Razom is very proud to have co-presented the Notes From Ukraine concert at Carnegie Hall that took place on December 4th, 2022. No less than the Concert of the century! The concert that celebrated a 100 years of Shchedryk being presented to the same historic location of New York City.

“‘Carol of the Bells’, a Christmas Staple From Ukraine, a Century Later” – read the title of The New York Times article. And continues stating: “It started as “Shchedryk”, a song about a little bird that was first performed in the United States in 1922. Its enchanting melody has since been sung by Beyoncé and Barenaked Ladies”.

And for us, Notes from Ukraine was a holiday miracle three years in the making, and we are so grateful to everyone who took part in making this incredible experience happen. From bringing the children’s choir, Shchedryk, to the US from Ukraine, to feeding the choir, to co-organizing the concert, finding transportation from rehearsal to rehearsal every day, and doing everything in our power to fill every seat at Carnegie (which was sold out!) – we did it, together, which is the true spirit of what it means to be Razom. As one example of such Razom spirit, we brought together recently displaced Ukrainians that we have been working with, led by volunteer Mariia Khorun under the Ukrainian Response Initiative, to take care of the children from Shchedryk and show them the magic of New York City during the holidays.

Have a look at the video that went viral on Instagram and has been featured in media all over the world – The ‘Shchedryk’ children’s choir from Kyiv, Ukraine performing the Carol of the Bells (Щедрик) at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The choir had just flown in from Poland the night before and immediately took Big Apple by storm!

We were beyond honored to have Vera Farmiga and Martin Scorsese* as our hosts and deeply appreciate their contribution to the promotion of Ukrainian culture in the world.

If you could not join us for Notes From Ukraine in person at Carnegie Hall, or if you would like to recollect those special moments and notes, watch the recording of the concert and experience the magic from the comfort of your home. 

We are thankful to our generous partner Vimeo that we are able to share Ukrainian heritage through the power of music with you and the rest of the world.

But the project isn’t over yet! When the curtain drops, the real work begins. Razom took on the financial burden of putting on this great concert and we need your help in making sure we can tie up all the loose ends. We incurred many unexpected expenses and tried to spend money wisely by relying on our volunteers to lend a helping hand each step of the way (thank you x 1,000).

Please head to NotesFromUkraine.org to find ways to donate to support Notes From Ukraine and get the very last tickets to this once-in-century concert. You can also support the children’s choir and their travels to the US to perform at Carnegie Hall directly here: https://htru.io/SzJP

Learn more about other Razom efforts on the cultural diplomacy front within our Razom Culture project.

*The hosts of the Notes From Ukraine concert were an American actress of Ukrainian heritage, Vera Farmiga, and movie director and legend of New York, Martin Scorsese.

Vera Farmiga was born in Clifton, New Jersey to Ukrainian parents. She did not speak English until the age of six and was raised in a Ukrainian Catholic home. She is best known for her roles in movies like Return to Paradise, Autumn in New York, The Departed, The Manchurian Candidate, Up in the Air and Bates Motel for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Vera has been a keen supporter of Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion.

Martin Scorsese is a native New Yorker from Queens with roots in Palermo, Sicily. He was raised in the neighborhood of Little Italy, which later provided inspiration for several of his films. It is hard to encompass the full artistic heritage of Scorsese, but his most famous directing works include Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Shutter Island, Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Irishman. Five of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”