In de aanloop naar het jubileumconcert van het Van Wassenaer Orkest op 15 november stellen we verschillende orkestleden aan u voor. Wie zijn de mensen achter de instrumenten en wat betekent het orkest voor hen? Deze week: violist Kateryna.
I’m Kateryna from Ukraine. I’ve been playing the violin since I was 5 years old, and it has been my favourite hobby all my life. For me, the violin is almost like a second voice – it lets me express emotions and feelings that are sometimes difficult to put into words.
In Ukraine, I played in an amateur orchestra for many years, although I’m actually an engineer by profession.
That’s why playing in the Wassenaar orchestra means so much to me. It makes me feel at home again. Over the past almost 5 years, I’ve met so many wonderful people here who have given me so much support, warmth and inspiration.
Every rehearsal brings me a lot of joy. It also gives me a little escape from the reality of war in Ukraine, at least for a few hours.
I really love the repertoire of our orchestra. One of the pieces we played about a year ago was Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony No. 6. During one of our rehearsals, we watched the old Disney film Fantasia (1940), where this music is used to accompany the animation.
And what a masterpiece that film is! I honestly can’t think of a more brilliant way to introduce children to classical music and make them curious about it.
I’m so happy that I can still play, even though I’m far away from home. Music has given me not only a way to express myself, but also a little piece of home here in the Netherlands.
