The Municipal Chamber Choir “Legend” from Drohobych has created a music project – thanks to partner countries that are helping Ukraine in the war with Russia. Currently, this is the only creative project in the country of this format.
This is reported in the Regional Office “U-LEAD with Europe” in Lviv region.
The choristers have already recorded 6 videos thanking the peoples of Canada, the United States, Australia, Poland, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and the Ukrainian diaspora for their material assistance and sustained political support for Ukraine at a difficult time. Each video includes the anthem of the partner country and the spiritual anthem of Ukraine.
“The war started and other countries helped us. I thought how I could be grateful, because we also have many familiar choirs from around the world. At first I thought it was better to choose a popular song, but in the end I chose the anthem, because such support is about statehood. And since the anthems were filmed in churches, on the Ukrainian side we decided to sing no less symbolic spiritual anthem of Ukraine “, – says the creative director and author of the idea Natalia Samokishin.
Since the beginning of March, the Drohobych community has been actively working to strengthen existing foreign ties and establish new international contacts. In addition to aid collected abroad and delivered to the Drohobych community as part of the Humanitarian Coordination Center, the Drohobych City Institute, with the involvement of private partners in Przemyśl, has set up a humanitarian aid hub for Ukraine in Poland. Such a partnership makes it possible to collect large-scale humanitarian goods in one place, process and deliver them either to Drohobych or in transit, through Drohobych – to different parts of Ukraine. In this way, humanitarian aid is sent to soldiers, or to cities that need support because they are under enemy fire.
From its foreign partners, in particular from the Republic of Poland, the Drohobych community received more than a dozen cargoes of humanitarian aid, including clothing, food, medicine and equipment. The community continues to build new connections, helping these IDPs and the military. As a token of gratitude for their help, the Municipal Chamber Choir Legend regularly records the anthems of the countries that help them. The first anthem performed in the choir was the anthem of the Republic of Poland.
All videos are shot in the temples of Drohobych, which is a good advertisement for local shrines. The plot of each video is similar, first the anthem of the partner country is performed, and then the choir sings the famous “Prayer for Ukraine”. The videos mostly feature members of the choir singing the anthem against the iconostasis, as well as many scenes with icons and architecture of various temples.
The choir members regularly hold charity concerts, the proceeds of which are donated to the needs of servicemen. The Legend choir also often takes part in Divine Liturgies in churches, where small fundraising programs are also held.
The Legend Choir was founded in 1970. During its existence, the creative team has won many awards in Ukraine and abroad – in particular, in Poland, Hungary, Greece, Germany, Slovakia, France, Belgium, Austria and others.
Legends plans to record anthems of thanks to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in a new format.
Ukraine’s U-LEAD with Europe program for local empowerment, accountability and development is co-financed by the EU and its Member States Germany, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Slovenia to support Ukraine in its efforts to strengthen local municipality. U-LEAD promotes transparent, accountable and multilevel governance in Ukraine that meets the needs of citizens and empowers communities.