Gaflenz, Austria—UPF of Upper Austria organized a concert to raise funds for school projects in Ukraine.
The “literature concert” took place on June 24, 2023, in a seminar retreat in Upper Austria state belonging to Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), an affiliated organization.
These school projects were organized by UPF-Ukraine in Kiev and the surrounding area to create a safe and peaceful place for children in the current war environment.
The horn quartet Traunklang, conducted by Albert Heitzinger, performed pieces by many well-known composers, such as Mozart, Bach and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. The soft yet very powerful sound of the horns filled the large hall of the seminar center, which has very good acoustics.
Natalia Sonyashnyk, who fled Ukraine with her children and mother more than a year ago and found her first "home" in Gaflenz, recited poems by Ivan Franko, Taras Shevchenko, Lesja Ukrainka, Dmytro Pavlychko and Lina Kostenko in her mother tongue. Maria Pammer, the leader of UPF in Upper Austria, gave a short introduction to each of these Ukrainian poets and recited the German translation of each poem.
Peter Haider, president of UPF-Austria, welcomed the guests and offered impressions of his visit to Kiev. Good conversations then ensued over the Austrian-Ukrainian buffet.
The event had two aims:
- To allow the audience to experience joy through music and literature and to get to know Ukrainian literature while supporting UPF-Ukraine's school project with their voluntary donation.
- To let area residents become aware of the newly restored Gaflenz Seminar Center as a public attraction.