Solidarity Rather Than Pity
One of the challenges of fundraising for Ukrainian musicians internationally is conveying the experiences of actual people going through the war while refraining from “war porn.” Wrecked tanks and dead bodies scattered around the once peaceful city streets; entire apartment blocks torn down by Russian missiles; women, men, and children, shell-shocked and with blood and soot on their faces, trying to escape this hell—these graphic images certainly travel fast and get instantly carved in memory. This is what Ukraine has come to be associated with over the past year. All these images show the reality of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, but they don’t give you the full picture. Hundreds of thousands died, millions lost their homes and had to flee; but there are as many—in fact, even more—people [...]
What Is the Role of the Musician in the Face of Systemic Injustice? – by Paul Katz
I am writing to you from Boston, one of the U.S. hotspots for the coronavirus, and yet another city where large, peaceful protests are rightfully calling for justice following the killing of George Floyd and countless other innocent black people. Music is a calling that absorbs us, floods our hearts and minds and can remove us from the everyday world and its suffering. But as I look today at a world in chaos, I ask myself, what is the relevance of music, the cello, of culture and the arts in general? What is the role of CelloBello at a time such as this? What can/should we be doing as musicians? While I have been blessed by a long career, I have been continually questioning, as a classical musician, how to [...]