National Youth Orchestra of Ukraine to make its debut at The Concertgebouw

Under the direction of founder and chief conductor Oksana Lyniv, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine will make its debut in the Main Hall of The Concertgebouw on Sunday 26 July. The orchestra unites young Ukrainian musicians, scattered across Europe and Ukraine by the war, for a tour of Europe's leading concert halls. The programme features Brahms's First Piano Concerto, with Ukrainian pianist Illia Ovcharenko as soloist, and Dvořák's Eighth Symphony. The orchestra also gives the Dutch premiere of Reflections of Hope by Ukrainian composer Eduard Resatch, a work that gives voice to a profound longing for peace.

Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine
Since 2016 the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (YSOU) has brought together young musicians aged 12 to 25 from across Ukraine, growing under Lyniv into a national youth orchestra of considerable standing, with performances in halls such as the Berliner Philharmonie, BOZAR in Brussels and the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès in Strasbourg.
After the outbreak of the war, the orchestra continued its work internationally. The young musicians come together from all over Europe and Ukraine (around 40 per cent) for the orchestra's rehearsals in Germany. For a large number of these musicians, the war is a daily reality. To support these young people, the orchestra has established its own family fund, the YSOU Family Help Program. Musicians affected by the war, whether financially or otherwise, can call on it to continue their musical development.

Conductor, founder and ambassador Oksana Lyniv
Oksana Lyniv, regarded as one of the most compelling conductors of her generation, in 2021 became the first woman to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival, and was the first woman to head an Italian opera house, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In February 2024 she became the first Ukrainian conductor ever to make her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; in recent years she has also led orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. On Saturday 12 September she returns to The Concertgebouw for a performance of Korngold's Die tote Stadt with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.
Among all these prominent orchestras, the YSOU holds a permanent place in her heart. Her commitment to its existence and its future matters to her now perhaps more than ever. 'In what should be the finest years of their youth, these musicians lead no ordinary life,' she says of the young orchestra members. 'All the more moving, then, to see how they begin to laugh again after a time together. This project brings hope back into these young musicians' lives.'

Exchange with the National Youth Orchestras of the Netherlands
Across Europe, the YSOU seeks to work with the national youth orchestras of the countries it visits. In the Netherlands too, the orchestra is beginning a collaboration and exchange with the National Youth Orchestras, in which the young musicians of both ensembles give one another workshops and share their experiences. Besides its appearance at The Concertgebouw, the YSOU also performs in the Netherlands on Tuesday 28 July at the Gelderse Muziekzomer, the festival of the Dutch youth orchestras. Ahead of the Amsterdam concert, the ensemble rehearses from 19 July in the area around Koblenz.