Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine performed at Clemson’s Brooks Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 7:30 p.m., followed by a reception in the Watt Family Innovation Center hosted in collaboration with the Department of languages, Watt Center and Lutheran Family Services.

The orchestra is the most recent installment in the Brooks Center’s Boni Belle Brooks Series, the signature season line-up named after the daughter of benefactor Robert H. Brooks. When organizing their programming each season, Janice Crews, the executive director of the Brooks Center and applied lecturer of the oboe, uses a network of agencies to formulate a line-up based on the interest of the Brooks Center and the availability of each artist.

When planning for the 2022-23 season, Ashley Cooper, Brooks Center operations coordinator, said, “we had actually already booked them (Lviv) when the conflict in Ukraine escalated in early 2022. There was some uncertainty at that time if they would be able to join us, so we are thrilled to host them.”

Cooper also explained that the event and subsequent reception was “in an effort to welcome displaced Ukrainian families to the upstate.” 

Along with the Ukrainian Film Series sponsored by various departments across the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities in the 2022 spring semester, this performance continues Clemson’s efforts to show their support of Ukraine and bring the conversation onto campus.

Lviv’s conductor, Theodore Kuchar, is Ukrainian American. He spoke with Brooks Center staff in a press release to comment on the difficulty many members of the orchestra and Ukraine, as a nation, experience traveling in and out of the country. With that knowledge in mind, Lviv’s presence on Clemson’s campus becomes all the more special.