Grit and generosity help these Columbus State piano students escape war in Ukraine
When they play Tuesday night during the Columbus State University Schwob School of Music piano students’ recital, Anastasiia Zakharchenko and Nikol Bazalytska will represent the grit and generosity that enabled them to escape a war zone and return to honing their skills on the instrument they love.
The March 7 recital starts at 7:30 p.m., in Legacy Hall at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts. Admission is free.
Anastasiia and Nikol are from Ukraine, where Russian troops invaded in February 2022. A year later, the war continues. But these students have a brighter outlook, thanks to their Columbus connection.
Nikol, a 21-year-old undergraduate, and Anastasiia, a 25-year-old graduate student, told the Ledger-Enquirer they appreciate the donors who funded their scholarships and the CSU faculty, staff and supporters who welcomed them.
“Thank you so much for this opportunity,” Nikol said. “… Very change my life now. … I’m very grateful.”
“I don’t know where life will lead me,” Anastasiia said. “But, as for now, I’m going to say I will do my best to use this opportunity for my future profession to better my skills and do my best for my own country and to be the most professional player that I can be.”
Their piano teacher in Columbus, CSU associate professor Esther Park, was instrumental in their journey.
“It really warms your heart, and it’s really great to know that I belong in a community where people care enough to reach out and enough to welcome these two complete strangers into our lives, and now they’re here and a part of us,” she said.
They are two examples of approximately 200 Schwob School music students (out of 240 total enrollment) who benefit from an estimated $1 million each year in scholarships funded by private donors, Rex Whiddon, CSU senior associate vice president for leadership philanthropy and strategic initiatives, told the L-E. One full scholarship costs approximately $20,000, he said.
“Due to the growing reputation of the Schwob School as one of the top tier music schools in the country, it has recruited students from 30 foreign countries and from throughout the United States,” Whiddon said. “This remarkable achievement is possible due in large part to the generosity of many donors in our community.”
Whiddon encouraged people to attend the recital to witness what that generosity is producing.
“Anyone attending will be impressed by the talent of these students and will be touched knowing that people in our community have made it possible for them to escape the ravages of war and pursue their passion,” he said.
Park noted, “These particular situations with our Ukrainian students are awesome and magical, but daily wonders are happening through all of my (11) other students, who all benefit from their scholarships.”
From possibility to reality
The idea blossomed last spring. Sally Phillips’ company, Piano Perfect, services the Schwob School’s pianos. While Schwob director Scott Harris and his staff finalized their scholarship offers for the next academic year, Phillips wondered aloud whether they could help qualified Ukrainian music students displaced because of the war. Harris encouraged her to find them.
She contacted her extensive network of piano technicians throughout the world. Four weeks later, nibbles turned into bites. Now, CSU officials have been in contact with six Ukrainian students. Anastasiia and the Nikol are the only ones so far who’ve completed their documentation, gained admission and arrived at CSU.
“You have to really credit Esther Park with doing the follow-up work,” Phillips said. “She just ran with it.”
Phillips paused as she choked back the emotion of this dream coming to fruition.
“I see how hard these kids have to work to do what they do,” she said. “First of all, they’re brilliant, and now they have this outlet to be able to express themselves. It’s just really great to see that we get to help them.”
How they got here
At 6:22 a.m., on Feb. 24, 2022, Anastasiia received a phone call from her mother 220 miles away. Their hometown in Ukraine was under fire from Russian weapons, but they were OK. Anastasiia was studying at the Lviv National Music Academy.
“The first person who was killed was familiar to me,” she said.
Three months later, her parents, along with their two dogs, needed 10 hours to drive through 30 checkpoints in the occupied territory to join Anastasiia in her Lviv apartment.
Meanwhile, Nikol was studying at the Kyiv Conservatory in the Ukrainian capital when the war started.
“I felt fear, despair and confusion,” she said.
Nikol traveled approximately 400 miles by train to cross the border into Poland, where she joined her parents in an apartment. Two months later, she received a text message from one of her music professors about the CSU scholarship opportunity. It was a chance for a better life.
“I was very happy for this information,” she said.
During the summer, Anastasiia hesitated when her piano professor told her about the chance to obtain a CSU scholarship. She had experience traveling outside of Ukraine to other European countries, but this would be her first time in the United States.
