Concert tour by a chamber orchestra from Bachmut
To mark the fourth anniversary of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the chamber orchestra of the Ivan Karabyts Bachmut College for Culture and the Arts will be touring Switzerland and Liechtenstein from February 19 to 25.
February 24, 2026 marks the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. With a concert tour through Switzerland and Liechtenstein, refugees, local partner organizations and the population are jointly commemorating the victims of the war - and sending a signal of solidarity. The tour is organized by the Ukrainian Cultural Association Prostir Lucerne and Ukrainehilfe Zentralschweiz, in close cooperation with numerous local partners.
As part of the tour, the chamber orchestra of the Ivan Karabyts College Bachmut for Culture and Art (currently in exile in Kamjanez-Podilskyj, Ukraine) will perform in several cities. The program includes short works by Ukrainian composers - as an expression of Ukraine's independent cultural diversity: culture as resistance and hope.
Bachmut - a city that no longer exists
Bachmut, once a city of around 80,000 inhabitants, became the scene of one of the most brutal battles of the 21st century and is now considered uninhabitable. The college from which the orchestra originated was destroyed in 2022, instruments looted, classrooms vandalized and the concert hall bombed. Nevertheless, the young artists continue to make music - under makeshift conditions, with salvaged archives and a few surviving instruments.
The orchestra uses the concerts to collect donations and draw international attention to the situation in Ukraine. At the same time, making music together sends a strong signal: for dignity, cultural identity and the future.
Concert dates - Tour Switzerland & Liechtenstein
Thursday, February 19, 2026 - 18:00 | Schaan (LI)
Parish Church of St. Laurentius, Reberastrasse 17, 9494 Schaan
Local organization: SKS Integrationshilfe association
Friday, February 20, 2026 - 19:00 | Zug
St. Johannes Zug, St.-Johannes-Strasse 9, 6300 Zug
Local organization: Catholic parish of the city of Zug
Saturday, February 21, 2026 - 17:00 | Olten
Christkatholische Stadtkirche, Kirchgasse 2, 4600 Olten
Local organization: KALYNA Ukraine Network Olten Region
Sunday, February 22, 2026 - 09:00 | Basel
Thomaskirche Basel (service followed by a concert),
Hegenheimstrasse 229, 4055 Basel
Local organization: Worldwide Church
Donations: Ukrainian aid with a heart
Sunday, February 22, 2026 - 17:00 | Zurich
Grossmünster Zurich, Zwingliplatz 7, 8001 Zurich
Local organization: Grossmünster Zurich
Donations: HEKS
Monday, February 23, 2026 - 19:00 | Lucerne
Lukas Church Lucerne, Morgartenstrasse 16, 6003 Lucerne
Local organization: Ukrainian Cultural Association Prostir & Ukrainehilfe Zentralschweiz
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 - 18:30 | Bern
Bern Minster (peace prayer and concert), Münsterplatz 1, 3000 Bern
Local organization: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christliche Kirche in der Schweiz (AGCK)
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 - 19:00 | Geneva (tbc)
Emmanuel Episcopal Church Geneva, Rue de Monthoux 3, 1201 Genève
Local organization: Permanent Mission of Ukraine in Geneva (in coordination)
Admission free - collection / donations
Admission is free. A collection / donation will be collected at the exit. The proceeds will always go to the Ukrainian Cultural Association Prostir Lucerne and Ukrainehilfe Zentralschweiz and will be used in full for Ukrainehilfe on the ground.
The concert tour itself is fully funded by grants - donations from the concerts therefore flow directly into specific aid measures, particularly in frontline regions such as Kharkiv, Donetsk/Donbas, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson. Both humanitarian aid (e.g. urgently needed equipment and supplies) and cultural aid (e.g. musical instruments for children and support for cultural institutions) are supported. Exceptions: In Basel, the collection goes to the «Ukrainehilfe mit Herz» initiative, in Zurich the donations go to HEKS (according to the local organization of the respective concerts).
