Discussion and free concert dedicated to supporting Ukraine

On 5 March at 17:00, the Ukrainian and Estonian string virtuosos Yevgeniy Kostrytskyy and Johanna Vahermägi give a free concert in the university assembly hall. All interested are welcome.

24 February marked four years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In recognition of this, the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies hosts a debate titled “Fragmentation in international politics or a new world order – Ukraine, geopolitical turbulence and Estonia”. On the same evening, Johanna Vahermägi and Yevgeniy Kostrytskyy perform in the concert “Crossing Cultures Estonia–Ukraine. String Virtuosos”.

Ukrainian violinist Yevgeniy Kostrytskyy was born in 1980 in Kyiv. He began studying the violin at the age of eight and continued at a specialised music lyceum in Kyiv and the Ukrainian National Academy of Music under Professor Yaroslava Rivnyak. He currently works in the symphony orchestra of the Vanemuine Theatre.

Johanna Vahermägi is an Estonian violist who has worked at the Liceu Opera House in Barcelona and with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Vahermägi is currently an active freelance musician performing in Estonia and abroad, and a viola and chamber music lecturer at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. At the concert on 5 March, the duo will play works by Mozart, Sibelius, Sylvestrov and Halvorsen.

At the concert, attendees can contribute to the scholarship fund for Ukrainian students. The University of Tartu Foundation continues to collect donations to help students who have been forced to leave their country due to the war continue their studies at the University of Tartu.Over the past four years, the fund has already supported 270 Ukrainian students with more than 200,000 euros. Rather than just financial assistance, it gives students a chance to focus on their studies, find a sense of security and look to the future. Young, highly educated people with international experience will be the ones to rebuild and advance their country in the future. Donations to support Ukrainian students can be made on the University of Tartu Foundation’s webpage.

The concert follows the public debate “Fragmentation in international politics or a new world order – Ukraine, geopolitical turbulence and Estonia”, held at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies and organised by the University of Tartu Ukraine Centre and the Society of International Relations. For more information, see the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies webpage.

The concert is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the Embassy of Ukraine in Estonia, the Association of Ukrainian Organisations in Estonia, and the University of Tartu Ukraine Centre.