Interview by Oksana Lyniv for Espresso Portugal

“…It is hard to believe in so much aggressiveness, because this war did not start because of a region or a border…”

“How do you feel about the Russian invasion?

It’s devastating. For 30 years, we have strived to discover the Ukrainian past — whose knowledge had been forbidden to us, as well as cultural heritage — and to show the world what was hidden beneath the Soviet era. I have been in the West since 2005, but I have never broken ties with Ukraine, and I have always tried to be an active force in this cultural dissemination. I have two major projects: the Mozart Festival in Lviv and the Youth Orchestra of Ukraine, which is dedicated to Blurring the East-West division that exists within the country itself. It’s a wonderful project, but suddenly, on February 24, with the Russian invasion, the lives of these young people were torn in half. It was a disaster. It is hard to believe in so much aggressiveness, because this war did not start because of a region or a border…”.

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The Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (YSOU) was founded in 2016, initiated by the famous Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv. Her idea was supported by three German partner institutions:the Beethovenfest Bonn, the National youth orchestra of Germany and the Deutsche Welle. Then a unique project was implemented: the first performances of the newly created Ukrainian team took place together with the German National Youth Orchestra. Young Ukrainian and German musicians played four symphony concerts together in August and September 2017 in Lviv, Kyiv, Bonn and Berlin. The debut concert of the project took place within the international festival “LvivMozArt”.

From 2017 to 2021, the orchestra performed at the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin, Musikverein in Graz, the Young Artists Bayreuth Festival, LvivMozArt Festival in Lviv, the National Philharmonic of Ukraine in Kyiv, and on the stage of the Odessa National Opera.

In 2019, YsOU, with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in Berlin, recorded and successfully released their debut CD, “Discover Ukraine,” featuring works by Ukrainian composers.

In the years 2020-2021, the youth orchestra participated in an online project and concert tour ‘Ark of Ukraine: Music’ and implemented a series of documentary films ‘Hear the Classics: Why the new generation plays music of the past,’ both projects supported by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.

In 2021, the Youth Orchestra of Ukraine was awarded the Saxon Mozart Prize and received the title of “Young Ambassadors of Mozart’s European Paths” for the promotion and preservation of the musical heritage of the Mozart family. That same year, the orchestra was awarded the Gold Medal at the Online World Orchestra Festival for the performance of the Poem of Reunion by B. Lyatoshynsky.

On the day of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, YsOU issued an international call to support Ukraine and aid the youth, becoming a focal point for preserving the young generation of Ukrainian musicians. Together with the Slovenian Youth Orchestra, YsOU implemented the social-artistic project of evacuating young musicians, “Music for the Future,” in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Thanks to the friendly support of the National Youth Orchestra of Germany and the efforts of many partners, in the summer of 2022, YsOU embarked on a massive European tour, “United for the Future,” carrying the message of peace, justice, and freedom. In frames of the tour, the orchestra gave over 30 concerts and performed at 10 major festivals in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, including Bachfest Leipzig, Munich Opera Festival, Lucerne Festival, Young Euro Classic Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Herbstgold Eisenstadt, Festival “Aus den Fugen!” at Konzerthaus Berlin, and had a grand French debut at Theater Chatelet in Paris.

In 2022, the orchestra became a member of the European Federation of Youth Orchestras and received the Music Prize of the city of Duisburg, Germany, for its contribution to the promotion of classical music.

In April 2023, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra took patronage over YsOU.

In 2023, the orchestra embarked on a tour in Germany (Mainz, Sayner Hütte, Ingolstadt), participated in the Young Euro Classic festival, and made its debut at Teatro Grande in Brescia, Vicenza, and Bologna as part of the Italian tour.

Additionally, in July 2023, the orchestra organized the first Chamber Music Academy of YSOU with subsequent chamber concerts during the ‘Les Nuits du Mont Rome’ festival in France.

In September 2023, the orchestra implemented an extensive project titled ‘LOST CHILDHOOD’ under the patronage of Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, at the BOZAR Center for the Arts in Brussels. This project, led by the orchestra’s chief conductor Oksana Lyniv, featured the world premiere of the cantata ‘Daddy’s Book’ by E. Orkin, based on the writings of the children’s author and activist V. Vakulenko, murdered in Russian occupation of his hometown near Kharkiv in Ukraine.