The opening event of Kyiv Art Sessions 2026 will be a series of concerts featuring contemporary Ukrainian composers, performed by the Kyiv Chamber Choir under the baton of conductor Mykola Hobdych, organisers said in a press release.
From 23 to 27 March, performances will take place in London (United Kingdom), as well as in Rouen, Paris and Rennes (France). The season will open on 23 March in London with the concert “Prayer for Ukraine” at St John the Baptist Church. The programme will feature works by prominent Ukrainian composers, including Myroslav Skoryk, Yevhen Stankovych, Valentyn Sylvestrov, Hanna Havrylets and Viktoriya Poleva.
The concert will have a charitable focus, with all proceeds to be donated to the Ukrainian foundation Voices of Children. The event is supported by the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom and held in partnership with St John the Baptist Church.
After London, Kyiv Art Sessions will travel to France for the first time. The next concerts, on 25 and 26 March, will take place as part of the Ukraine Season in France, “Voyage en Ukraine”, in partnership with the French Institute and the Ukrainian Institute.
On 25 March in Rouen, at Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, a special concert dedicated to the music of Valentyn Sylvestrov will be held with the composer himself in attendance. Audiences will hear his works performed by the Kyiv Choir under the baton of Mykola Hobdych, regarded as one of the finest interpreters of Sylvestrov’s music.
On 26 March, the choir will take part in the closing concert of the Ukraine Season in France, “Soul of Ukraine”, at Abbaye de Saint-Denis, in cooperation with Festival de Saint-Denis. The programme will feature works by Viktoriya Poleva, Hanna Havrylets, Lesya Dychko and Valentyn Sylvestrov.
The tour will conclude on 27 March in Rennes at Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes with the concert “Prayer for Ukraine”, dedicated to Ukrainian composers. This performance will also be charitable, with proceeds directed to the Ukrainian Firefighters foundation to purchase armoured evacuation fire vehicles. The event’s partner is Solidarité Bretagne Ukraine.
Concerts in the United Kingdom and France will mark the first major event of the Kyiv Art Sessions 2026 season. Throughout the year, a series of cultural initiatives is planned to present Ukrainian high art to international audiences.
Kyiv Art Sessions is a series of Ukrainian art seasons launched in 2024 by the cultural centre Dom Master Klass and the charitable organisation Art Shield. The project showcases leading examples of contemporary Ukrainian art to the global community and affirms Ukrainian culture as an integral part of the European and wider international cultural landscape.
In 2024–2025, four Kyiv Art Sessions seasons were successfully held in the United Kingdom. In 2025, the project received three prestigious international accolades — two SABRE Awards in the Preserving Art in Crisis category and the PR Daily Media Relations Awards.