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Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra

Introduction

Created in 2022 by Keri-Lynn Wilson, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra is an ensemble composed of leading Ukrainian musicians from inside the embattled country, as well as recent refugees and Ukrainian members of European orchestras. It was formed to defend Ukraine’s cultural legacy as the country fights for its freedom. Its inaugural tour took place in Europe and the United States in the summer of 2022 and included performances in Warsaw, the BBC Proms in London, the Edinburgh Festival, the Les Chorégies d’Orange festival in France, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Dublin, Amsterdam, New York City (Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park) and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Maestro Wilson serves as its music director. Now under the patronage of Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra will come together each summer to tour capital cities and festivals of the world.

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Sam Greenwell

Sam Greenwell

Assistant Project Manager

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Tours

  • Aug 2023 - Sep 2023
    Europe

    Keri-Lynn Wilson (conductor) Valeriy Sokolov (violin) Schlosspark Schoenhausen, Berlin | KKL Luzern, [Lucerne Festival] | Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam | Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg | Snape Maltings, Snape | Barbican, London Verdi Overture to Forza del destino, Stankovych Violin Concerto No 2, Skoryk Melody, Beethoven Symphony No 3

  • Jul 2022 - Aug 2022
    Europe & USA

    Keri-Lynn Wilson (conductor) Anna Fedorova (piano) Liudmyla Monastyrska (soprano) Sylvestrov Symphony No.7, Chopin Piano Concerto No.2, Beethoven “Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?” (Fidelio), Verdi “Qui Radames verra! – Oh Patria Mia” (Aida), Dvorak Symphony No.9, Brahms Symphony No.4 Royal Albert Hall, London [BBC Proms] | Isar Philharmonie, Munich | Choregies D’Orange, Orange | Konzerthaus, Berlin | [Edinburgh International Festival], Edinburgh | Snape Maltings, Snape | Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam | Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg | National Concert Hall, Dublin | Lincoln Center, New York | The Kennedy Center, Washington DC

Photos

Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, Concertgebouw August 2022
Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra at EIF, August 2022

ON TOUR: The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra reunites

/24 August 2023

Following last year’s critically-acclaimed debut performances, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra reunites this week for a second tour of major European festivals and concert halls, in collaboration with Askonas Holt, The Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera.

Under the patronage of First Lady Olena Zelenska, the 74-piece orchestra of Ukrainian refugees and members of European orchestras is led by conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson as they come together for the two-week tour.

Soloist Valeriy Sokolov joins the orchestra for Stankovych Violin Concerto No.2 as part of a programme that includes Verdi’s Overture to Forza del destino, Skoryk’s Melody and Beethoven’s Symphony No.3 ‘Eroica’’. Concerts in Warsaw and Berlin will feature Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with soloists Olga Kulchynska, Nicole Chirka, Dmytro Popov (Warsaw), Vasyl Solodkyy (Berlin) and Vladyslav Buialskyi.

After performances in Warsaw and Gdansk, the orchestra will be joined by the newly-formed Ukrainian Freedom Chorus to mark Ukrainian Independence Day on 24 August with a free concert held in the gardens of Berlin’s Schönhausen Palace with thousands expected to attend. From Berlin they head to the Lucerne Festival, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Snape Maltings before finishing at the Barbican Centre in London.

Watch the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra perform the fourth movement of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World, recorded live at Lincoln Center in 2022.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5tsmJQ9Gjk

© The Metropolitan Opera

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