Ukraine's Kyiv Camerata To Perform At Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall In April

In its first visit to the United States since 1998, Kyiv Camerata, Ukraine's leading chamber ensemble, will perform an all-Ukrainian program of North American premieres conducted by Canadian Ukrainian Keri-Lynn Wilson featuring acclaimed mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and the New York based Ukrainian Chorus Dumka New York, directed by Vasyl Hrechynsky, at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall on Sunday, April 28 at 5PM. The benefit program is presented by USA for Ukraine, a not-for-profit organization that supports humanitarian and animal causes in Ukraine.  

The 24-member Kyiv Camerata will perform the North American premieres of works by leading Ukrainian composers, including Zoltan Almashi, Oleksandr Kozarenko, Yevhen Stankovych, Volodomyr Zubytsky, Victoria Poleva, and Valentin Sylvestrov. Shchetynsky's Requiem, Skoryk's Melody, and Sylvestrov's Prayer for Ukraine are the only works on the program not receiving their North American premieres.

Program Information

*Maria's City, Zoltan Almashi, composer  

*Concerto Rutheno, Oleksandr Kozarenko, composer 

Dmytro Tavanets, piano

*Legend from the Mountains, Yevhen Stankovych, composer 

Kateryna Suprun, viola

*Violin Concerto No.1,Volodymyr Zubytsky, composer 

Bohdana Pivnenko, violin

*No Man is an Island, Victoria Poleva, composer 

Joyce DiDonato, mezzo soprano

Requiem, Oleksandr Shchetynsky, composer

Dumka Chorus of New York

Melody, Myroslav Skoryk, composer

Prayer for Ukraine, Valentin Sylvestrov, composer

Dumka Chorus of New York

*North American premieres

Kyiv Camerata 

Kyiv Camerata was founded in 1977 as the Chamber Music Ensemble of the Union of Composers of Ukraine. It is regarded as Ukraine's leading chamber ensemble and has been hailed for its contributions showcasing living Ukrainian composers. Since 2023, it has been led by violinist Bohdana Pivnenko, who in addition to performing with the ensemble is also its General and Artistic Director. 

Joyce DiDonato

Grammy Award–winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato has towered to the top of the industry as a performer, a producer, and a fierce advocate for the arts. With a repertoire spanning over four centuries, a varied and highly acclaimed discography, and industry-leading projects, her artistry has defined what it is to be a singer in the 21st century. Recent and upcoming highlights include the premiere of Tod Machover's Overstory Overture as Patricia Westertord at Alice Tully Hall and Seoul Arts Center. In June 2022, DiDonato joined the Met Orchestra for a European tour. Her performance was described as “the embodiment of musical perfection”(Wochenglatt Reporter). DiDonato opened The Metropolitan Opera's season performing in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking as Sister Helen. In concert, DiDonato appears with her hometown Kansas City Symphony Orchestra for a series of subscription concerts, as well as performances in Istanbul, Strasbourg, and Paris.

The Ukrainian Chorus Dumka New York  

The Ukrainian Chorus Dumka New York has enriched the cultural and spiritual life of the Ukrainian diaspora for over 75 years while also generating enthusiasm in the American and European public. With a wide repertoire, including Ukrainian folk, classical, and sacred music, the chorus has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Town Hall, Madison Square Garden, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey, as well as concert halls of many European capitals, among them, the Royal Albert Hall in London. In 1990, the Chorus made a successful concert tour of England, Austria, Germany, France, and Ukraine where it was received with great enthusiasm in Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, and Kaniv. The first musical director of the Chorus was L. Krushelnycky. His work was continued by O. Mykytiuk, R. Stepaniak, I. Zukowsky, I. Zadorozny, I. Sonevycky, A. Bernyk, and S. Komirny. Since 1991 "Dumka" has been directed by Vasyl Hrechynsky. The Ukrainian Chorus Dumka New York consists of approximately 50-60 members and performs at various venues throughout the year.

Keri-Lynn Wilson 

Keri-Lynn Wilson is the founder and Music Director of the highly regarded Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, which has toured major cities and festivals of Europe and the United States over the past two summers. It was formed in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra's recording of the Beethoven Ninth Symphony, conducted by Maestro Wilson, was released by Deutsche Grammophon to commemorate the second anniversary of the invasion. The orchestra will embark on its Beethoven Ninth Freedom Tour of leading cities this summer. Wilson's career as a conductor of opera and symphonic music includes many of the world's leading opera houses and symphony orchestras. Among the opera companies she has conducted most recently are the Royal Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera and the Deutsche Opera Berlin. Amongst the orchestras she has most recently led are the NHK Symphony, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and the Bruckner Orchestra of Linz. Over a rich and varied career, Wilson has conducted, amongst many other orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Wiener Kammerorchester, the Russian National Orchestra, the RAI Symphony Orchestra, the Salzburg Mozarteum, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Toronto Symphony and l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal.

USA for Ukraine

USA for Ukraine, Inc. is a non-profit organization registered in the state of Connecticut, Federal Tax ID 88-1789331. USA for Ukraine, Inc. is organized to provide humanitarian and safety supplies and food and pet supplies as well as emergency and other relief services to conflict zones, in particular in Ukraine and other regions of Eastern Europe. 

Tickets

Tickets for the benefit concert start at $104. Tickets are available at carnegiehall.org, by calling CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800, or visiting the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue. For more information on USA for Ukraine, visit usaforukr.org.