Raffaele Livia Ponti conducted the Lviv National Philharmonic of Ukraine after the start of the war against Russia, he described the experience as life changing.
The trip was long and hard. Ponti says he had to first fly into Poland since Ukraine is a no-fly-zone and then take a bus to Ukraine's city center. What was supposed to be a 5-hour bus ride turned into a 17-hour ride.
When arriving in the city he was met with nothing but open arms from the musicians he was going to be working with. They may not have spoken the same language but they didn't need that, they had music.
The Philharmonic took musicians from all over Ukraine and gave them a chance. Ponti says they were paid so they could continue to make music during this time.
"This was like a healing thing for them as musicians. They wanted to play and I have to tell you, the passion and the heart they played with was extraordinary." Says Ponti, "There was something magical happening. They were playing as if it were life and death."
Ponti hopes he can change the lives of his audience even if its just for a brief moment. To him, art is an escape from the current moment and that's something he hope to give each member of his audience.
"What I do is not just notes and rhythms. It's about creating experiences and hopefully life changing experiences for the better. So that peoples lives can be enhanced and enriched, and enjoy, and happiness, and love because man do we need it."
