Annapolis Symphony Orchestra will donate to Ukrainian relief
(ANNAPOLIS, MD – March 4, 2022) The Annapolis Symphony invites the public to join this weekend’s concerts in support of the Ukrainian people.
The musical tribute to Ukraine will replace the previously scheduled performances of Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto No. 1, featuring renowned Russian violinist Vadim Repin. The change represents ASO’s immediate support for Ukraine during the ongoing invasion by Russia.
The ASO will present this Friday, Saturday and Sunday a program that includes a musical tribute to Ukraine, Der Rosenkavalier Suite by Strauss, Concertino Cusqueño by Frank, and Outburst by Abels. Tickets are available at AnnapolisSymphony.org and at Strathmore.org.
Edgar Herrera, executive director of the ASO, said the decision to replace the performance of Russian soloist Vadim Repin with a tribute to Ukraine was not only a direct response to the horrible violence unfolding in Eastern Europe, but also out of respect to Repin’s apolitical stance and concerns for the safety of himself and his family.
“We don’t want to put him in an uncomfortable, even impossible position,” Herrera said. “Our hearts are with the victims of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s naked war of conquest. The ASO stands with the Ukrainian people.”
Historically, Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto was a quiet dissent of the oppressive Stalinist Soviet Union in which he lived. “He spent his entire life walking the thin line between creating the music he believed in and the watered-down populist expectations of the Soviet regime. Threatened with jail and artistically reprimanded by the regime, Shostakovich nonetheless continued to produce music that quietly defied Stalin and the oppressive policies of the Soviet Union,” Herrera said.
The war in Ukraine is of personal concern to ASO Violinist Nataly Merezhuk, whose family is in both Ukraine and Moscow.
“I fully condemn the war,” said Merezhuk, who holds dual U.S. and Russian citizenship. “It affects my family deeply. My grandma is under siege right now. My mom is in Moscow right now. I will be unable to visit either one of them for the foreseeable future.”
Audience members at the performances on Friday and Saturday at Maryland Hall in Annapolis and on Sunday afternoon at The Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda are invited to wear yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, to show their support.
The ASO will donate a percentage of the proceeds from ticket sales from this weekend’s concerts to the Ukraine Crisis Fund through care.org. For more information go to AnnapolisSymphony.org.
Media Contact: Michael Hughes, news@annapolissymphony.org – 301-906-1067