The Kyiv Region Youth Orchestra is composing a symphonic poem recreating the sounds of war nights in Ukraine.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Russian drone strikes have changed the way Ukraine sounds. As NPR correspondent Joanna Kakissis reports, a youth orchestra near Kyiv listened.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Almost every night, 14-year-old Rostislav Musienko (ph) hears something like a buzzing sound above his house.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRONE KITE)
KAKISSIS: An Iranian-developed drone called the Shahed – it looks like a small plane and often carries a warhead.
ROSTYSLAV MUSIENKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: Rostoslav says: “When he picks up speed, I hide because I’m afraid.” He knows that sound so well. He plays it on the trombone at an orchestra rehearsal…
(SOUNDBITE OF HARMONIA ORCHESTRA'S “SHAHED OVERTURE”)
KAKISSIS: …I join the rest of the musicians. Most of them are middle school students from the city of Kivshovat near Kyiv.
(SOUNDBITE OF HARMONIA ORCHESTRA'S “SHAHED OVERTURE”)
KAKISSIS: They play a composition about the nights of the war in Ukraine. It's called Shahed Overture. Young musicians write it together with local guitar teacher Dmitry Kornienko (tel.).
DMYTRO KORNIENKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: “We used to play jazz and funk songs,” says Kornienko. “This composition reflects the horror we live in now.”
SERGEY NEDUDZHY: (Voice).
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
KAKISSIS: The orchestra is called “Harmony”. They rehearse on a small, brightly lit stage. Conductor Sergei Neduzhiy (tel.) puts on a big drum…
ILLNESS: (Vocally).
KAKISSIS: …Then he hums a melody to the lead violinist, his 14-year-old daughter Anna Neduzhy (ph)…
ANNA NEDUDZHIY: (Playing the violin).
KAKISSIS: …Who begins the piece by reminding you of good night.
ANNA (playing the violin).
(Speaks Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: “It’s nice and peaceful,” says Anna. “An ordinary day in an ordinary city, until a terrible reality intrudes.”
(SOUNDBITE OF HARMONY ORCHESTRA'S “SHAHED OVERTURE”)
KAKISSIS: Her father, the conductor, continues.
ILLNESS: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: We hear air raid sirens, then the flight of the Shahed drone, then anti-aircraft guns.
(SOUNDBITE OF HARMONIA ORCHESTRA'S “SHAHED OVERTURE”)
KAKISSIS: The conductor hits the big drum, explosions. The drone was shot down. Its debris falls on the city.
ILLNESS: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: “Then,” he says, “you hear the sirens of the ambulance and firemen”…
(SOUNDBITE OF HARMONY ORCHESTRA'S “SHAHED OVERTURE”)
KAKISSIS: … “And the rescuers, digging through the rubble, hear a child crying.”
(SOUNDBITE OF HARMONY ORCHESTRA'S “SHAHED OVERTURE”)
ILLNESS: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: “The drumbeat,” he says, “is the heartbeat.”
(SOUNDBITE OF HARMONY ORCHESTRA'S “SHAHED OVERTURE”)
KAKISSIS: It starts out quiet at first, and then it gets stronger and stronger. The heart beats louder, a sign of life.
(SOUNDBITE OF HARMONY ORCHESTRA'S “SHAHED OVERTURE”)
KAKISSIS: The young Ukrainians in this orchestra survived. As a result of Russian strikes, windows in their houses are broken and they are driven into school bunkers. Almost every week they play at the funerals of local soldiers. Ruslana Galazyuk (ph), a 20-year-old drummer, finds it difficult to describe this experience.
RUSLANA GALAZYUK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: “You just stand there,” she says, “and you just can’t stop crying.”
(SOUNDBITE OF HARMONY ORCHESTRA'S “SHAHED OVERTURE”)
KAKISSIS: There is no end to this war and the “Shahed Overture” that the musicians are still writing. So today they are on an encouraging note.
(SOUNDBITE OF HARMONY ORCHESTRA'S “SHAHED OVERTURE”)
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