Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine Given 2022 Duisburg Music Prize

The €10,000 prize recognizes the orchestra's efforts representing their home nation in a range of concerts across Europe

Valued at €10,000, the Duisburg Music Prize was established in 1990 and is awarded by the Köhler-Osbahr Foundation to recognize outstanding achievement in the field of music.

Despite the many tribulations the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (YsOU) has faced since Russia's invasion of their homeland, the players have continued to be staunch advocates for Ukrainian culture, sending a strong message by performing various high-profile concerts around Europe in 2022.

The orchestra was established in 2017 by conductor Oksana Lyniv, who wanted to bring Germany's rich youth orchestra culture back to her home nation.

"Many thanks to the Köhler-Osbahr Foundation for such a prize fund of 10,000€, which gives a perspective for the future to our members and allows to continue to develop and spread Ukrainian culture, even in such difficult times," wrote the YsOU on social media.

"Thank you Oksana Lyniv that your dream 5 years ago came true, and our Youth Symphony Orchestra was created! We promise that this prize will be a powerful impetus for new achievements and new goals!"

"We would also like to send a signal for peace," said Hans Jürgen Kerkhoff, the Chairman of the Köhler-Osbahr Foundation. "Music brings people together, creates solidarity and perspectives, and so we hope that the artists will soon be able to play music together again in their home country and that they and their families will remain unharmed."

You can revisit the livestream of YsOU's performance at the 2022 Beethovenfest in Bonn below.