The Campus Project 2022 invited musicians from Ukraine and Belarus. The documentary shows their exceptional political and musical bravery.
Watch the documentary in English here.
Music as an expression of resistance against war and oppression – that is the subject of the documentary »Classical Music Gets Political«. Author Gero Schliess filmed at the Campus Concert at Beethovenfest Bonn 2022 and during the preparation for it in Warsaw. He accompanies young musicians from Belarus and Ukraine at their work – a combination of musical and political commitment.
The Campus Project has been in existence since 2001. It is a platform that brings young musicians from all over the world together. The idea of the project, which was initiated by Beethovenfest Bonn and Deutsche Welle, is to unite young musicians across geographical, stylistic and cultural boundaries, to create connections by making music together. After meeting for rehearsals at various locations in the participating countries, the young musicians perform a highly acclaimed concert at Beethovenfest Bonn, the highlight of which is the world premiere of a composition commissioned by Deutsche Welle.
In 2022, the original plan for the Campus Project was to bring together Belarusian emigrant musicians and members of the German Youth Orchestra. Then, when the war in Ukraine began, Ukrainian musicians were also invited. Among them were:
- the Volny Choir (Free Choir) from Belarus, which is one of the driving forces behind the peaceful struggle for political renewal of the country;
- It’s head, Galina Kasimirovskaya, currently lives in exile in Poland,
- the Concordia Choir from Belarus, which is currently working in Warsaw, Poland,
- the Sophia Chamber Choir from Kyiv which, according to choir director Oleksiy Shamritsky, sees itself as an ambassador of Ukrainian culture,
- and the Gewandhaus Youth Choir from Leipzig.
Belarusian conductor Vitali Alekseenok conducted the four choirs and an instrumental ensemble composed of young musicians from the three countries. The work »The Sky of Mary« by Olga Podgaiskaya, which the Belarusian composer dedicated to her musician friend Maria Kolesnikova, will be premiered. Kolesnikova has been one of the most prominent leaders of the protest in Belarus since the suppressed uprising in 2020 and has been a political prisoner since September 2020. The music documentary spotlights all these musicians, their current predicaments and their declared fight against oppression – using the medium of music.