A new chapter in Ukrainian musical life begins in Warsaw this August, as the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra opens its latest international tour.
Some orchestras are defined by the traditions they inherit. Others become distinctive because of the moment in which they are created. The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra belongs to the latter category, but its story is increasingly one of artistic continuity, international collaboration and a repertoire looking firmly towards the future.
On 16 August 2026, the orchestra returns to Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in Warsaw to open its latest international tour. Under the direction of its founder and music director, Ukrainian-Canadian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, the ensemble will perform the world premiere of Gloria, a new work by Ukrainian composer Bohdana Frolyak, alongside Mahler's Rückert-Lieder and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.
The Warsaw concert is the beginning of a journey that will take the orchestra to some of Europe's most celebrated concert halls before continuing to New York. It is also a return to a city that has played an important role in the orchestra's development.
An orchestra created across borders
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra was established in 2022, bringing together leading Ukrainian musicians from orchestras and musical institutions around the world. The initiative was developed with the Metropolitan Opera, Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera and Ukraine's Ministry of Culture, creating an ensemble whose very structure reflects the international nature of contemporary Ukrainian musical life.
Since its formation, the orchestra has developed an international presence through successive summer tours, appearing at major venues and festivals. Its 2026 programme continues that trajectory, with performances scheduled in Warsaw, London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Dublin and New York. The tour is co-produced by the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
For Warsaw, there is a particular sense of continuity. The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra has returned to Teatr Wielki several times, and the Polish National Opera describes the 2026 performance as the orchestra's fifth appearance there since its formation.
That connection gives the opening concert a significance beyond its place on the tour calendar. Warsaw once again becomes the point from which the orchestra's music travels outwards, linking Polish audiences with major cultural institutions across Europe and the United States.
A new Ukrainian work meets the classical canon
At the heart of this year's programme is the world premiere of Gloria by Bohdana Frolyak.
Frolyak is one of Ukraine's prominent contemporary composers and is already known to Polish audiences. Her connection with Poland also extends into literature: she is an admirer of the poetry of Adam Zagajewski, creating an additional cultural thread between Ukrainian and Polish artistic traditions.
Placing Gloria alongside Mahler and Beethoven creates an interesting conversation across generations. The new commission will be followed in Warsaw by Mahler's Rückert-Lieder, performed by German soprano Julia Kleiter, before Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 brings the concert to its conclusion.
The programme therefore moves between contemporary Ukrainian composition and two established pillars of the European orchestral repertoire. Rather than separating new music from tradition, the concert places them alongside one another.
That approach reflects something important about the orchestra itself. Its identity is rooted in Ukrainian musicianship, but its artistic life is international. The musicians come together from different places and professional backgrounds, then take Ukrainian musical culture into some of the world's most significant concert venues.
After Warsaw, the tour continues to St Paul's Cathedral in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie and the National Concert Hall in Dublin. It then concludes with performances at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York.
For Warsaw audiences, however, the first evening remains the most immediate part of the story. The city will hear a new Ukrainian work for the first time, alongside music that has shaped the European orchestral tradition for generations.
That combination gives the opening concert its particular character. It is a meeting of established repertoire and new creation, of Ukrainian musicians and international stages, and of a Warsaw audience with an orchestra whose story continues to develop from one concert to the next.
In that sense, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra's return is not simply about looking back at why the ensemble was created. It is about what Ukrainian artists are creating now, and how that music can travel far beyond the place where the orchestra's journey began.
Visitor Information
Event: Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra: 2026 Invincible Tour, Opening Concert
Date: Sunday, 16 August 2026
Time: 18:00
Venue: Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera, Warsaw
Programme:
Bohdana Frolyak, Gloria, world premiere
Gustav Mahler, Rückert-Lieder, Julia Kleiter, soprano
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
Orchestra: Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra
Conductor: Keri-Lynn Wilson
Tour: Warsaw, London, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Dublin and New York
