A soloist on stage in a duet with an invisible counterpart. The musicians are separated by place, time, and war. One plays live in New York, the other is present as a recording made in Kyiv. With the incomplete duo, the Ukrainian concert sends a “signal” from war-ravaged Kyiv to peaceful New York. The Ukrainian musician does not know whether the dialog with his counterpart in New York will succeed. In New York, it turns out as a dialogue that the other side can't hear.

The musical experience of the evening will suggest a complex entanglement of pieces from composers Anna Arkushyna, Albert Saprykin, and Ihor Zavhorodnii in their attempt of the personal and collective research on the topic of fragile connections and uncertainty in dialog during the war and beyond. 

TVVO:ID is presented as part of the DOWN TO EARTH Festival

ANNA ARKUSHYNA

Delivered. for contrabass clarinet in B and double bass (tape)

«Delivered. explores the emotional tension and uncertainty that arises when a message shows the status «delivered,» but remains “unread”. In times of war, when many people are separated by distance, these simple messenger notifications take on profound meaning: if the message is read, it means the person is alive. However, when the second checkmark doesn't appear, the sender is left in a state of limbo, trapped in an anxious wait. Many people remain in this state during indefinite period of time, as their loved ones go missing, are taken captive, or perish — with the only visible sign being the single word «Delivered.»

This piece captures the experience of waiting, the weight of uncertainty, and the emotional strain that has become an inherent part of everyday life for many.»

IHOR ZAVHORODNII

я тут, з тобою (I'm here, with you) for double bass (tape), contrabass clarinet and metronome (audio)

«This music is about love during wartime. A love that has begun to get accustomed to its existence without a future. Therefore, every tiny pulsation of this life is the pulsation of this love only.»

ALBERT SAPRYKIN

; for double bass (tape), contrabass clarinet and screen

«what is it to be the depths of an abyss that has received the signal, knowing the sender? knowing the sender will never know? no? oh.»

The work comprises three parts: i, ii, and iii.

The third part of the piece includes recordings of Kyiv’s city sounds captured between October 8 and November 8, 2024, kindly provided by Yevhen Dubovyk.

NAZARII STETS

Nazarii Stets is a double bassist focused on contemporary music and promoting the modern music of Ukraine. He was born in 1991 in Kopychyntsi, Ukraine into a musician family. His first instrument was violin and after seven years of learning it, he began studying double bass at the Ternopil Music College under the tutelage of Vasyl Felenchak. Then from 2010–2015, he achieved both bachelor's and master’s degrees from the National Music Academy of Ukraine while working with Oleksandr Melnyk from the National Opera of Ukraine.  

Nazarii got his first professional contract with the Municipal Galician Chamber Orchestra at the age of 16, and at 20 he received the soloist position in the National Ensemble of Soloists Kyiv Camerata. He became a professor at the National Music Academy of Ukraine at the age of 26. 

Nazarii Stets got master classes with Nicolas Crosse, Chi-Chi Nwanokue, Jeff Bradetich, Leon Bosch, Ruslan Lutsyk, Dan Styffe, and Hiroshi Ikematsu. He was the first performer of double-bass concertos by Zoltan Almashi, Renata Sokachyk, Oleksandr Gonobolin, Alisa Zaika, Meryson Borghes, Oleksandr Levkovych, Julia Monducci, Edvard Kravchuk, and Serhiy Pilyutikov. His concert geography includes more than 25 countries with solo, chamber, and orchestral performances at festivals like ManiFeste (IRCAM, Paris), Lucerne Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, BBC Proms, Istanbul Music Festival, Gogolfest (Kyiv), Two Days and Two Nights of New Music (Odesa), Britten Pears Young Artist Programme (Suffolk), Contrasts (Lviv), Course (Lviv), Warsaw Autumn, Septembre musical (Montreux-Vevey), and so on. He has collaborated with Ulysses Ensemble, Salzburg Sinfonietta, Ensemble Nostri Temporis, Sed Contra Ensemble, New Era Orchestra, National Ensemble of Soloists Kyiv Camerata, Ukho Ensemble, and others.

GLEB KANASEVICH

Gleb Kanasevich is a clarinetist and composer based between Detroit and the East Coast. As of July, 2022, he is a permanent member of Detroit-based Hub New Music, with whom he tours regularly and performed at many of the country’s most renowned concert series, venues and festivals. He is an active soloist and session musician, having recently worked with John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, Cleveland-based death metal band Noxis, and on soundtracks for Netflix and A24 films. He has been closely working with the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival in New York City since 2021, frequently covering the festival’s electronic and live sound needs, concert production, and clarinet duties.

KYIV CONTEMPORARY MUSIC DAYS

Kyiv Contemporary Music Days (KCMD) is an NGO that functions as an educational and concert platform for new music. Founded in 2015, KCMD has organized more than 160 events in Ukraine, Portugal, Japan, Germany, and Lithuania to date with musicians from over 25 countries. Despite our projects' vast geography and scale, KCMD has essentially remained a grassroots initiative true to the spirit of solidarity, horizontality, and mutual help born out of the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine.

KCMD produces festivals, concerts of chamber, orchestra, and electroacoustic music, live streams, masterclasses for composers and performers, and lectures for professional musicians and a wider audience. Since February 24, 2022, we also try to preserve the Ukrainian music community and make sure Ukrainian voices are heard internationally.

DOWN TO EARTH FESTIVAL

DOWN TO EARTH brings world-class international performance, theater, contemporary circus, an opera installation, and participatory events—absolutely free—directly to New York City’s vibrant, diverse communities.

An initiative that embraces global exchange and democratizes cultural expression, the inaugural festival runs from August 29 – September 7, 2025. Conceived and produced by The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at The CUNY Graduate Center.