Ivanna Pryima-Shmerikovska (19 January 1898, Nadvirna - 19 January 1982, New York) was a Ukrainian pianist, singer (mezzo-soprano) and teacher. Mother of the famous ballerina Roma Pryima-Bohachevska.
Biography.
Ivanna Shmerikovska was born in 1898 in Nadvirna (now Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast) to a priest, Fr Yevstakhiy Shmerikovskyi. Her great-grandfather, Fr Yosyf Shmerikovsky, was a member of the Russian Council in 1848 and a parish priest in Chortkiv; her grandfather, Ivan Shmerikovsky, was a parish priest in Pechenizhyn. His father was a parish priest in Nadvirna and taught religion at the local school. Later, the family moved to Uhornyky and Stanislaviv. Ivanna's mother was a dramatic actress, director, and member of the Ukrainian Conversation in Stanislaviv.
Ivanna received her primary musical education at private lessons, including those given by her mother. She studied at the Faculty of Music at Lviv University and the piano department of the Lviv Conservatory, graduating in 1920, and took vocal lessons. In 1919, she made her vocal debut, which was very successful and encouraged her to continue her vocal studies. Later she studied in Paris and became a well-known singer and pianist. She gave recitals in Lviv, Warsaw, and Krakow. She was a concert master at the Lviv Opera House (1942-43).
Since 1937, she has been a vocal teacher at the Lviv Conservatory, in 1949-1951 she taught in Montreal (Canada), in 1951-1959 - at the Ukrainian Music Institute in New York. Since 1959, he has been the head of the piano department at the Palm Beach School in Florida.
Ivanna Pryima-Shmerikovska also works in painting (abstract compositions)
