The Diamonds Band
Sunday • 1:15 pm, 3:15 pm | Snow Globe Pavilion (93 Street & 118 Avenue (Parking Lot))
The Diamonds Band consists of Craig Repchuk- Accordion, Keyboards, and Vocals; Benjamin Christiani- Violin & vocals; -Rick Chomyn- Lead / Rhythm Guitars and Vocals ; Ihor Nedoshytko, Bass Guitar, Guitar, Accordion and Vocals. The band has been performing for 18 years throughout Alberta.
The Diamonds band is known far and wide for their snappy polkas, dreamy waltzes, beautiful foxtrots, traditional Ukrainian dance numbers, other ethnic music, rock ’n roll, Latin American and country music.
A night club dance, a wedding dance, a stage presentation, a banquet, or any type of party, “The Diamonds Band” will suit the type of occasion with their up-beat dance music.
All the band members are versatile musicians with many years of experience. Their sincere dedication and love of music is evident in the energy they bring to every performance. The Diamonds Band plays on a regular basis for dances throughout Edmonton and the province for audiences that keep on coming back for more.
Craig Repchuk - Accordion, piano, vocals- Craig has been playing the accordion since the age of six and professionally since the age of twelve when he began with the Checkmate Band and performed with them for eighteen years. He has also played with numerous other bands and for the past 20 years The Diamonds Band has been his passion to play the music he grew up listening to. Craig was inducted into the Canadian Ukrainian Music Hall of Honor and received the award at the 2017 Pysanka Festival. Craig likes to play all types of music and enjoys learning new songs and music
Benjamin Christiani – Violin, vocals- Benjamin has been playing the fiddle since the young age of four. In July of 2017 he placed first in the Alberta Open category at the Grand North American Fiddle Championship in Radway. He also competed in the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship representing Alberta fiddlers and gained immense experience competing with other fiddle players from across Canada. Ben has taught violin for the Wild Rose Fiddlers Association and is currently an instructor for the Alberta Society of Fiddlers fiddle camps. He also participates in workshops, dances, and festivals around the province. He enjoys working on the family farm and works as a mechanical engineering technologist. He is eager to continue his career in music and looks forward to future performances.
Rick Chomyn – Lead, rhythm guitar, vocals- Rick started playing guitar at a very young age and has been passionate about making music from as far back as he can remember. Since his teen years, Rick’s sights have been set on playing in a band and entertaining people with his music. An accomplished guitarist/musician, he has played in an assortment of bands over the years and since 1983 has been the lead guitarist for local Edmonton band, The Playboys. In October 2016 Rick joined The Diamonds Band. Although Rick’s spectrum of interest of music genres is broad, his ethnic heritage sparks a particular passion for Old Time and Ukrainian music. Rick is a devoted family man and retired Locomotive Engineer but has no plan of retiring from playing music and entertaining people. After all, according to Rick “music is what feelings sound like”……..
Ihor Nedoshytko – Bass guitar, lead guitar, accordion, vocals: Ihor began his musical studies at age 6 on accordion with Edmonton violinist/accordionist, Stefan Maslij (Maslyee). He began playing weddings and dances at age 15 with local Ukrainian dance bands and musicians like Metro Radomsky. Ihor has studied jazz and classical guitar and has worked with local big bands like "The Edmonton Swing Band" & "The Trocadero Orchestra. Ihor is a retired music educator and has taught Junior High/High School Band, choir, elementary music including the Orff and Kodaly philosophies of music. He continues to facilitate "The Hawaiian Treasures Ensemble" originally formed by the late Edmonton steel guitarist George Lake.