Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra

Music as a response to war, violence, and oppression: this idea inspired Peter Gelb and Waldemar Dąbrowski, the general directors of New York’s Metropolitan Opera and Warsaw’s National Opera, respectively, to join with conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson to found the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra in
the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The orchestra comprises 74 musicians who are from Ukraine. They are full-time members of Kyiv National Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Lviv National Philharmonic and Odesa Philharmonic Orchestras, or Kharkiv Opera; other members belong to the Tonkünstler Orchestra in Austria, Belgium’s National Orchestra, or the Staatskapelle Berlin. In its first summer of existence, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra toured thirteen European and U.S. cities, and this year’s tour encompasses six different stops, including an open-air concert in front of Berlin’s Schönhausen Palace on 24 August, Ukrainian Independence Day. The project is supported by the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Information; its patron is Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, who calls the orchestra the “musical voice of Ukraine.” “As Ukraine continues its brave fight on behalf of the free world, it needs our support now more than ever,” declares Music Director Keri-Lynn Wilson. “We defend Ukraine’s cultural legacy. We will not rest until the war is won.”

July 2023