Historic Co-Presentation Brings Together Artist Communities in Ukraine and New York

Concerts Are FREE
August 18 & 19 at 7:30pm

NEW YORK, NY (July 26, 2022) – The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra will play Lincoln Center in two free concerts, August 18 & 19. The powerful and symbolic international Freedom Tour includes recent refugees of the war, members of orchestras in other parts of Europe, and the leading musicians of Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Odesa.

In solidarity with the victims of the war in Ukraine, the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera brought these musicians together to create an orchestra for a European and American tour. The American performances will be held at Lincoln Center in a co-presentation of all eleven organizations on campus and, following, at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

The Ukrainian government is supporting the project by addressing the issues of allowing male musicians to put down weapons and take up their instruments in a remarkable demonstration of the power of art over adversity.

Members of the New York and Ukraine artist communities will come together for an outdoor reception following the August 18 performance, in an opportunity to connect and offer support for Ukrainian artists.

Under the leadership of Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, the Orchestra will perform a program that includes Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov’s Seventh Symphony and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with Ukrainian virtuoso Anna Fedorova. Leading Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska will perform the great aria “Abscheulicher!” from Beethoven’s Fidelio, a paean to humanity and peace in the face of violence and cruelty.

While tickets to the concerts are free as the culminating events of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City series, donations are encouraged to organizations supporting the resettlement of Ukrainians, such as Welcome.US. The organization’s Ukraine Welcome Hub serves as a central resource for information, tools, and acts of welcome Americans can take to support displaced Ukrainians, including sponsorship.

United Airlines is generously supporting the American leg of the tour. The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra tour is generously supported by the Ford Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Ann Ziff, Chairman of the Metropolitan Opera.

Photos may be found here.

Password: MetOpera2020

More information on the full tour may be found here.

Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra
Thu, Aug 18 & Fri, Aug 19 at 7:30 pm
Damrosch Park

Limited, free advance reservation tickets will be available beginning at 12pm on Monday, Aug 15. Free general admission tickets will also be available day-of on a first-come, first-served basis.

Thu, Aug 18 Program

VALENTIN SILVESTROV - Symphony No. 7
CHOPIN - Piano Concerto No. 2
Anna Fedorova, piano
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BEETHOVEN – “Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?” (Fidelio)
Liudmyla Monastyrska, soprano
BRAHMS - Symphony No. 4

Encore: Ukrainian National Anthem (string arrangement by Ukrainian composer Yuri Shevchenko)

Fri, Aug 19 Program

VALENTIN SILVESTROV - Symphony No. 7
CHOPIN - Piano Concerto No. 2
Anna Fedorova, piano
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VERDI – “Qui Radames verrà!- Oh Patria Mia” (Aida)
Liudmyla Monastyrska, soprano
DVORAK - Symphony No. 9
Encore: Ukrainian National Anthem (string arrangement by Ukrainian composer Yuri Shevchenko)

Co-presented by The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Film at Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Theater, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the New York City Ballet, the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and the School of American Ballet.

Money raised from the full tour will go to support Ukrainian artists. Donations can be made to the Ministry of Culture at https://donate.arts.gov.ua/en.

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About Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is the steward of the world’s leading performing arts center, an artistic and civic cornerstone for New York City comprised of eleven resident companies on a 16-acre campus. The nonprofit’s strategic priorities include: supporting the arts organizations that call Lincoln Center home to realize their missions and fostering opportunities for collaboration across campus; championing inclusion and increasing the accessibility and reach of Lincoln Center’s work; and reimagining and strengthening the performing arts for the 21^st century and beyond, helping ensure their rightful place at the center of civic life.

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Community programming at Damrosch Park is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)

Lead Support for Summer for the City Community Programming is provided by Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)

Signature support for Summer for the City is provided by SK Group

Major support for Summer for the City is provided by the Mellon Foundation, the LuEsther Mertz Charitable Trust, and First Republic Bank

Additional support is provided by Chanel, the Ford Foundation, PGIM, the Shubert Foundation, Amazon, Howard Gilman Foundation, Warburg Pincus, the Scully Peretsman Foundation, and Lincoln Center’s 21/22 Donors and Members

Endowment support is provided by the Blavatnik Family Foundation Fund for Dance, The Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Foundation, Oak Foundation, PepsiCo Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Programs are made possible, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts with support of the Office of the Governor, Mayor of the City of New York, the New York State Legislature and the New York City Council

NewYork-Presbyterian is the Official Hospital of Lincoln Center

United is the Official Airline of Lincoln Center

Pianos by Steinway & Sons- the Artistic Choice of Lincoln Center

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For more information, please contact:
Isabel Sinistore
[email protected]
212-671-4195

Jenni Klauder
[email protected]
212-875-5490