Hello world. I am Antonina. I am just happy to share a few words with you throughout this week approaching the 30th birthday celebration of NYFOS! Wow! What a legacy this treasure called NYFOS has been to its audiences, the NYC community especially, and its artists! I am incredibly honored to be a part of this family and incredibly thankful to you, our audience, because with out you we are meaningless. And, of course, Steven, the genius visionary and dreamer who invites us to dream and infuses all of us with greatness, we celebrate you. I’m so happy to congratulate you on this beautiful journey you have walked and graciously invited us to be a part of!

“Oh, happy day” performed by the Edwin Hawkins Singers is my Song of the Day, everyday! I love this song and I live it. It just makes me so so happy! It illuminates me with energy, ‘yes-ness’, and makes me dance away throughout the day because yes, oh happy day, I got another day to DO LIFE! For that, I’m immensely grateful and I fully receive it by grace and hope to live that each new day HAPPY to the fullest. Even if the circumstances aren’t happy, the fact that I was given another day, I CHOOSE to be happy and embrace it, live it, and slay it! Also, how appropriate to start your day with this song on a MOOOOONDAY. You know what I mean…? I promise you it will put you in a good mood. It’s got a nice beat, swing, mood, powerful voices that will warm up your mind, body and soul to take on whatever may come. Thank God for music! I don’t know what we would do with out it!

I have to say that Gospel music might be my favorite genre, too. I was introduced to Gospel Music many years ago by my teacher and mentor, Duane Davis when I was at the Community College in Grand Rapids, MI and since then I’ve been in love. I was hooked. This Ukrainian girl can deliver a nice groove, too. 🙂 It’s always my “go to” music because it just stirs my soul and does something to me that I can’t explain. It just fills me with so much goodness! And, this song has been playing in my head for the past few weeks so I absolutely had to share it! You might also like to watch the version of it from the movie, Sister Act 2. The boy starts it timidly but then he really decides to do it. It’s just glorious coming out of his heart, which then inspires the choir to really sing!

So, you also can embrace the day boldly, do it from your heart truthfully, and inspire others around you to do the same. You’ll be infectious! Truth and joy is what we all desire, so let’s give it!