The Reno Philharmonic received a standing ovation Saturday night in the middle of the show. It followed a beautiful song — and more importantly, a beautiful act of solidarity.
The Reno Phil performed the Ukrainian national anthem to honor the Eastern European country, which is fighting to preserve its democracy and independence from Russia.
“We are going to depart from the printed program for just a few minutes,” conductor and music director Laura Jackson told the audience in attendance for the Reno Phil’s Young Virtuoso concert. “When we get together it’s all about community and beauty and joy, but we are all distressed and saddened by the events over the past 11 days in Ukraine.”
Hundreds of civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began last month, with peace talks thus far not seeing any significant breakthroughs.
“The Ukrainians are fighting so bravely for their independence and freedom. Tonight the musicians and I would like to honor them,” Jackson told the audience Saturday night at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Reno.
The audience responded with resounding applause and cheers. Then, they all stood for the anthem. Behind the Reno Phil, blue and yellow lights lit the backstage as a nod to the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
“Many held hands, many openly wept. It was a very emotional moment and a reminder of the power music has to connect us all,” Evelyn Klatt, a spokeswoman for the Reno Phil, told the RGJ Monday.
The Reno Philharmonic is one of several organizations around the world in the past few days to play the anthem, which is called “Shche ne vmerla Ukrainy i slava, i volia.”
The poet Pavlo Chubynsky, of Kyiv, wrote the lyrics in 1862. The score was composed by western Ukrainian composer and Greek-Catholic priest Mykhailo Verbytsky in 1863. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1992.
“When you do something like that, you never know how it’s going to be received especially because some people attend to escape what’s going on in the world,” Jackson told the RGJ Monday. “We just couldn’t ignore the atrocities. So many of us feel utterly helpless — it was something we could do, and send goodwill.”
At the end of Saturday’s performance, Jackson turned around to the crowd and held up the score of the anthem, directing applause to the people of Ukraine.
Jenny Kane covers arts and culture in Northern Nevada, as well as the dynamic relationship between the state and the growing Burning Man community. She also covers the state’s burgeoning cannabis industry (Check out her podcast, the Potcast, on iTunes.) Support her work in Reno by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.