| Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra | |
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| Orchestra | |
 members wear thisribbon |
TheUkrainian Freedom Orchestra is an orchestra composed of Ukrainian refugees who have fled theRussian invasion of Ukraine and Ukrainian members of other European orchestras.[1][2] Canadian conductorKeri-Lynn Wilson, who has Ukrainianancestry, provided the impetus for the creation of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra,[3][4] which theMetropolitan Opera of New York and thePolish National Opera immediately supported as a gesture ofsolidarity with the victims of the war in Ukraine.[5][6]
The 74 musicians, allUkrainians – recentrefugees, Ukrainian members from some European orchestras (e.g.Tonkünstler Orchestra,Belgian National Orchestra andRoyal Concertgebouw Orchestra)[7] and some of the top musicians ofKyiv,Lviv,Kharkiv,Odesa and elsewhere in Ukraine – assembled inWarsaw 10 days before the inaugural concert for intensiverehearsals.[6] The inaugural concert was held in Warsaw on July 28 (2022) at the Polish National Opera.[4] The programme of this concert included the7th Symphony by the Ukrainian composerValentyn Silvestrov,Frédéric Chopin’sPiano Concerto No. 2 (soloist:Anna Fedorova), Leonore's ariaAbscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin? fromBeethoven’s operaFidelio (soloist:Liudmyla Monastyrska) and the4th Symphony in E-minor byJohannes Brahms.[8][7] On July 31 the Orchestra performed the same programme at the2022 BBC Proms, a performance that was hailed byThe Guardian as "highly impressive and deeply moving".[9][6]
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra continued its worldconcert tour with concerts in the United Kingdom – Edinburgh (Edinburgh International Festival) and Snape (Snape Maltings, Suffolk), Germany – Munich (Isar Philharmonic Hall), Berlin (Konzerthaus) and Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie), France – Orange (Chorégies d'Orange Festival, Vaucluse),Netherlands – Amsterdam (Royal Concertgebouw Festival) and Ireland – Dublin (National Concert Hall). In European cultural capitals, the orchestra was greeted with standing ovations and positive reviews from critics.[10] The tour concluded with concerts in New York (Lincoln Center) on August 18 and 19, 2022 and in Washington, DC (Kennedy Center) on August 20.[6][4]The New York Times acclaimed the Lincoln Center performance as "admirably even-keeled and soft-spoken, an embodiment of a cultured nation".[11]
The orchestra began its fourth international tour in August 2025, with a repertoire that its patron,Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine, described as “musical treasures”.[12][13] It featured a suite from a new operaThe Mothers of Kherson, by Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomiiets, with a libretto by American playwrightGeorge Brant, and commissioned by theMetropolitan Opera.[14] The tour concluded with a performance atCadogan Hall, London, on 29 August.[15]
"I wanted to bring together Ukraine’s bestorchestral musicians from home and abroad to demonstrate a proud artistic unity.
We are fighting on thecultural front for thefreedom of Ukraine."
Deutsche Grammophon issued a recording of the orchestra's performance in Warsaw in 2023 ofBeethoven’s Symphony No 9, with Schiller’s“Ode to Joy” sung by the soloists and chorus inUkrainian. The opening word of the ode became “Slava”, from the cry "Slava Ukraini! (“Glory to Ukraine!") The soloists included the Ukrainian sopranoOlga Kulchynska and the Ukrainian bass-baritoneVladyslav Buialskyi.[17]
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