PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A local Ukrainian advocacy groups is voicing their concerns over a violinist’s scheduled performance at the Kravis Center for the Palm Beach Symphony and a corresponding workshop with Palm Beach County School District students.
Vadim Repin, whose website describes him as a child prodigy with a very successful career, is scheduled to perform in March as part of the Palm Beach Symphony’s Masterclass series. Ukrainian Association of Florida believes Repin is tied to the current Russian regime because his wife, Zakharova Svitlana, is a member of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s political party and is under sanction by the Ukrainian Government.
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Svitlana is also on the Anti-Corruption Foundation, the group formerly led by opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as a war enabler for being an authorized representative for Vladimir Putin in 2018 and 2024.
Dmytro Bozhko, who said he has family and friends in Ukraine, said he found out about the concert from following news about the Russo-Ukrainian War. He said he recognized Repin’s name because he knew his performance, like other artists with Russian nationalities, had been cancelled by various groups like the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Mannheim Philharmonic in Germany and a performance with his wife at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Italy.
“He cannot be not related to what’s going on,” Bozhko said. “….We should be very careful with who we are inviting, who we are listening to. We should be really be careful about who we are allowing to talk publicly and loudly.”
He said his organization Ukrainian Association of Florida, created a petition for the Palm Beach Symphony.
“Mr. Repin will have access to young people, who may not be fully informed about the political situation in Russia,” the petition reads. ‘One can say it’s “just music’, but he is not mentioning the highly talented Russian musicians who have spoken out against Putin, who were either killed, or imprisoned for life in horrifying conditions.”
Two different nonprofits, Arts Against Aggression and Russian America for Democracy in Russia also sent the Palm Beach Symphony an open letter asking the organization to cancel the performance. Bozhko said he became especially concerned when he learned Repin would host a workshop at The Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, a Palm Beach County Public School.
“I don’t know what he’s going to teach them and what he’s going to talk about,” he said.“That’s my personal warning and of course, people are going to make their own judgment: allow him to talk to kids and go and participate in this concert. Nothing is going to happen if he’s going to skip it….That’s up to organizers and local communities to tolerate that or not.”
WPTV asked the Palm Beach County School District if it was aware of Repin’s connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the appropriateness of having students meet with the violinist. Sean Cooley, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County School District, declined to answer those questions in writing correctly. He said only two students would be participating after they were invited by the Palm Beach Symphony.
“We can confirm that two Palm Beach County School District students are invited by the Palm Beach Symphony to participate in the masterclass involving Vadim Repin, and their families approved their participation,” Cooley wrote in an email. “The event is off-campus and outside of school hours.”
The Palm Beach Symphony didn’t respond to WPTV’s request for comment about the controversy. However, Repin’s representation told us these types of performances and workshops are “bridge-building efforts” in an email
“Orchestras and promoters in many parts of Europe have made strong statements to the effect that their artists are not chosen by nationality but on the basis of artistic merit,” wrote Eleanor Hope, Repin’s listed General Management. “I share their view that music is a human right, and that cultural boycotts are ineffectual.”
