Crusading conductor
Over the past year Dalia Stasevska has devoted herself to helping her Ukrainian countrymen, from both on and off the podium, as she tells Rebecca Franks
BBC Music Magazine Personality of the Year Dalia Stasevska
Dalia Stasevska almost gave up conducting in 2022. The year had begun on a career high, as she enjoyed her first season as chief conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and became ever more familiar to UK audiences as the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s principal guest conductor. Then, on 24 February, Russia invaded Ukraine. ‘I was on the way to conduct the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and I wanted to cancel. I understood that every single hand was now needed to help Ukraine,’ Stasevska explains. ‘I thought I needed to become a full-time volunteer. The orchestra, my management and my husband all respected my decision but asked if I could give it one more day’s thought. I realised I have this incredible public I can speak to as a conductor – and this basically became my frontline. It was a learning moment for me, that I can make a difference in so many ways.’
Stasevska didn’t quit her job – but her life has radically changed. Alongside her high-flying career, which this summer included several debuts with orchestras in the US and Canada, the Ukrainianborn Finn has dedicated her free time to volunteering for Ukraine. It is for both her musical and humanitarian achievements that she has been named BBC Music Magazine’s Personality of the Year.
‘It was clear to me and my brothers that the war was really serious,’ she says. ‘ We started fundraising in March 2022, raising money by Facebook and Instagram. So far, we have raised over 200,000 euros from ordinary Finnish people – we are tremendously grateful that they have enabled our volunteering. We focus on the warzone areas, helping frontline workers and citizens who can’t leave. The core of our activities has been buying vans and filling them with necessary supplies.’ Stasevska and her brothers
Justas and Lukas drive the vans to Ukraine themselves, where they collaborate in Kyiv with a charity to distribute the goods. ‘Our last truck was 20,000 kg of supplies. Depending on the season, we deliver
‘I realised I have this incredible public I can speak to as a conductor’
supplies including sleeping bags, woollen socks, food, medical support and first aid.’
Born in Kyiv in 1984, Stasevska grew up in Tallinn, Estonia until she was five, then moved to Finland where she now lives. Her mother is Finnish, her father Ukrainian – and when her grandmother came to live with them, Stasevska became immersed in her Ukrainian heritage. ‘My grandmother taught me to speak, read and write Ukrainian and about the country’s history, literature, songs, food and culture,’ says Stasevska. ‘I was always really proud of my roots. In cooking classes at school, I loved to do presentations about Ukrainian food, or I would wear full traditional Ukrainian costume and give a lesson about the country’s history.’
Her first trip back to Ukraine was in 2000 (‘We weren’t a wealthy family, so travelling wasn’t an option [before then]’), and after Putin annexed Crimea in 2014, she became an activist. ‘I realised that human rights were being violated, and we needed to defend them,’ she says. In 2020, President Zelensky bestowed her with the Order of Princess Olga of the III degree for her work to promote Ukraine and its culture internationally, an award Stasevska was surprised but honoured to receive. She has noticed a shift in global public attitudes to Ukraine over the past decade. ‘In 2014, no one was interested. It was frustrating. People are now ready to hear stories told by Ukrainians and not Russian propaganda. It’s a horrible, tragic time but I’m happy people are listening to Ukrainian voices.’
Stasevska has also used her voice to fight for other causes. After the BBC announced the BBC Singers would be disbanded and jobs cut at the BBC’S English orchestras, she was among the BBC conductors who co-signed a letter condemning the move to the director general, Tim Davie. The decision to end the Singers has since been suspended, but prior to that news Stasevska was clear on her feelings. ‘In Finland, they stopped the only professional choir we had, the radio chamber choir. It was the end of an era. There’s nobody doing commissions for choral music, nobody who can sing on that level. I’m glad that the music world is taking this [the BBC cuts] seriously and fighting for it together.’
So what does music mean to her now? ‘I’m grateful I didn’t stop conducting. It’s hard to explain what it means to see things that no normal person should see or experience. If it hadn’t been for music, I would have lost part of my mind. Music has been a salvation. It has grounded me. It takes me in a healthy way away from this war. It gives me hope. It reminds me of beauty, the goodness of humanity. It energises me and I can get more strength to continue this fight for Ukrainians.’