As the City of Oxford prepares to celebrate Ukrainian culture and heritage by hosting the Ukrainian Culture Weeks festival, the Grand Concert to be held at Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre on Friday September 30 will mark the opening day of the three-day festival with a flourish.
Billed as the pinnacle of the three-day festival (running from Friday September 30 to Sunday October 2), the Grand Concert for Ukraine will be held at Oxford’s iconic Sheldonian Theatre from 19:30 BST to 21:30 BST on the opening evening of September 30.
Organised by Cherwell College in partnership with the Orchestra of St. John’s, the concert will be conducted by founder and conductor of the Orchestra of St. John’s, John Lubbock, and performed by OSJ Voices in association with Ukrainian musicians.
The September 30 date coincides with the birthday of Ukrainian Maestro Valentyn Sylvestrov (Ukraine’s best-known living composer) who will be in attendance and whose piece, “Prayer for Ukraine”, will be performed during the evening.
The repertoire for the evening will also feature renditions of Handel Messiah; Mykola Lysenko’s "Motet" and “Angoise” performed on strings; Myroslav Skoryk’s "Melody" (voice and strings); Maxym Berezovsky’s "Chamber Symphony Number One" for strings; and a performance of the Ukrainian National Anthem.
The City of Oxford and its institutions, alongside all at The Leaders Council, feel a deep sense of unity with the people of Ukraine. Oxonians feel dutybound to support the unique culture and heritage of the country and this festival offers people from Oxford and those from further afield to join together in expressing solidarity with Ukraine.
The ticket portal for the Handel Messiah Concert can be found here.
The full programme for the Ukrainian Culture Weeks festival and ticket portal can be found here.
Grand Concert Date/Time: Friday September 30, 2022, 19:30-21:30 BST.
Venue: The Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3AZ.
The Ukrainian Culture Weeks in Oxford have been organised by Cherwell College, in collaboration with Dom Master Class (Kyiv, Ukraine) and Oxford University Ukrainian Society.
Proceeds from event tickets will help support humanitarian initiatives in Ukraine.
Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash
