Ukrainian refugee music students to perform at Music & Drama Education Awards 2023

Ukrainian refugee music students will perform at the Music & Drama Education Awards on 23 February during a ceremony hosted by Classic FM’s Aled Jones.

The students, who will be travelling to London from host homes around the country, are studying music at the London Performing Academy of Music (LPMAM), a new conservatoire focused on innovation, diversity and inclusion.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, LPMAM was the only UK conservatoire able to provide legal letters requesting music students be exempt from fighting and be brought to London to complete their studies.

This was because LPMAM’s partnerships with Ukrainian conservatoires, such as the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Kyiv and Kharkiv University of the Arts, predated the invasion.

LPMAM’s mission, which has so far brought 51 students to safety, has been headed up by the conservatoire’s president, Dr Stefania Passamonte.

Passamonte said the date of the awards ceremony holds particular significance, as almost exactly one year earlier, a group of LPMAM professors were due to fly to Kyiv for a week of concerts and masterclasses. 

The flights were cancelled the day before, and the universities have been in contact since then. 

The students, some of whom performed at the Music for Youth Proms towards the end of last year, will perform a selection of pieces in various musical styles part-way through the Awards ceremony.

Passamonte said that there are still 40 Ukrainian students yet to make it to London. To get to the UK, students must have military exemption documents, travel through Europe, and obtain a visa.

The journeys have been funded in part by the LPMAM Ukrainian Student Refugee Scholarship Fund, set up by Passamonte.

Tickets for the Music & Drama Education Awards are available now: www.musicdramaedawards.com/ceremony