Solstice fundraiser for Ukraine school of music

The Solstice Arts Centre is launching a fundraiser in aid of the Vedel School of Contemporary Music in Lviv, Ukraine, to support musicians, producers and artists who currently remain in Lviv, fighting Russian invaders in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, those who have stayed to become volunteers and those who continue to work to provide for their families and support the war time economy.

Heinali is a Ukrainian composer and sound-artist. He is one of many that remain in Ukraine and has been part of various fundraiser series for the Ukrainian Army and Humanitarian Aid. He collaborated with his colleagues from the Vedel School to produce a series called ‘Live from Ukraine’, which consisted of live streamed concerts and featured internally displaced and Lviv based musicians who performed works by Ukrainian and international musicians.

Heinali and his colleagues worked tirelessly, for free, and used their own funds to set up the broadcast, and while there has been a tremendous effort made to help Ukrainian refugees - there is still little to no support for those who remain in Ukraine.

The ‘Live from Ukraine’ series was broadcast from the Vedel School and from the Ukrainian Opera House. Most recently however, because of the prevalence of air raid alarms, Heinali performed a 30-minute live concert from a bomb shelter, using a modular system that he saved from his home during an evacuation, amid the Russian invasion.

Over the past month, Solstice Director Belinda Quirke collaborated with Heinali and the Vedel School to set up this fundraiser, which will distribute the money raised to the musicians from the Vedel School and other participants from the ‘Live from Ukraine’ series.

Additionally, Heinali has been commissioned by Solstice to compose a new work, further details will be announced soon.

In a video message received from Heinali, he said: “I am very grateful for your support and I am sending you love from Ukraine.”