The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra Filmed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra concludes its international tour to express love for Ukraine and lift spirits with music

• Christina Zeiders
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Christina Zeiders is the Communications Specialist at WITF. She helps get the word out about all of WITF's programs, events and community conversations.

The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, gathered by the Met and the Polish National Opera, is made up of recent Ukrainian refugees and other artists in a gesture of solidarity with the victims of the war in Ukraine.

They embarked on a European and American Tour on July 28 that culminated with a performance at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on August 20.

“This remarkable ensemble is a testament to the power of artists and the arts to affect change and uplift the voices of those fighting for freedom. We are honored, as America’s national cultural center, to join with our friends at PBS and the Metropolitan Opera to bring this concert and the stories of these brave artists to the world,” said Deborah F. Rutter, president of the Kennedy Center.

Under the direction of Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, the orchestra’s performance includes Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov’s Seventh Symphony; Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with Ukrainian virtuoso Anna Fedorova; and Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony.

Leading Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska also performs Leonore’s great aria Abscheulicher! from Beethoven’s Fidelio, a paean to humanity and peace in the face of violence and cruelty.

Watch Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra at the Kennedy Center on WITF TV or the PBS Video app Friday, September 9 at 9pm.