Studnitzky – Memento Odesa

In the organizer's words:

(Music by Sebastian Studnitzky)

Chamber Orchestra of the Odesa Philharmonic, conducted by Volodymyr Dikiy
Sebastian Studnitzky: piano & trumpet
and
Anastasiia Pokaz: vocals, Paul Kleber: bass & Tim Sarhan: drums
Sebastian Studnitzky's project "Memento Odesa" is a poignant modern-classical homage to the city of Odesa and its inhabitants in the midst of the Russian war of aggression.

Recorded in July 2023 at the Odesa Philharmonic Hall with the Odesa Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Volodymyr Dikiy, the music reflects the indomitable spirit of a people under siege in an extreme state, capturing the memories of a distant past and the uncertainty of the future.

In March 2024, the Odesa Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra successfully toured Germany. However, the tour opened in the sold-out Philharmonic Hall in Odesa at a time when Russian drone attacks on Odesa were causing fear, devastation and suffering almost every night.

The following tour in Germany culminated in a concert in the completely sold-out Memorial Church in Berlin. This concert was recorded and will be released as a recording alongside the tour.

Since then, 30 concerts have been played in Germany and Ukraine. A highlight was the concert in July 2025 in the sold-out Opera in Odesa

The profits from the project will be donated to the Children of Heroes Foundation, which looks after war-stricken orphans in Ukraine, and to an organization in Odesa that produces first aid kits for front-line soldiers.

Sebastian Studnitzky is the initiator of this project and the composer and orchestrator of the music. He is not only an ECHO-Jazz and OPUS-Klassik prizewinner (even on two different instruments), but also the founder and director of the Berlin XJAZZ Festival. He also teaches as a professor of jazz trumpet at the Musikhoschschule in Dresden. His musical and organizational work is driven by the vision of overcoming musical boundaries and bringing new audiences together.