Keri-Lynn Wilson, founder and music director of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, has been appointed the principal conductor of Ukraine’s leading chamber orchestra, the National Ensemble of Soloists Kyiv Camerata. She is the second principal conductor in the nearly fifty-year history of Kyiv Camerata.
The 57-year-old Keri-Lynn Wilson’s international conducting career spans leading opera houses and concert halls around the world. In response to Russia’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine in 2022, she founded the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra with the support of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Polish National Opera, and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine (MKIP). Under the patronage of Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, Keri-Lynn Wilson led the orchestra on three international tours and released a recording of a unique Ukrainian version of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on the Deutsche Grammophon label. On Ukraine’s Independence Day, President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Ms. Wilson the Order of Princess Olga for her contribution to the development of Ukrainian culture.
“We chose Keri-Lynn as the principal conductor of our ensemble due to her musical excellence and commitment to contemporary Ukrainian music,” emphasized the orchestra’s General and Artistic Director, Bohdana Pivnenko. “In Ukraine, she is now considered one of our cultural heroines.”
“Ukrainian musicians are the artistic soul of this brave country fighting for its future. My duty is to do everything possible to help protect them in their fight for freedom,” said Keri-Lynn Wilson.
In her new role with Kyiv Camerata, Ms. Wilson will work closely with the chamber orchestra both in Ukraine and abroad.
The Kyiv Camerata was founded in 1977 by Valerii Matiukhin, its sole previous conductor who passed away in 2023. The orchestra was established with the support of the Union of Composers of Ukraine to promote and commission works from leading contemporary Ukrainian composers, including Valentyn Sylvestrov, Yevhen Stankovych, and Myroslav Skoryk.
On April 28, 2024, Kyiv Camerata, with Keri-Lynn Wilson, made its debut at Carnegie Hall, performing exclusively works by Ukrainian composers.
