A soloist on stage in a duet with an invisible counterpart. The musicians are separated by place, time, and war. One plays live in New York, the other appears via a recording made earlier in Kyiv. This format was first realized in November 2024 as a “signal” from wartime Kyiv to peaceful Berlin. In its current edition, that same signal now travels across the ocean to New York. The Ukrainian musician does not know whether the dialogue with his counterpart will succeed. In New York, it unfolds as a conversation the other side cannot hear.
The musical experience of the evening will suggest a complex entanglement of pieces from composers Anna Arkushyna, Ihor Zavhorodnii, and Albert Saprykin in their attempt at personal and collective research on the topic of fragile connections and uncertainty in dialogue during the war and beyond.
Presented by Leah Batstone and the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival in collaboration with Kyiv Contemporary Music Days, in partnership with The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center.
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About the Artists:
Kyiv Contemporary Music Days (KCMD) produces festivals, concerts of chamber, orchestra, and electroacoustic music, live streams, masterclasses for composers and performers, and lectures for professional musicians and a wider audience. Since February 24, 2022, we also try to preserve the Ukrainian music community and make sure Ukrainian voices are heard internationally.
Founded in 2020, the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival (UCMF) is dedicated to showcasing Ukraine’s complex and diverse contributions to contemporary music through performances, educational opportunities, and community engagement with composers, scholars, and performers. The Festival is one of its kind in North America, actively engaging the intersection of new music, current events, and Ukrainian culture.
Nazarii Stets is a Ukrainian double bass player focused on contemporary music and the promotion of modern Ukrainian repertoire. Born in 1991 in Kopychyntsi, Ukraine, into a musical family, he began his musical journey on the violin before switching to double bass after seven years. He studied double bass at the Ternopil Music College under Vasyl Felenchak and then earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees at the National Music Academy of Ukraine named after P. Tchaikovsky, studying with Oleksandr Melnyk from the National Opera of Ukraine.
Gleb Kanasevich is a clarinetist and composer based between Detroit and the East Coast. As of July, 2022, he is a permanent member of Detroit-based Hub New Music, with whom he tours regularly and performed at many of the country’s most renowned concert series, venues and festivals. He is an active soloist and session musician, having recently worked with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, Cleveland-based death metal band Noxis, and on soundtracks for Netflix and A24 films. He has been closely working with the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival in New York City since 2021, frequently covering the festival’s electronic and live sound needs, concert production, and clarinet duties.