Ukraine Freedom Orchestra goes on tour

WARSAW

With Ukraine's blue-and-yellow flag behind them, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra rehearsed this week in Warsaw for an upcoming tour starting in Paris on July 12.

Their practice session at Warsaw's main opera house began with a minute's silence for the victims of the Russian missile barrage on Ukraine on July 8.

"It's very much a way for us to channel our energy, but also to use it as a wake-up call to the world," said Keri-Lynn Wilson, the conductor and founder.

Wilson, a Canadian with Ukrainian roots, formed the orchestra in 2022 after Russia's invasion in coordination with Ukraine's culture ministry, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and the Polish National Opera in Warsaw.

The tour repertoire includes Beethoven's 9th symphony with its famous "Ode to Joy," the EU's anthem, translated into Ukrainian for the first time by Wilson and Ievgeniia Iermachkova.

"I thought to myself, what would be even more powerful than playing this most powerful piece of music and adding the language of Ukraine when Putin is trying to silence and destroy," said Wilson.

Starting in Paris, the tour will stop in London, New York and several Polish cities before concluding in Washington.

Many of the musicians are refugees themselves, having fled Ukraine once the war began.

Others, like 49 year-old cellist Lesya Demkovych, have lived abroad for years.

Still, they see the impact of the war every day.

"We feel that war comes closer and closer to us," said Demkovich.

One of the pieces in this year's repertoire is Bucha Lacrimosa, a new work by Ukrainian composer Victoria Vita Polevá.

The piece was composed to honour the victims of atrocities allegedly carried out by Russian troops while they were occupying the town of Bucha near Kyiv.

"This piece is dedicated to those souls," said 33 year-old double bass player Nazarii Stets, who came directly from Kyiv where he still lives.

Stets, like other men of conscription age in the orchestra, has been granted an exemption from fighting in the war by Ukraine's culture ministry.

With the war still raging, the musicians want to both mourn the victims and showcase their ongoing determination.

It can get overwhelming.

"Sometimes because of the tears, I can't play normally," Stets said.

They hope their work can help support the war effort, and continue to receive support from abroad.

Demkovich said she hoped to one day play on a victory tour of Ukrainian cities.

"We fight on every front imaginable," she said.