On July 13, 2025, the first Renaissancerelaxation session in Ukraine took place at the Lviv National Philharmonic, which combined electronic ambient motifs and live classical instruments.
The eponymous work, which lasts about 30 minutes, is conventionally divided into two parts. In the first, the melody is more energetic, sometimes mixed, chaotic, reminiscent of everyday life. And then it slows down, harmonizes, and gives a deep peace and inner balance.
Try to feel it for yourself. Take a comfortable position, relax, and let the music take you to your own peaceful space.
The event marked the first in a joint project between the charity organization Victory Beats and the Lviv National Philharmonic to develop music therapy in Ukraine. More about the project here.
On July 13, the first Ukrainian relaxation session Renaissance took place at the Lviv National Philharmonic, which combined electronic ambient motifs and live classical instruments.
The eponymous piece, which lasts about 30 minutes, is conventionally divided into two parts. In the first, the melody is more energetic, sometimes mixed, chaotic, reminiscent of everyday life. Then it slows down, harmonizes and gives deep peace and inner balance. The ambient part was written by Oleksandr Sky and Volodymyr Nedogoda, the parts for classical instruments were written by the famous Scottish composer and music therapist Nigel Osborne.
An important part of the event was the participation of Oleksandr Ivanko , a veteran of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, one of the very first visitors to Victory Beats therapeutic sessions at the Superhumans rehabilitation center, who thanks to them not only found psychological support after being injured, but also discovered music in a new way. Today, Oleksandr plays bass, studies and teaches others at our Enter DJ recreational DJ courses, and performs concerts. And recently he began to realize his long-standing dream - he is studying music writing and playing MIDI controllers. It was on them - obtained thanks to the support of Victory Beats project supporters - that he built his performance at the Philharmonic, changing the sound of the main melody, adding or combining various patterns and settings. The event was attended by both patients from various rehabilitation centers and ordinary music lovers.
“This is an incredible experience of playing on stage. A different atmosphere, different tasks. I hope the tasks have been completed and we have achieved our goals. We continue to work…”, — Oleksandr Ivanko
Thanks to the event partners, the Art Therapy Force organization, the introductory part and reflection after the session were conducted by music therapist Marina Sljot. Her simple and at the same time profound speech helped the listeners to tune in and carefully exit the state of heightened perception after the session, to understand their feelings and thoughts better.
One could describe for a long time the positive impressions of both the audience and the musicians of the Philharmonic, who enthusiastically joined the process from the first rehearsal, but instead of a thousand words, we will only add a picture that one of the visitors drew immediately after the event. “When I listened to the music, I imagined that we were all lying on such a big blue mat, and sleeping,” she says. And the value and motivating power of such feedback is very difficult to overestimate.
This event was the first in a joint project between the Philharmonic and the Victory Beats charity project, which will last throughout the next season and will include a variety of music therapy activities.
“We are very happy that the ambitious idea – to involve a symphony orchestra, classical musical instruments in the direction of rehabilitation, restoration, first of all, of our military, veterans, civilians who suffered as a result of the Russian aggressor – has become a reality.
We have great hopes that, thanks to the new direction of trauma-sensitive art programs that started yesterday, finding inner strength, psychological recovery, and creating a new therapeutic experience through music will be much easier and more effective.
It is motivating that the first event received great interest and had its positive response from the listeners who attended. Therefore, starting from the new season, we will do everything possible to ensure that such events in one format or another are on a permanent basis, and our cooperation is even more productive.”, — orchestra director Mykhailo Sosnovsky.
The Ukrainian Field Notes blog published a comprehensive article about our project – EnterDJ, a recreational DJing course that helps veterans, people with complex mental health conditions, and anyone who wants to relieve stress and improve their mood with simple musical exercises.
We are publishing excerpts from an interview that Jeanmarco del Re conducted with CEO Yevhen Skrypnyk and curator Andreas Bosch in early June of this year.
— Could you introduce EnterDJ?
Andreas Bosch: I wasn’t in the project from the very beginning, but I joined thanks to our mutual friend Vlad Fisun. Once he said, “There’s a music therapy project with a friend in Lviv,” and I went to see Victory Beats. I attended two or three sessions with veterans, and then I was like switched on — I realized that it really works. I thought we need to launch it in Kyiv. Well, actually, in many places, but the first thing that came to mind was HVLV. Because HVLV is not just a bar or a music venue, it’s a cultural hub. It was a project that I wanted to work on for a long time. Everything is based on music therapy. It was very convincing, and we found a format. We made a presentation. The idea is not only for veterans, it is suitable for anyone with PTSD, depression — which is currently affecting 90% of the population of Ukraine. In general, EnterDJ is not just a DJ school, it is something completely different. It is about developing the mind.
When I was at Superhumans in Lviv with Victory Beats, I realized that there is much more to this project than just DJing. I became very close to the veterans who participated, and the results were nothing short of impressive. There were also scientists who supported and explained what exactly music does to a person. For me, it is an exciting project. I am not a practicing musician, I collect music. But since I’m involved in the entire cultural program of HVLV, I realized that we should spread this throughout Ukraine, ideally.
Zhenya Skrypnyk: I was also invited to this project by Vlad Fisun. We met in Sloviansk, and for Vlad, DJing has always been something more than just music. I heard from him about music therapy back during COVID, when he developed a small program for people who were going through difficult times at home. So, Vlad had been thinking about this project for a long time, and when he invited me to EnterDJ, a lot had already been done there by him and Vova Nedogoda from Victory Beats. They already had results — and they were incredible. When veterans shared their impressions at the presentations at HVLV — those were the moments that brought tears to my eyes. This is something special — DJing as therapy, as a journey into music that allows you to forget about pain.
Music has no limits, and its diversity will find its way to everyone's heart. Perhaps this is one of the secrets to the success of music therapy.
Ostap recently joined our Victory Beats therapeutic program, which is held at the First Abilification Center. Among the approaches we use is playing musical instruments, in particular, DJing. And this direction, which was still little known to Ostap, immediately captivated him. We held several classes, and on June 21, we had an extraordinary opportunity - the Lviv Music Festival. On this day, the entire city was filled with music stages, one of which was at HAB, and we immediately took advantage of this opportunity: Ostap played his first public set! He shares his impressions in this video.
This is just the first step, but what a step! We are waiting for his new sets.
In the meantime, you can learn more about our separate direction of DJing as therapy at enterdj.com
Even before arriving at Superhumans, Maksym had already heard about our Victory Beats therapy and planned to fully immerse himself in it. And he immersed himself so much that it was impossible to imagine a single class without it – and not a single performance by our improvised band in the couple of months he was with us.
He shares what music therapy has given him personally in this video.
