Oleksa Matviyovych Hrynishak (Les Hrynishak, 13 March 1895, Nadvirna - 1923) was a Ukrainian conductor, singer, theatre and public figure, a soldier of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, a chorunzha of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen.
He was born on 13 March 1895 in Nadvirna. He also had a younger brother Mykola and a sister Hanna.
He studied at the Nadvirna Six-Year Folk School for Boys, completed gymnasium courses at the Prosvita Library. In 1913, he graduated with honours from the gymnasium in Stanislav.
In 1914, he voluntarily joined the USS Legion. From 1916 he worked in the Press Room of the USS.
The first signs of the spiritual life of the USS were the rifle choir under the direction of conductor Les Hrynishak and the library. A chamber ensemble and a string quartet consisting of Riflemen musicians Antin Balandiuk, Yaroslav Barnych, Mykhailo Haivoronsky, Roman Lesyk and Les Hrynishak were created under the USS brass band. Riflemen's choirs and orchestras under the direction of Les Hrynishak and Mykhailo Haivoronskyi performed in many cities of Ukraine, including Kamianets-Podilskyi, Proskuriv, and Vinnytsia.
Later, Oles Hrynishak became the administrator of a riflemen's frontline theatre called the Field Theatre of the III Corps of the UGA, where Hnat Yura was the director of the troupe and Yurii Shkrumeliak was the head of the literary and repertoire department.
Later, the theatre was renamed the New Lviv Theatre, where Les Hrynishak remained the manager. The frontline theatre had a very good cast, a good choir and a theatre orchestra with a rich costume shop. In the Riflemen's Theatre, Les Hrynishak performed mostly solo roles in the opera repertoire.
After the collapse of the Galician Army in May 1920, some members of the company returned to Lviv, where they began to perform for the Ukrainian Independent Theatre. Hnat Yura founded a theatre in Vinnytsia, and Les Hrynishak and his wife Katra Pylypenko settled in Cherkasy, where he began working as a conductor at the Ivan Franko Studio Theatre.
Hirniak mentions that in 1921 the couple had a small child, and there was a famine in Cherkasy at that time. For a few months, the troupe of the Franko Studio with Les Hrynishak worked in a more prosperous Kherson, but they were not met with a very friendly welcome. So they had to return to Cherkasy. On the way from Kherson, they were robbed by robbers from Znamianske, who stole even the bundles of nappies from the mothers of young children - Katra Pylypenko and her sister Nadia (Bohdan Kryzhanivskyi's wife). It was in December 1921.
And in February 1922, the troupe, which included L. Hrynishak, performed in the village of Biloziria, where the food was much better than in the city at that time, but even there the actors were not treated with hospitality. Nevertheless, upon their return to Cherkasy, the actors began to receive partial in-kind payment for organising school clubs: each instructor received three poods (48 kilograms) of flour.
Also from Y. Hirniak's Memoirs, we learn about Les Hrynishak's illness: "Bohdan Kryzhanivskyi found Nadia Pylypenko, who shared with him the hardships of life, and her sister Kateryna Pylypenko fought for the life of the talented Les Hrynishak, who was suffering from severe tuberculosis, with amazing dedication."
Later information about the fate of Les Hrynyshak, his wife Kateryna Pylypenko, and their child remains unknown.
The book by Valerian Revutskyi "Unconquered Berezilians Yosyp Hirniak and Olimpia Dobrovolska" describes the years of Les Hrynishak's life (1895-1923).
Commemoration of the memory
In October 1934, Mykhailo Haivoronskyi composed music for Dmytro Nykylyshyn's play "Blue Flower" and dedicated it to the fond memory of Les Hrynishak.
On 12 September 2014, as part of the events marking the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, a memorial plaque to Les Hrynishak was unveiled in Nadvirna, which was installed on the pediment of the Prosvita building at 36 Mazepa Street. He was also awarded the title of "Honorary Citizen of Nadvirna".
