Ukrainian musicians turned active-duty soldiers will play two concerts in Shreveport this weekend as part of the Cultural Forces’ Second Music Tour of Gratitude to America.
The tour, which stops at LSUS’s Theatre on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. concert, is titled “From the Ukrainian Front with Thanks.”
The Ukrainian musicians will also play Sunday at Caddo Common Park in downtown Shreveport at 3 p.m. followed by the Shreveport Symphony at 4 p.m.
Both concerts are free and open to everyone.
The concert features classical music and popular hits as well as Ukrainian folk music with the idea of promoting Ukrainian culture and ideals to Americans.
America, along with other Western countries, has supplied Ukraine with arms and other military equipment since Russia’s invasion in early 2022.
The group Cultural Forces of Ukraine consists of seven musicians and three staffers who all are active-duty soldiers in Ukraine’s defense.
“These are trained musicians, male and female, who volunteered to fight,” said Oksana Baiul, a Shreveport resident and Ukrainian gold medal figure skater from the 1994 Winter Olympics, the country’s first gold medal since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. “This group is doing a Thank You Tour that stretches from Washington D.C. across the South and West to Los Angeles.
“For my friends back home in Ukraine, I want them to know that America is here for them. For us as Ukrainians, we want to show how thankful we are.”
Mykolai Sierga, a Ukrainian who was a popular television personality and singer in Russia, formed the group Cultural Forces while serving in a Ukrainian infantry brigade since the onset of the invasion.
Cultural Forces has numerous groups that perform on the Ukrainian frontlines, in Ukrainian hospitals and now internationally to lift spirits and present Ukrainian values and ideals.
Some of the group’s members have been wounded in combat, like opera soloist Yurii Ivaskevych, who lost part of his leg while serving in the Territorial Defense Forces.
Violinist Olha Rukavishnikova started performing nationally at the age of 5. The internationally acclaimed violinist lost an eye while serving with the Armed Forces.
Both Ivaskevych and Rukavishnikova returned service once recovered.
The group features two bandura players, an opera singer, a violinist, a pianist, a country singer, and a poet. The bandura is a traditional 64-string Ukrainian folk instrument.
The organization Razom for Ukraine, a U.S. non-profit providing medical and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and a top advocate for the bilateral U.S.-Ukraine relationship, helped make the American tour possible.
