On the occasion of Ukrainian Independence Day on 24 August, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra will play as part of the Cultural Summer Festival on the Kastellanswiese in the historic Schönhausen Palace Garden. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Joe Chialo, Senator for Culture and Social Cohesion, will give welcoming speeches.
Fig. above: Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra © Ryan Buchanan
On the initiative of the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra sends a signal against war with its performances. Under the patronage of the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Selenska, the project is supported by the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture.
The 74-member orchestra consists of Ukrainian musicians – some of the male members serve their country through their music with special permission from the Ukrainian government -, musicians who have fled Ukraine and Ukrainian members of European orchestras. The musicians come from orchestras such as the Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kyiv National Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra, the Belgian National Orchestra and the Staatskapelle Berlin.
Among the initiators is the Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, who was nominated for Conductor of the Year at the Opus Klassik 2020 Awards and is the conductor of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra. Ukrainian violinist Valeriy Sokolov, winner of the George Enescu International Music Competition in Bucharest and soloist with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, is one of the most outstanding artists of his generation.
WHERE?
Schlossgarten Schönhausen, Kastellanswiese
Tschaikowskistraße 1 (Einlass für Besucher*innen)
13156 Berlin
WHEN?
Thursday, 24 August 2023
Admission 18:30, concert from 19:30 – 21:45
TICKET
Free entry
