We are all horrified by the baseless Russian military invasion in Ukraine and the suffering it is imposing on Ukrainians and all who hold them dear. Can music bring peace? At the very least, it can send a signal to all of us, our artists, our audience and above all to our Ukrainian colleagues and their loved ones.
Festivals for Compassion has commissioned the Ukrainian composer Maxim Shalygin to create ‘drop after drop’. Here’s what Maxim wrote to accompany his string quartet:

“Since the first day of the war in Ukraine, a terrible pain has settled inside me. Every time I close my eyes, I want to wake up from this terrible dream… but alas, it is not a dream. ‘drop after drop’  is a kind of an ingot of that pain and memories of my childhood, when my relatives were telling me about the war years and sung wartime songs. I hear those songs inside me again and I wish they would stop…”

At this time, when the people of Ukraine are experiencing their darkest hours, we want to ask you to use music to bind us together in solidarity and compassion and share Maxim’s new string quartet live and online. By doing so you express your support and solidarity with your Ukrainian colleagues, artists, and all those who are suffering in this senseless war.