Artist Managers: the Ukraine Freedom Orchestra

At the start of February, such an idea was unimaginable. Yet here we are in midsummer with the newly created Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra (UFO) about to undertake a concert tour which would be the envy of any orchestra in the world. Its scope: from the BBC Proms, Edinburgh Festival and Snape Maltings; to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and venues in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg; to New York’s Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Plus further appearances in France, Ireland and Poland, where the itinerary kicks off at Warsaw’s Teatr Wielki, home of Polish National Opera, on 28 July.

Keri-Lynn Wilson ©Olivia Kahler

The UFO has been assembled from among Ukrainian refugees, together with Ukrainian musicians from a string of European orchestras. Wielding the baton is the project’s instigator, Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson (pictured above). She is supported on the tour by two Ukrainian soloists — pianist Anna Fedorova and soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska. Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov’s Symphony No 7 will feature, alongside music by the likes of Chopin, Beethoven and Dvorak.

Deeply involved in the task of pulling together the nuts and bolts has been the Askonas Holt artist management office in London, working in collaboration with the above-mentioned Polish National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture have been closely involved.

The orchestra was Keri-Lynn Wilson’s instinctive response to the Russian invasion. Her idea was then picked up by her husband Peter Gelb, general manager of the Met and, in a past life, an artist management luminary who handled orchestra and opera company tours at Columbia Artists in New York. ‘We felt we had to take action immediately,’ Wilson recalls. ‘We had to give a voice to those who are suffering in this situation, to make music in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, to use culture as a tool against adversity and offer some sense of optimism and hope.’

Gelb moved swiftly into action, contacting his counterpart at Polish National Opera to push things forward. In no time the idea was distilled into a plan for an orchestra based and performing in Warsaw — where many refugee musicians were domiciled —then moving into international tour. Gelb’s decision to approach Askonas Holt about involvement was informed by an appreciation of the company’s track-record. ‘I was well aware of the leading role Askonas Holt plays in the touring field,’ says Gelb. ‘I knew the company to be totally reliable, honest and sincere…they’re people who deliver.’

The UFO's tour schedule

‘The company never said, “Oh…this is challenging”,’ recalls Wilson. ‘Just “We’ll make it happen”. And that’s involved all manner of logistics, from vaccinations to visas.’ One task has been to locate musical instruments in the event of UFO players having been forced to leave them behind in Ukraine.

Tapping into Askonas Holt’s decades of experience in touring and project work, the company’s Tours & Projects Director, Sergio Porto (pictured below), took on the job of contacting a range of potential promoting bodies. ‘The response was extraordinary,’ he says, ‘with people being willing to move heaven and earth to schedule concerts. Interest was not only sparked by a desire to help these musicians in such an appalling situation — the Ukrainian dimension to the repertoire was clearly artistically interesting and intriguing.’

Sergio Porto ©Askonas Holt

Peter Gelb has been closely involved with the process of setting up a number of the engagements. ‘It was a daunting process. In the world of opera you book seasons four to five years ahead. With touring orchestras it’s usually two to three years. Yet here we were looking to put together this tour at a moment’s notice.’

‘All the venues and organisations involved have approached things as they would any other orchestral engagement, in financial terms and every other way,’ Porto relates. ‘The individual musicians are being paid as they would be in any similar situation. There are varying contractual arrangements, but all the promoting bodies have been incredibly generous.’

With most of the refugee musicians being female, one major task exercising Gelb has been that of negotiating with the Ukrainian authorities for the release of numbers of male musicians of military age to take part in the tour ‘in order to defend their country at the cultural level via a tour which will demonstrate to the Ukrainian people the support of the democratic world.’

Tour soloist Anna Fedorova lives in Amsterdam, from where she moved lightning-fast to bring her parents out to safety from Kyiv. She has kept in close touch with contacts in Ukraine, including her one-time piano teacher. ‘Her city has been under bombardment. She said that when the shells started falling her reaction was not to go down into the basement of the building for shelter, but to play Chopin. Chopin after all knew what it was like to see Poland succumb to Russian aggression — at a time when he was in Vienna in 1830. He never returned home, so it’s not surprising his music is then touched by sadness and nostalgia.’

Fedorova will be playing the Chopin Piano Concerto No 2 on the UFO tour. ‘These concerts are vital to help ensure that the world doesn’t forget what’s happening in Ukraine,’ she says. ‘We need to hold that focus. This tour will send a very powerful statement.’

The intense media coverage which the UFO tour looks sure to win will raise the question of whether there is a longer-term future for the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra. As far as Sergio Porto is concerned, ‘the focus just now is on getting this tour sorted and making sure that the attention is on the players and on their situation. After that? Let’s see.

‘As far as our staff members are concerned, it’s been heartwarming to see just how engaged they’ve been with this project. Everyone feels thrilled that we’ve been able to help create an exceptional tour in these dreadful circumstances. It’s brought joy and a deep sense of pride.’

Ukraine’s minister of culture, Oleksandr Tkachenko, says the tour ‘can help not only to raise funds for supporting Ukrainian artists, it will show the world the diversity and uniqueness of Ukrainian music and Ukrainian performers. We thank our international colleagues for producing the tour.’

‘We might be powerless to stop the war,’ adds Askonas Holt chief executive, Donagh Collins, ‘but hopefully these concerts will serve as an expression of defiance and resistance, providing moments to express hope for a brighter future.’