Ukrainian born pianist and music historian Dr. Taras Filenko will join with friends to present a concert benefiting Brother’s Brother Foundation, on Sunday, June 2, 2024 at 7:00 p.m., at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild.

A central theme of Dr. Filenko’s long musical career is playing and writing about Ukrainian composers. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, has brought this endeavor into sharper focus. Repression of Ukrainian culture by outside forces is not new, but once again Ukraine, both as a sovereign nation and as the wellspring of unique language and culture, is facing an existential threat. For Taras, music is his weapon. Since the invasion, Taras has volunteered his time and knowledge to organize and perform in numerous locations, sharing this Ukrainian cultural story. 

The concert will feature the compelling sounds of Ukrainian music, threaded together with commentary providing context and insight, and enhanced by projected slides of Ukrainian visual art and contemporary photography. The music will range from the baroque period to contemporary compositions, highlighting the extraordinary musical creativity of Ukraine’s composers and folk artists.

Taras will be joined on stage by musical friends, including member(s) of the Pittsburgh Symphony and other artists from the community. 

Net proceeds from the concert will benefit Brother’s Brother Foundation, which has provided critical support to Ukraine for medical services and humanitarian relief. 

Invitations for Taras’s performances have come from across the United States, as well as locations around the world. The sponsors for these events have been embassies (the Embassy of France in Washington, DC; the Embassies of Ukraine, the United States and France in New Delhi, India), universities and colleges (including the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State, UNC Chapel Hill, Duke University, Colby College and the Academy of Music, Kyiv), houses of worship (including Grace Korean Church in Fullerton, CA, Westchester Jewish Center in Mamaroneck, NY, and Trinity by the Cove Episcopal Church, Naples, FL), and cultural organizations (including Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY, City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, PA, and the Ukrainian Institute of America in NYC).

Many of these events are fund raisers, gathering hundreds of thousands of dollars from generous individuals for humanitarian relief. Every performance is also a “friend raiser,” bringing to a wider public a deeper understanding of Ukrainian cultural history and the current plight of Ukraine’s embattled people. The finale will bring to light the little known Ukrainian roots of a well known jazz standard in a unique interpretation by Filenko and friends.