The orchestra’s founder, Keri-Lynn Wilson, a Canadian conductor of Ukrainian descent, has had a career spanning over two decades. During her studies, she served as an assistant to the legendary conductor Claudio Abbado and has since conducted performances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Paris Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, and worked with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and many others.

Over the past three summers, under Wilson’s direction, the orchestra has toured some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world – including the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Barbican Hall in London, and the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, as well as numerous other venues across Europe and the United States.

A significant milestone for the orchestra was its collaboration with the prestigious record label Deutsche Grammophon, which in 2024 released the orchestra’s recording of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Ukrainian. This version, which replaces the original “Freude” (“Joy”) with the adapted word “Slava” (“Glory”), has become a powerful musical symbol of Ukraine’s struggle for freedom. During the 2025 tour, the orchestra will record Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, which will also be released under Deutsche Grammophon.

At the concert in Jūrmala, audiences will hear a suite by Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomiiets from the opera “The Mothers of Kherson” – a historic work receiving its Latvian premiere. The opera, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera, is based on true events: Ukrainian mothers who traveled over 3,000 miles across borders to rescue their deported children. This music reflects not only the fearlessness and love of a mother but also the profound strength of the human spirit. Kolomiiets, being an oboist and a master of orchestral color, creates striking and unexpected soundscapes, blending the brightest traditions of European classical music with Ukrainian folklore and contemporary aesthetics.

The program will also include Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, which historically symbolizes the fight against oppression and the triumph over darkness. As conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson has remarked: “This symphony, whose opening notes became a symbol of resistance during World War II, once again reminds us of the power of a people fighting for freedom and truth.”

The concert will also feature Richard Wagner’s Prelude and “Liebestod” from the opera Tristan und Isolde, performed by Rachel Willis-Sørensen. As the newspaper Le Monde has written: “The American soprano is undoubtedly one of the most impressive voices in the world of opera today.” She is a regular guest at leading opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, and Bavarian State Opera, and has worked with renowned conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Claudio Abbado, and Antonio Pappano, as well as with leading ensembles including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is considered one of the pinnacles of his musical genius and a crowning work of the entire Romantic repertoire. In composing this opera, Wagner envisioned a love so powerful that it transforms existence itself – including death – resulting in a vocal-symphonic drama that stands as a monument to unconditional love.