Maryland’s Annapolis Symphony Orchestra is shifting its scheduled performance for concerts in support of Ukraine.
This weekend’s performances were originally going to feature Russian soloist Vadim Repin, but Edgar Herrera, the symphony orchestra’s executive director, said that the decision to replace the performances was not only a response to what is happening in the Ukraine but also “out of respect to Repin’s apolitical stance and concerns for the safety of himself and his family.”
Instead, the Saturday and Sunday programs will include a musical tribute to Ukraine, “Der Rosenkavalier” suite by Strauss, “Concertino Cusqueno” by Frank and “Outburst” by Abels.
“Our hearts are with the victims of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s naked war of conquest. The ASO stands with the Ukrainian people,” Herrera said in a statement.
One member of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra Nataly Merezhuk has family in both Ukraine and Moscow. She has dual U.S. and Russian citizenship.
She said what’s happening in Europe deeply affects her family.
“My grandma is under siege right now. My mom is in Moscow right now. I will be unable to visit either one of them for the foreseeable future,” she said in a statement.
Audience members for the Saturday performance at Maryland Hall in Annapolis and on Sunday afternoon at The Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda are invited to wear yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, to show their support, a news release said.
A percentage of the proceeds from ticket sales from the concerts will be donated to the Ukraine Crisis Fund through care.org. For more information, visit the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra website.
