Music and poetry unite at 'Inventions of Hope' fundraiser for Ukraine

More than two-and-a-half years have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, igniting a war over territorial disputes. 

Thousands have since died or faced injuries, while many have fled with their families to survive. 

Anna Pidgorna, a Ukrainian Canadian composer, vocalist, and multimedia artist, seeks to help her country from afar through her non-profit organization, Pickle Underground, which is dedicated to the promotion and development of Ukrainian contemporary art and artists working in Canada.

On Nov. 9 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, the organization will host “Inventions of Hope,” a fundraiser featuring music and Ukrainian poetry, along with a glass of wine to accompany the evening at the Murray Adaskin Salon at the Canadian Music Centre BC.

The event will showcase Ukrainian pianist Anna Sagalova and Ukrainian Canadian writer Maria Reva, who has been sanctioned by Russia. 

“It will be a really intimate setting,” Pidgorna says. “It’s a very small venue that only seats about 40 people.”

Pidgorna will invite attendees into her creative process, as well as Reva’s, who is her sister. Reva will read from her first book, Good Citizens Need Not Fear, which explores themes such as the concept of “bone music” — something people in the Soviet Union did to pirate vinyl records. 

“They would copy them onto cutouts of X-ray scans because they were plastic that you could find cheaply,” Pidgorna says. “So just imagine if you pirated an AC/DC [album] on someone’s skeleton.”

Sagalova will perform musical inventions, which are short pieces featuring two melodic lines that work in counterpoint. 

“Sagalova has decided to pair Bach inventions with … those of David Jaeger … all drawing on folk music from various regions of Ukraine,” Pidgorna says. 

The program will also include works by Volodymyr Petushkin, a Ukrainian composer who died at the beginning of the invasion due to a lack of medical care for his heart condition.

Donations from the event will go to the Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral to support its work in purchasing emergency medical kits essential for Ukraine.

“It was really important for me to create something that the Ukrainian community can connect to and feel a part of this process because it has been a really hard two-and-a-half years for all of us,” Pidgorna says. “I wanted to make something beautiful to inspire hope.”

She also says the event is an opportunity for Canadians to get involved and spread awareness from the other side of the world. 

“My hope is that the war will end sooner rather than later, all the cities that are being destroyed can be rebuilt, and that people can go home,” Pidgorna says.  

To learn more about “Inventions of Hope” and to purchase tickets, visit bit.ly/3UBgII2.