The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra will perform at this year’s Proms, the BBC has announced.
The musical group is made up of musicians who are now refugees and Ukrainian members of European orchestras, and is led by Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson,
Under a ruling from the Ukraine Ministry of Culture, male members of orchestras who are of military age are exempt from fighting for their country.
The orchestra will first perform in Warsaw, Poland in July, before travelling to London for the BBC Proms.
Proms director David Pickard said: “I think everybody who’s involved in this project believes that is such a powerful statement to put these people together.”
Russian performers will not be banned from appearing at this year’s classical music event or required to speak out against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine for fear of putting them in danger.
“I think if there were somebody that were to express those views, to be putting it bluntly, there’d be no place for them,” he added.
This year’s Proms will begin on 15 July, with 84 concerts by more than 3,000 musicians taking place over eight weeks.
The festival, which comes in the BBC’s centenary year, will feature more than 60 artists making their debut to commemorate 100 years of British broadcasting.
The Last Night Of The Proms will be led by Dalia Stasevska, featuring star soloists Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who won BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2016, and a world premiere by James B Wilson.
