The Refugee Orchestra Project was founded in 2016 as a way to unite refugee musicians. Since its inception, Refugee Orchestra Project has performed with ensembles and artists like the London Symphony Orchestra, Chi-chi Nwanoko, Gity Razaz, and more. 

Their current Artist-in-Residence, Milad Yousufi, is a multi-media artist, composer, and conductor. He’s working with the ensemble to bring the sound of Afghan music to the stage through concerts featuring a collection of soloists and instrumentations. Yousufi is no stranger to Music Worcester: in 2019, Music Worcester commissioned Milad to compose a work for the South High Community School chamber brass band titled “Salam Alik”.

Program to feature works by composers who were refugees during their lifetimes, including:

Milad Yousufi — (new commission)
Gian Carlo Menotti — excerpts from The Consul
Sergei Rachmaninoff — selected arias
Béla Bartók— Romanian Folk Dances

The Refugee Orchestra Project (ROP) was organized in 2016 by conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya as a way to unite refugee musicians, raise awareness, and support those displaced by the Syrian refugee crisis. Since its inception, the organization has grown to produce regular high-profile performances, including collaborations in London with the London Symphony Orchestra/St. Luke’s, in Washington, DC with Gourmet Symphony featuring members of the National Symphony Orchestra, and a UN Day performance at the United Nations with Indian musical legend Amjad Ali Khan.

ROP’s work has been featured by CNN, NowThis, Good Morning America, AFP, Al Jazeera, and other major outlets. The project was conceived by Yankovskaya as she realized that many of her closest colleagues and friends were unaware that she, and many others like her, had come to the United States as refugees. Because of the trauma often associated with displacement, many refugees choose not to speak openly about their past. As a result, it is common for people to be unaware that their neighbors, coworkers, and friends arrived as refugees during times of crisis.

Through performances that feature world-class refugee musicians and music by both contemporary and historical refugee composers, ROP actively challenges assumptions and stereotypes. The organization performs in a variety of formats, from large-scale orchestral concerts with chorus and soloists to chamber music in more intimate settings. Most concerts include collaborations with musicians from the local communities in which ROP performs. The organization also supports an Artist in Residence, who is commissioned for collaborative projects and regularly featured in performances.