Every day, the media flood us with shocking images of the impact of the war in Ukraine. ‘I feel despondent when I see the images; weeping children, houses shot to rubble, desperate parents. I can not watch without tears’, musician and artist Robbert Kamphuis says. ‘And, what can we do?’
‘Not all that much’, he answers his own question. ‘But what if I could show that Russians and Ukrainians can create something together?’ Kamphuis is the man behind the jazz concerts in Wageningen, in Impulse and on the campus, among others. ‘I started to ask around to find musicians willing to contribute.’
I want to show that Russians and Ukrainians can create something together
Robbert Kamphuis, organiser Jazz in Wageningen
That turned out not to be easy. But, through a German jazz photographer, he succeeded: on Wednesday, the Russian cellist Maya Fridman and Ukrainian pianist Vadim Neselovskyi will hold a fundraising concert in Impulse. And these are not just random musicians; they have a track record.
Maya Fridman was born in Moscow in 1989 in Moskou and currently lives in the Netherlands. She was seen as a musical prodigy at an early age. She studied at the Moscow State College of Music and moved to the Netherlands in 2010 to enrol at the Amsterdam Conservatory. There, she graduated with honours in 2016. She has produced several CDs.
Odesa
Vadim Neselovskyi is a Ukrainian pianist born in Odesa in 1977. His (Jewish) parents fled to Germany (Dortmund) when he was 17. Neselovskyi moved to the United States a few years later, where he studied at the Berkeley College of Music in Boston. There, he holds the position of associate professor of Jazz Piano.
Neselovskyi is currently touring Germany for a series of fundraising concerts for Ukraine. Fridman also has previous fundraising experience. This is the first time they will perform together, as far as is known. ‘I don’t yet know what they will play’, says Kamphuis. ‘However, with jazz musicians, you never know. I don’t even know for sure that it will be jazz.’
Tickets
Tickets for the performance cost 25 euros. ‘Or as much as you would like to give’, says Kamphuis, inviting extra donations. ‘But, you are also free to donate per bank.’ The tickets are available on www.jazzinwageningen.nl. Impulse has room for 150 guests. So far, 50 tickets have been sold.
When: 23 March
Time: 20.30 hr
Where: Impulse
