout his career.

The gifted musician went on to teach himself many more instruments as a young adult: fiddle, piano, guitar, banjo, bass and other string instruments. His widespread knowledge of these string instruments would help him cross stylistic boundaries. Throughout his career his music has been identified as folk, jazz, swing, classical, contemporary acoustic, blues and old-time music at one time or another.

In the 1970s Ostroushko worked as a session musician in Nashville. His first recording session was an uncredited mandolin set on Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks. In the last four decades, he has been recorded on more than 100 albums with artists such as Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins, Bobby McFerrin, James Galway, Usher and Norman Blake.

Ostroushko released his debut solo album, Slüz Düz Music (Rounder Records), in 1982. It comes from a Ukrainian phrase, “S’hlooze dooz zehowv,” which roughly translates to “off your rocker” or “one french fry short of a picnic basket.” His sense of humor is apparent throughout his career. Other notable recordings include Down the Streets of My Old Neighborhood, Meeting on Southern Soil, and the Heartland Trilogy: Heart of the Heartland, Pilgrims of the Heartroad and Sacred Heart.

For more than 25 years, Ostroushko was a frequent guest performer on A Prairie Home Companion and served from 1980 to 1986 as the program’s musical director. He has also made appearances on Austin City Limits, Late Night with David Letterman and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

An accomplished classical musician as well, Ostroushko was hired by the Minnesota Orchestra to play the short, yet essential, mandolin part in Mahler’s Seventh Symphony. He has also worked often with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, playing solos in works by Paisiello, Vivaldi, and eventually his own composition “Prairie Suite.” His classical compositions have been performed by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Sinfonia, the Des Moines Symphony and the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra. The Twin Cities Public Television commissioned him to compose the music for nationally distributed programs such as The Dakota Conflict and Grant Wood’s America.

Also a passionate teacher, Ostroushko travels the country conducting workshops and demonstrations. Ostroushko still lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and daughter.

(For a special treat, visit Ostroushoko’s web site for a look into what makes him tick: a section called Musical Recipes currently displaying a recipe for Chili Verde and the sheet music for the sultry tango, “Choro.” Clearly Ostroushko is a man of many passions.)