LYNN — A Ukrainian-American violist based in Lynn has started a relief fund for Ukrainian musicians affected by the war with Russia, which has helped dozens of displaced individuals and their families, and is looking to assist a few hundred more.
Alexander Vavilov, is an established viola player, teacher, and co-founder of Boston’s Sheffield Chamber Players. He was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he spent his childhood and teenage years and learned music.
Vavilov emigrated to the United States in 2001, while his parents, his brother and numerous friends stayed behind in Ukraine. When Russia attacked Ukraine on Feb. 24, Vavilov found himself calling and messaging on Facebook everybody he knew, re-establishing a lot of contacts.
His parents decided to stay in Kyiv despite the attack, after weighing the risks of traveling to safety and the challenges of starting a new life in a new location. With Russians bombarding and planning to capture Kyiv, Vavilov didn’t know if he would see his family again.
“Luckily, things panned out,” said Vavilov. “They were literally taking their chances. I was very nervous for them.”
Vavilov was frantically trying to figure out during those first days and weeks of the war how he could help people in Ukraine. He focused his attention on musicians.
Vavilov heard stories of Ukrainian musicians leaving their instruments behind when they fled hotspots and others who grabbed only their instruments. Some of them described how their kids had been injured in the shelling and needed medical attention.
Some of the musicians who were the last ones to escape from the encircled cities recounted how nerve-wracking it was to cross endless Russian checkpoints. Others escaped the immediate danger, but needed to move farther away from military operations; deeper in Ukrainian territory.
“Nobody knew what was going to happen,” said Vavilov. “Nobody even talked about whether or not they were going to be playing again and be able to play in the orchestras or groups they used to work in. It was just a bewilderment of survival.”
Knowing that many were fleeing bombarded cities and traveling toward western Ukraine or abroad, Vavilov first tried to connect displaced musicians with the people he knew in safe locations. He then started looking for a way to create a more comprehensive resource for those musicians affected by the war.
With the help from friends and acquaintances, he created a database of Ukrainian musicians in need of assistance, which now consists of more than 400 names. These people lost their incomes and might have lacked savings, while still needing to pay for rent, food, or gas to relocate, according to Vavilov.
He was able to establish the Relief Fund for Ukrainian Musicians through the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation in Germany and through the King Baudouin Foundation in the U.S., which enabled charitable donations in all 50 states. The relief fund has already helped more than 60 Ukrainian musicians, primarily from Mariupol, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Severodonetsk.
“Given the number of people on our list, we need to prioritize those who have been hit the hardest,” said Vavilov.
The fund sends monetary grants to Ukrainian musicians via PayPal, which provided its services in Ukraine before the war. The Ukrainian banking system is functioning as well, Vavilov said, so people can transfer and spend money on whatever they need most.
“The people who we are trying to target are the musicians who have just escaped the fighting in the areas of Ukraine that are in various degrees of danger. If they have access to the banking system, they can make these decisions on their own whether to get food or get gas or pay for services or plan in some ways,” Vavilov said.
Once the fund was established, Vavilov got busy spreading the word about it in the Boston area and beyond. Various local musical groups such as Parker Quartet, A Far Cry, Winsor Music, Boston Hope Music and Lorelei Ensemble, have committed to donate proceeds from their performances, benefits, and album releases to the fund.
Sheffield Chamber Players held a benefit concert for it in April and has another one May 30 at 7p.m. at the Beacon Hill Friends House.
“I am hoping to convince musicians from outside the Boston area to do that as well,” said Vavilov. “We can make a lot of difference this way. At this point, it is just a matter of having the financial power to do that.”
Vavilov believes that this targeted help is making an enormous amount of difference in the lives of the grant recipients.
“It is taking away a huge burden of concern for their at least immediate future from their minds, enabling them to make choices that will help preserve their lives,” he said.
Another reason why the musical community needs help from the outside, Vavilov said, is because rebuilding efforts in Ukraine won’t start from the cultural sphere.
“I worry that musicians, and all artists in fact, will be overlooked for a while in Ukraine, while the country struggles to survive and rebuild,” he said. “A lot of these people might end up away from the musical field as a result. The country will literally lose a lot of its musical riches.”
You can find more information about Vavilov and the Relief Fund for Ukrainian Musicians on his website: alexandervavilov.com.
Alena Kuzub can be reached at [email protected].
