Roma Mykhailevych, Contributing Photographer

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra organized a candlelight concert on the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to support Ukrainian doctors.

On Saturday, NHSO performed seven pieces in front of the filled St. Mary’s Church, lit with candles. The concert tickets were sold out, and part of the proceeds will go toward the Yale-based organization Doctors United for Ukraine, or DU4U. 

“It was really not so much a fundraising activity but an activity to bring to the forefront what is happening in Ukraine: who is getting hurt, how they are being treated, and what people in the community here can do,” Andrey Zinchuk, professor of medicine at the University and vice-president of DU4U, told the News.

In 2022, DU4U already partnered with NHSO to raise money for medical supplies and training in Ukraine.

This year, NHSO originally planned to host just one candlelight concert on Friday, Feb. 23. When DU4U reached out and asked for help again, the tickets for that first show were almost sold out.

Elaine Carroll, chief executive officer of NHSO, told the News that she was worried there would not be enough seats for all those who wanted to come to support DU4U, and the Orchestra decided to give another concert, which was sold out as well. 

“[DU4U] told us about the work that they were undertaking to bring support to … victims of the war in Ukraine, and that inspired us,” Carroll said, recalling the initial partnership between NHSO and Du4U in 2022. “When they approached us about wanting to do a second event, we were very happy to accommodate them.”

All people who attended the concert on Saturday had the option to donate proceeds from their tickets to DU4U. Concertgoers were also encouraged to make an additional donation to an organization. As of Sunday, Zinchuk does not yet know how much the organization was able to raise that night. 

According to Zinchuk, DU4U will use the raised money to support its efforts in Ukraine, which include delivering the needed medical equipment, providing mental health support for war-affected civilians and training doctors in Ukraine. The organization also previously brought six doctors to study at Yale and hopes to expand this program in the future. After the concert, the organization awarded Yale professor Ilan Harpaz-Rotem for his work teaching mental health providers during his trips to Lviv, Ukraine.

“So much of the success [of the concert] is because of the real passion that the doctors have for what they’re doing,” Carroll said. “They were so generous with their time in promoting the event. They had wonderful suggestions.”

One of the DU4U’s suggestions was to start the concert with the “Melodia” by Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk. After this piece, NHSO, headed by violinist and concertmaster David Southorn, also performed compositions by Felix Mendelssohn, J.S. Bach and “Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi. 

Marc Anthony Massaro told the News he attended the concert because of the “level of musicianship” of NHSO and the professionalism of its performers. 

“Something I was unaware of was how exceptional the acoustics are in St. Mary’s Church. I had no idea it would sound this good,” Massaro said.

Tim Taylor said he was impressed with NHSO’s command of Vivaldi and called the performance “phenomenal.” Similarly, Allen Gibbens came to the event to listen to NHSO performing “Four Seasons.”

Michael Schaffer told the News that he found the piece by a Ukrainian composer to be “fabulous” and said it spoke to the ability of people to be resilient and optimistic no matter what the circumstances are.

St. Mary’s Church is located at 5 Hillhouse Ave.