As news of the war in Ukraine broke, Principal Bassoon Preman Tilson pondered how our orchestra could do something to help. The answer became apparent after he reached the US Ukraine Business Council in Chicago. They connected him to the Kyiv Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International, and the idea of collaborating to perform a benefit concert began to take shape. They were thrilled to have a full orchestra participating.
Preman listened to several scores from Ukrainian composers, including one sent from the Opera House in Lviv, Ukraine. After conversations with Michael Holian, conductor of the Northwest Chicago Symphony Orchestra, an eclectic program was created. It will include music by Ukrainian composers Mykola Lysenko, Myroslav Skoryk and Seman Hulak-Artemovsky, along with the Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings, Edward Elgar’s “Nimrod” from The Enigma Variations and “Va Pensiero” from Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco. Principal Trumpet Bill Denton will perform The Prayer of St. Gregory by Alan Hovhaness.
Members of our orchestra will be joined by string players from Chicago’s Ukrainian community. Members of the Chicago Lyric Opera Chorus (Lyric Opera Stage Artists) will perform as part of a combined chorus.
We know the power of music to soothe, heal and bring us together. Preman explained, "inspired by the bravery and strength of those who are under attack, the musicians of the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”
The proceeds raised at this concert will support the needs of newly arrived Ukrainian children enrolling in St. Nicholas Cathedral School, as well as humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Tickets to the concert can be purchased here.
If you cannot attend, but would like to donate. Link here.