By Zhenya Shkil:
On Tuesday 24 February, our community came together in a historic evening at Bath Abbey: United 4 Peace, a concert marking the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The programme featured a magnificent String Nonet by Ukrainian composer Illia Bondarenko – starring world class musicians – and stunning audiovisual production A Woman’s War by composer Kornélia Nemcová and artist Natália Štojková. At the conclusion of the concert, a canvas print of Banksy’s graffiti art in destroyed Borodianka was auctioned for £1000. The evening ended with the Ukrainian National Anthem sung by a local refugee from Uman Yuliia Lut and led by violinist Illia Bondarenko – accompanied by The Argyle String Orchestra, the Courage Choir and local singers. The whole event was organized by a charitable foundation “The Friends of Oleksandriya”.
The event was a powerful tribute to the strength of Ukraine, a celebration of the country’s culture, and a poignant act of solidarity. During the event an amazing £15,000 was raised from selling tickets, refreshments and cakes, auction and donations. All profits from the concert will be used to fund the veteran rehabilitation centre in Oleksandriya.
Former Mayor of Bath Marian McNeir MBE said: The sell-out concert was well attended with local dignitaries including Deputy Lieutenant Thomas Sheppard and his wife, former Commonwealth Secretary General Dr Carl Wright, Chairman of Bath Festivals Richard Hall and his wife. They joined a packed out Abbey full of local residents and Ukrainian refugees, all of them anxious to show their support for this fourth anniversary concert.”
Volunteer from Oxford Justin Robinson said: “I thought the concert was amazing and very cutting edge between the modern classical piece and the sung and very poetic dramatic take on lived experiences of war.”
Argyle String Orchestra violinist and ex-conductor Tim said: “What a triumph! Each year the concerts are becoming more and more challenging. The Nonet was brilliant, if perhaps somewhat longer than expected! My ex-student Steve Doman on viola enjoyed the piece and they were all given solo spots. The leader/composer was brilliant and the string textures were often glorious. A really exciting piece. A Woman’s War with the Argyle, Ruffians and the Bradford choir was a great success. All the technical effects were brilliantly controlled and conductor Adam steered us through a long work very successfully. He worked really well with all the elements in the composition. Always a challenge when special effects have to be included! The composer and director were great and lovely to work with. Zhenya Shkil was the mastermind who held the whole show together. Her energy is fantastic and the Ukrainian community supports her work full heartedly. A real masterpiece of planning and determination.”
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