“So far from my family,” she said. “If they will have some troubles, I cannot help them. … That’s scary.”
But after discussing the offer with her parents, she decided, “Why not try?” After all, with the music academy in Lviv closed due to the war, Anastasiia needed other options.
“It was a hard time,” she said. “A lot of our income was lost.”
Their situation deteriorated in the fall.
“More mass attacks,” she said, “disruptions in connectivity, supply cut-off and more deaths.”
As part of their applications, Anastasiia and Nikol sent Park video clips from their performances. When she received her acceptance letter, Nikol was ecstatic.
“I always wanted to visit America,” she said, “but to have the opportunity to study here was something unrealistic for me.”
‘Not deterred at all’
Last semester, Anastasiia rented a room with a piano in Lviv so Park could teach her via videoconferencing. Sometimes during their lessons, air-raid sirens wailed, but Anastasiia kept playing.
“This girl was not deterred at all,” Park said. “She just goes on.”
Trying to study music and rehearse while trying to survive the war made Anastasiia anxious, so meeting with Park — albeit on a screen — felt like a sanctuary.
“Dr. Park, she’s so sweet, she’s so friendly, and so I’m grateful to be in her class,” Anastasiia said. “I don’t feel like a stranger here because of her kindness to me.”
Still, it was tough to practice while the academy was closed.
“Very often, we didn’t have electricity,” she said. “… No heating, and it’s very cold.”
She heard that all 78 of Schwob’s pianos are Steinways — considered the best in the world — compared to the two Steinways at the academy in Lviv, but Anastasiia pleasantly was surprised when she played some of those instruments at CSU.
“It makes your work easier,” she said.
Nikol, as a refugee in Poland, didn’t have steady access to a piano last semester. So she had to wait to start her lessons with Park until arriving in Columbus in January, but they kept in touch on Facebook Messenger.
It took several months for the students to get their visas and other required documents completed to enter the United States and be admitted to CSU. Their perseverance impressed Park.
“I didn’t expect it to actually happen, just knowing how slow things can be,” she said. “… It was really a miracle when they showed up in person.”
When they finally made it to CSU, Park said, “It was kind of surreal to see them here in person and flesh. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. Let’s hug you’ as soon as I saw them.”
Living in Columbus, studying at CSU and focusing on her piano training instead of just trying to survive, adds up to a “really great time for me,” Nikol said.
“I adore her professional skills,” Anastasiia said, “I adore her stamina, and I adore her flexibility.”
“Dr. Park is a very respectful person,” Nikol said. “Very smart. Very creative. Very talented musician. Great person.”
Support more than financial
In addition to scholarships, CSU Schwob School supporters help music students by providing welcome baskets and household supplies and stocking a free food pantry. Betty Auten, a member of the Schwob School Board of Advisors, explained why she leads this effort.
“They have worked their little fingers to the bone to get themselves here, so we want to make it as easy and wonderful for them as we can,” she said. “I am just amazed at the fortitude of these students, to be able to come from a different country, knowing generally no one, except maybe they’ve talked to their major professor, whatever instrument they play.”
During holiday breaks, CSU supporters provide home hospitality for international students who can’t return overseas.
“There’s no other (music) school where the community has gotten this deeply involved and invested in the school and the students’ success,” Harris said. “This school is here because people in the community want a great school of music and continue to support it.”
Sincerity and passion
Park described what she hears when these students perform.
“There’s a sincerity in Nikol’s playing that attracts her audience,” Park said. “Anastasiia’s passion for the music is immediately apparent once she starts playing. The audience will witness it when they join us next Tuesday.”
“I like when people feel the music, not only hear,” Nikol said.
Anastasiia hopes the audience will sense her gratitude through her music.
“For me, it’s about your recovery after some tragedy,” she said. “It feels like, no matter what happened, you’re still alive and you still go to the future.”
Thinking ahead to that night and reflecting on all the efforts helping to make the moment for Anastasiia and Nikol, Park expects to be emotional.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll probably be bawling in the corner,” she said. “But it is really special. … I think it will be wonderful. … I hope and wish that they have a great time performing and just playing their heart out.”
