‘The voice of a generation’ - Young Ukrainian musicians: Fighting for the future

Ten days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, on the evening of 6 March 2022, a large group of musicians, some as young as five, and their family members boarded buses headed for the Hungarian town of Záhony at the border with Ukraine. Many had already travelled for days from their homes, where they had left most of their belongings and, in some cases, their instruments. At 3am, when they finally arrived, they were greeted by Živa Ploj Peršuh and her colleagues from the Slovenian Youth Orchestra (SMO) and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (YsOU). Although the young musicians were tired and traumatised, the first words of many were something to this effect: ‘Where can I find a place to practise my instrument?’…