Concert

Last week Bogdan played in his first concert since... 2019? For our older kids music school concerts were a constant part of life. They probably could have taken part in them in their sleep. Bogdan hasn't had that experience much at all. His music school career was just starting when covid hit, then war. He has kept up with individual lessons, of course, and our Kherson music school does video concerts and contests, but that's a very different experience.

When we first arrived here in Ivano-Frankivsk, the music school that was across the road from our apartment loaned us an old bandura for him. It was all unofficial, and they were so kind to us. This year they have traded out with him to let him use a nicer instrument, and they have also taken him into an ensemble group. He's still officially at Kherson Music School #4, and his regular lessons and theory classes come from there, but he gets to play live every week with a group here now, too. Last week they performed in their first concert as a group.

They played third, about nine minutes into this:

It was very wonderful to be at a concert again, not just because of all the cute little kids and beautiful music, but because it almost feels like normal life. The concert was in honor of the Day of Dignity and Freedom.

I'm editing to add quotes and link here:

Lately, I’ve seen more comments on social media from foreigners doubting the horrors of Russia’s war against Ukraine, looking at photos and videos from Kyiv, Lviv, or Odesa, where dressed-up crowds attend concerts or sit at cafe terraces, appearing so normal.

Sleep or no sleep, makeup or blood and bruises, our reality is never normal. Not in the last 1,000 days. The truth is, the only way for the world to preserve its normalcy is to help us recover ours.

and

The only thing I can count on is how I will try to bring kindness and goodness into the world.

--1,000 days of full-scale war: Reflections from the Kyiv Independent team

 

And for anyone who didn’t recognise Bogdan, this proud mother will help:

11.11

Here we are at the second anniversary of the happiest day I've ever experienced. Remembering that day still brings me great joy. We've turned it into a holiday for our family, and we're remembering with everyone from Kherson.

There is a lot more pain mixed in, as time goes on, though. Kherson is still being terribly bombed. In fact, that just gets worse and worse with more and more weapons added to the mix. And the left bank of the Kherson region is still occupied and suffering greatly. Also, at first I might not have thought as much about the sacrifices made to get the city back, but now we remember the heroes who died, too.

I've been reading Testament of Youth for AmblesideOnline's Year 11, too, and I just actually realized that November 11 is also Armistice Day. Maybe I knew that before? The complicated mix of feelings is that book and at that time is very similar to what we feel here and now, I think: joy, pain, grief, hope.

Today I noticed this sign on the closest store and wrote in our family group, asking if they thought the store was also remembering the occupation of Kherson:

"No eggs"

Anyway, we're celebrating here with good foods we associate with Kherson and our experience of occupation, and with gifts of books to remember how much we read in November 2022 when there was no electricity and (almost) no connection with the outside world. 

 Happy Liberation of Kherson Day! And may all of Ukraine be free very soon!