Led by conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, the orchestra’s performance will mark three years since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Founded by Keri-Lynn Wilson in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra (UFO) is under the patronage of Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, and aims to defend Ukraine’s artistic legacy and values of freedom.
Among the musicians include those based in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and elsewhere in Ukraine; musicians in Ukraine forced into exile by the war; and Ukrainian members of European orchestras.
On February 25, 2025, the UFO will perform at Warsaw’s Teatr Wielki with its own version of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, where the choral text based on Schiller’s poem “Ode to Joy,” will be sung in Ukrainian.
Wilson has worked with Ievgeniia Iermachkova to change “Freude” in Schiller’s text to “Slava” (meaning “Glory”) — derived from the phrase “Slava Ukraini!” (“Glory to Ukraine!”), which has become a rallying call for Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invasion.
