Unbreakable Spirit: Music of Resilience
Nadia Shpachenko, piano
Jonathan Russell, clarinet
Mondy Gottesman, cello
The Cal Poly Pomona Piano Ensemble
GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist and Longy School of Music alumna Nadia Shpachenko will perform new compositions by Ludmila Yurina and Ethan Gans-Morse about the war in Ukraine and Chopin-inspired compositions by Ukrainian composers. Composer, clarinetist, bass clarinetist, conductor, teacher, and writer Jonathan Russell will join Shpachenko in Russell’s Still Here for clarinet and piano, commissioned by a consortium of 52 clarinetists, inspired by the resilience of the Ukrainian people during the current Russian invasion. 1st prize winners of the International Ukrainian Music Competition Mondy Gottesman and the Cal Poly Pomona Piano Ensemble will perform music for piano, cello, and percussion by Ukrainian composers Zoltan Almashi, Catherine Likhuta, and Mykola Lysenko, as part of their 2025/2026 East Coast tour that also includes performances at Carnegie Hall and the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York.
Back Stage Series
Step inside the creative process and see how a performance takes shape. You’ll watch as artists exchange ideas, experiment with interpretation, and make the choices that bring music to life. These intimate gatherings offer you a rare opportunity to connect with both the music and the musicians in a way that transforms how you experience a concert.
