“Music Keeps Me Going”: Conductor Natalia Ponomarchuk on War, Purpose and Ukraine’s Future

One of Ukraine’s most distinguished conductors, Natalia Ponomarchuk divides her life between London and Kyiv, bringing Ukrainian classical music to audiences across Europe. Since relocating to the United Kingdom in 2022, she has collaborated with leading ensembles including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, and the Slovenian Philharmonic.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Ponomarchuk has become one of the strongest international advocates for Ukrainian symphonic music, conducting works by Valentyn Sylvestrov, Borys Liatoshynsky, Yevhen Stankovych, Myroslav Skoryk, Alla Zahaikevych and other Ukrainian composers. Together with the National Philharmonic of Ukraine’s Kyiv Chamber Orchestra, she recently completed the recording of Yevhen Stankovych’s complete cycle of Chamber Symphonies. The first volume of the five-disc series will be released by Toccata Classics on Aug. 7. On Aug. 14, she will conduct “Journey to the Great River” as part of the ninth annual Bouquet Kyiv Stage festival. Ahead of the festival, Kyiv Post spoke with Ponomarchuk about conducting as a calling during wartime, living between two countries, the growing international interest in Ukrainian music, and why she believes beauty remains one of Ukraine’s greatest strengths. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine Is Far Ahead of the UK With Its Veterans’ Policy On the battlefield Ukraine is not only out-innovating the UK, it is also well ahead and moving quickly with its veterans’ policy. Natalia Ponomarchuk. (Image via Alina Harmash) Kyiv Post: You have described conducting as a form of service. During a full-scale war, what does it mean to serve music? Natalia Ponomarchuk: Service is not defined by circumstances. For me, it begins with vocation. The important thing is to recognize your calling. When your country is fighting a brutal war for its very existence, you must insist on being present. You must stand with your people and do everything within your power to help secure Ukraine’s future. Everyone has different limits, and I do not judge those who make different choices. But I cannot understand how someone can simply move on while their fellow citizens are dying. What musicians are doing in Ukraine also matters. Culture is part of the home front. And without a home front, there is no front line. Kyiv Post: Ukrainian classical music is increasingly being performed on some of the world’s leading stages. What resonates most strongly with international audiences today? Natalia Ponomarchuk: From what I have observed, contemporary Ukrainian music resonates the most. What Ukrainian composers have created over recent decades reflects a search for a new musical language. At the same time, the international music world has also been searching for new artistic forms. That is why diversity of voices matters. Without Ukrainian music, that polyphony becomes poorer. Every nation breathes through its own folklore and cultural roots. Our musical thinking has been shaped by generations of Ukrainians, and that unique perspective enriches the global musical landscape. Kyiv Post: You will once again perform at St. Sophia Cathedral during Bouquet Kyiv Stage. How does that space affect you? Natalia Ponomarchuk: It changes your soul. Perhaps that sounds dramatic, but I cannot find a more accurate word. Human emotions are constantly shifting, and we are deeply sensitive to invisible energies around us. I believe the human soul has many layers, and St. Sophia somehow transforms them. Each person experiences it differently. You cannot fully explain or analyze it because genuine experience always goes beyond analysis. Whenever someone enters St. Sophia, something changes within them. You may never be able to describe it, but it happens. For me, St. Sophia is one of the greatest sources of inspiration. Whenever I think about Kyiv and Ukraine, it is one of the very first places that comes to mind. The concert at St. Sophia Cathedral during Bouquet Kyiv Stage, 2025. (Image via Bouquet Kyiv Stage) Kyiv Post: This year’s festival carries the theme “Armed with Beauty.” What does beauty mean during wartime? Natalia Ponomarchuk: Beauty during war is the same as beauty in peacetime. It is eternal. What changes is our perception. War sharpens your senses. You begin to notice more details and understand people more deeply. One of the greatest lessons war has given me is a heightened awareness of other human beings. Sometimes you suddenly discover someone in an entirely new way. That, too, is beauty. Kyiv Post: What helps you maintain your own balance amid so much stress and responsibility? Natalia Ponomarchuk: Above all, music. It is no longer simply something that helps me — it is what keeps me going. Being able to perform music, to experience it so deeply that it becomes part of yourself, gives me strength. I am not a composer, but performers also become co-creators by bringing music fully to life. I also draw strength from extraordinary people. Over the past few years, there have been more of them in my life, and perhaps experience has simply taught me to recognize them. And then there is travel. Almost every journey I make is connected to music. The United Kingdom, especially London, has become an important part of my life. Yet almost every month I return to Kyiv. I have lived between these two worlds for more than four years, constantly trying to bring them closer together. Kyiv Post: Another mission? Natalia Ponomarchuk: Exactly. Music, people and countries keep me going. Kyiv Post: What would you like Ukraine to sound like ten years from now? Natalia Ponomarchuk: That is a difficult question. Lately I have been deeply inspired by a metaphor shared by my friend Andrii Melnyk. He speaks of Ukraine as a garden. Ukraine cannot remain only a frontier or a rock protecting European values. It should become a flourishing garden where art, science, culture, technology and the economy grow together — everything that emerges from love for the land and the country you are building. It echoes Taras Shevchenko’s image of the cherry orchard, a symbol of a peaceful and life-giving Ukraine. I want Ukraine to become precisely that: a protected garden. Not only a country defending the world, but one helping to create it. I also hope Ukrainian society will become even more open, generous and tolerant. I admire Britain’s respect for human dignity, diversity and freedom. At the same time, Ukraine must remain unmistakably itself. All of this will inevitably be reflected in music, because music is always a mirror of society. I hope the music of the future reflects a Ukraine that is strong, free, diverse and profoundly humane.