Montreal orchestra plays Ukrainian classics in 'solidarity' as Russian threat looms
Not only Canadian politicians are sending support to Ukraine and Ukrainians right now, as Russia threatens invasion.
In Montreal, musicians are also taking a stand, with members of the Orchestre Classique de Montreal dedicating a concert to the Ukrainian community.
"I think you can never underestimate solidarity, and that’s really the simple truth," said Taras Kulish, the orchestra's executive director.
He has family in Ukraine, he said.
"Having grown up with the Soviet system in place, we never thought Ukraine would be free, and it [was] with the fall of the Iron Curtain, and now we’re being threatened again."
Michael Shwec of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Quebec echoed the same feeling.
"It’s a little bit hard to believe, because the threat of large-scale invasion is still very real," he said.
But whatever their link with Ukraine, the musicians are hoping they'll make a musical connection with the country, and their audience.
"This variety of different music people are going to hear tonight, most particularly Ukrainian music, will strike a responsive cord," conductor Boris Brott said ahead of the performance.
It would, he hoped, "make them walk out of this thing [saying] ‘Well of course Ukraine should be separate,'" he said.
For the full report, watch the video above.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.