Ukrainian musicians, now active-duty soldiers, to put on 2 concerts in Shreveport

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - Ukrainian musicians turned active-duty soldiers will perform two concerts in Shreveport Saturday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, Oct. 20 as part of the Cultural Forces' Second Music Tour of Gratitude to America.

The tour will make a stop at LSUS Saturday at 5:30 p.m. That concert is entitled "From the Ukrainian Front with Thanks." The musicians will hold a second performance Sunday at Caddo Common Park in downtown at 3 p.m. The Shreveport Symphony will perform afterwards at 4 p.m.

Both concerts are free and open to the public.

Those who attend can expect classical music and popular favorites, as well as Ukrainian folk music. The group consists of seven musicians and three staffers who are all active-duty soldiers for Ukraine.

"These are trained musicians, male and female, who volunteered to fight," said Oksana Baiul, a Shreveport resident and Ukrainian gold medal figure skater from the 1994 Winter Olympics, the country's first gold medal since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. "This group is doing a thank you tour that stretches from Washington, D.C. across the south and west to Los Angeles."

The group is showing its thanks to the U.S. for supplying weapons and other military equipment to Ukraine after Russia invaded the country in early 2022.

"For my friends back home in Ukraine, I want them to know that America is here for them. For us as Ukrainians, we want to show how thankful we are," Baiul said.

RELATED: Biden speaks with Zelenksyy at the White House

Cultural Forces was formed by Mykolai Sierga, a popular Ukrainian TV personality and singer in Russia. The group was formed while Sierga was serving in a Ukrainian infantry brigade at the beginning of the invasion. Some members of the group have been injured in combat, like opera soloist, Yurii Ivaskevych, who lost part of his leg while serving the Territorial Defense Forces.

One of the members, violinist, Olha Rukavishnikova, started playing at just 5-years-old. He lost an eye while serving in combat.

Both returned to service once they recovered from their injuries.

The musical group features two bandura (traditional 64-string Ukrainian folk instrument) players, an opera singer, a violinist, a pianist, a country singer, and a poet.

Razom for Ukraine , a nonprofit group in the U.S. that provides medical/humanitarian aid to Ukraine, helped make this American tour possible.