When Alina Herasymenko fled from her home in Ukraine last year with only her cello, her computer and a small amount of food, little did she know that she’d soon be playing in an orchestra in Vancouver.
Herasymenko was born in the Donetsk region where she experienced first-hand the savagery of open conflict and its impacts. She said in 2014, shells rained down on her community for weeks, prompting a move to Western Ukraine with her family. They lived there for nine years.
Fast forward to 2022: Herasymenko was living near the Ivano-Frankivsk airport when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Bombs were dropped right outside of her apartment, which led to her fleeing the country.
She then arrived alone in Canada as a refugee. She was welcomed with open arms by a host family, who introduced her to Suzanne de Montigny’s composition, Volodymyr’s Plea, a piece of music dedicated to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A few short months later, the gifted cellist was invited to perform the cello for this specific composition with the Ukrainian Folk Orchestra in Vancouver.
“Performing this piece feels like destiny,” she said.
“From the moment heard it, I felt a deep connection. It was as if the music had been waiting for me. I knew it was meant to be.”
Herasymenko said she continues to play the piece to remind both Canadians and Ukrainians of the raging war in her home country.
The composer, B.C. woman Suzanne de Montigny, was inspired by Zelenskyy’s pleas to Canada’s parliament after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I was impressed by Volodymyr’s passionate plea and by his resilience, and my greatest wish is that the piece reaches President Zelenskyy himself so he knows we support him,” Montigny said.
Volodymyr’s Plea was performed on Saturday at The Orpheum as part of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Day of Music with guest violinist, Kai Chow.
Herasymenko said some of her family remains in Western Ukraine and some are still in the Donetsk region.
She used to be a web designer, IT manager and cultural manager in Ukraine. She said she is hopeful to find similar work in Vancouver as she rebuilds her life.