The final concert of the Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra’s tour in the United States of America took place in the city of Ames, Iowa. The program included the “Tragic Overture” and the Piano Concerto by Johannes Brahms (soloist Oksana Rapita), and Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony “From the New World”. This concert was the collective’s 40th. The tour lasted 2 months, during which the orchestra visited 20 American states.

The principal conductor of the orchestra is the well-known Ukrainian-American musician Theodore Kuchar. Talking about the concert tour, he said: “Every concert, whether it was at Carnegie Hall, or in Alabama, or in Iowa, the orchestra always performed with the highest professionalism, and there was never a time when the orchestra did not prove the impression that this is the most important concert in musicians’ lives. I am very grateful for this.

But the main thing is that it is a very hard time in Ukraine and we had the opportunity to express ourselves: at the end of each concert, we talked about our mission on this trip, to speak from the heart of this orchestra and all Ukrainians. We wanted to thank the Americans for their support. This tour is a historic event, because we are the first collective during the war, which came to this land and had the opportunity to present our culture in the most prestigious halls of the USA.”

Immediately after the performance, Kuchar shared his impressions: “I am very proud that our orchestra represented Ukraine. I think when we come back to this event in 10 or 20 years and remember the soldout at Carnegie Hall, or the last concert in Iowa State, the very place where Dvořák wrote his Ninth Symphony, and where we played 5 minutes ago – there were so many fateful moments! I am extremely glad that our success in America has raised the orchestra’s rating to a very high level, not only in Ukraine but also around the world.”

Flautist and orchestra director Mykhailo Sosnovskyi also commented on the history of a large-scale foreign tour, in which the musicians have come a long way from the very idea, of planning the tour to the realization in a two-month tour. For the orchestra, it consisted of “thousands of miles of travel, an enthusiastic and grateful audience in the largest concert halls of the world, success and drawing attention specifically to the Ukrainian symphony orchestra, Ukrainian culture, and music. We are happy that we had the opportunity to present our Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine to such a large world community. It seems that we took our chance. Well, we can say with certainty that every end is the beginning of something new. We have many plans!”.