Two Ukrainian brothers who were recently reunited in Winnipeg are sharing their love for music through the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
Dmytro and Mark Kreshchenskyi are beginning a new life in Canada after fleeing St. Petersburg, Russia, for Estonia in late February.
The pair were playing in the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra together in the eight years leading up to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“Our life got changed dramatically by the terrible war in Ukraine,” Mark said.
“We had to cancel our contracts and leave the country as we are deeply concerned about the situation in our native country.”
The 31-year-old twins, who are almost always joined at the hip, arrived in Winnipeg just a few weeks apart in the last month, having accepted temporary positions with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) — Dmytro on viola and Mark playing the bassoon.
“Playing music is, was always the passion of our life,” Dmytro told Global News after rehearsal ahead of the WSO’s Raiskin Conducts Shostakovich concert Saturday night.
As the sons of a piano teacher, the Kreshchenskys passion for music runs in the family. However, their parents decided to stay in their hometown community of Ivano-Frankivsk in the western part of Ukraine.
“They don’t want to move away,” Mark said. “This is their land, their home, and they are going to stay there and fight for it.”
“They’re very happy that Canada supports us. I hope that one day they will visit us here.”
With the WSO, the twins play the instruments they brought from home.
“It’s my friend. My second part of me,” Dmytro said of his Ukrainian-made viola.
In Winnipeg, the pair were reunited with the familiar face of Taras Pivniak, a Ukrainian double bassist with whom they played in Kiev many years ago.
Pivniak arrived in Manitoba’s capital city with his wife and children in July, after having fled to Slovakia.
“(Leaving Ukraine was a) very important step in my life because I changed everything,” Pivniak said. “I lose my coffee shop and decided to quit my favourite orchestra in Ukraine.”
Through the universal language of music, the friends manage to escape their thoughts of the war.
Mark says they’re finding comfort in this year’s programming that’s filled with Ukrainian music.
“We can’t live without music here. Music is our life,” he said.
“Through our performances, through this music, we can tell the world that there is no place for war.”
Comments