Ukrainian War Requiem

2026 JUNO Award Winner:
Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble)

  • "Breathtakingly monumental"

    — Adrian Quanjer
    HRAudio

  • "Astonishingly Good"

    — Thomas Neal
    New Liturgical Movement

  • "Mightily Impressive"

    — Göran Forsling
    MusicWeb International

About the Requiem Project

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Axios Men’s Ensemble responded by commissioning a new work of remembrance and witness.  The Ukrainian War Requiem honours Ukraine’s courage, loss and resilience, while calling listeners toward freedom, dignity and a just peace.  

The music was recorded in Edmonton, Alberta in 2024 with singers from Ukraine, who had direct experience of the horrors of war.  In total, 55 vocalists from Canada, United States and Ukraine combined their voices to sing this Ukrainian funeral rite.  

The music was produced by 11-time Grammy Award Winner Blanton Alspaugh, released on Cappella Records and can be streamed everywhere.

Listen

The Ukrainian War Requiem is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music or anywhere you listen to music, and available for purchase from Cappella Records in several formats in Super Audio.

Listen on Spotify
Listen on Youtube
Buy the Album
Read the Liner Notes
Listen on Apple Music

Creative Team

Benedict Sheehan: Composer

Two-time Grammy nominee and American Prize-winner Benedict Sheehan has been called "a choral conductor and composer to watch in the 21st century" (ConcertoNet) and "one of the most important voices in American Orthodox choral music" (Choral Journal). His award-winning compositions and recordings include his Eastern Orthodox liturgical works Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (2020) and Vespers (2021), as well as two acclaimed collaborations with Skylark Vocal Ensemble on Once Upon a Time (2020) and A Christmas Carol (2021), works for chorus and narrator. 

When we approached Benedict Sheehan about our idea to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives as a result of this war, he stated: "I have felt very strongly that I wanted to offer something in connection with what's happening in Ukraine-I have, with every other sane person in the world, watched Russia's naked brutality with horror and outrage-and this seems like just the right way to express my sympathy with the victims of the this conflict." 

benedictsheehanmusic.com

Read the Composer's Introduction

Michael Zaugg: Conductor

Award-winning conductor, Swiss-native Michael Zaugg works with professional and amateur choral ensembles across Canada, the US, and Europe, including as Artistic Director of St. Lawrence Choir in Montreal from 2008 to 2013; of the Cantata Singers of Ottawa from 2005 to 2014; and as Chorus master of the Orchestre Symponique de Montreal (2006-2011). He has received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and the Con Spirito Award in Alberta. Michael has been the Artistic Director and Conductor of Pro Coro since 2012. 

michaelzaugg.info

The Axios Men's Ensemble-is a male chorus founded in 2003 under the direction of Boris Derow. Its primary focus is to sing Eastern sacred music both in liturgical contexts and in concert settings for contemporary audiences, often collaborating with other ensembles and soloists. The choir has made a number of recordings. Most recently they have collaborated with Michael Zaugg and professional singers from across North America and Ukraine to produce The Resurrectional Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom by Fr. John Sembrat OSBM (2015) and Christ is Born: Hymns and Carols of the Nativity (2019). The choir has staged concerts across Canada and the United States. 

Performers

Axios Men's Ensemble

Pro Coro Canada is an Edmonton-based professional choir that has performed across Canada and is widely recognized as one of the country's finest. The choir has commissioned dozens of new works, the majority by Canadian composers. They are particularly proud of their appointment as Faculty in the Choral Arts program at the Banff Centre, and the choir believes in community partnerships. Over the past few years, they have collaborated with many choirs and mentored young choral artists through their Emerging Artist Program.

procoro.ca

Tenors and Basses of Pro Coro Canada

Yuliia Zasimova: Soprano Soloist

Yuliia is a graduate of the National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv and Luhansk Music College. She has performed for the National Opera of Ukraine and extensively throughout Ukraine. In 2022, she became the 1st Prize winner of Juan Pons Singing Competition and 3rd Prize winner of 11th International Stanislaw Moniuszko vocal competition, along with many other awards and distinction.

John Tessier: Tenor Soloist

John is a JUNO AWARD-winning tenor who has worked with many of the most notable conductors and stage directors of our day. Appearances of the recent past and near future include performances at the Teatro alla Scala Milano, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Carnegie Hall, and many more. Equally comfortable in the genres of opera, oratorio and recital, John is also professor at the University of Alberta.

Performances of the Ukrainian War Requiem

Past Performances

Calgary, AB
April 13, 2024

Edmonton, AB
April 14, 2024

Upcoming Performances

Axios will be taking the Ukrainian War Requiem on Tour across Canada in November 2026.

To request a performance in your city, contact us.

Accolades for Ukrainian War Requiem

“…A vital new art that responds powerfully, as art always has, to injustice and violence and the horrors of war by projecting solemn beauty.” ”

- Jon Sobel, Publisher and Executive Editor of Blogcritics
Read the Full Review

“The interpretation is breathtakingly monumental...”

- Adrian Quanjer, Site Reviewer of HRAudio
Read the Full Review

“...a work that solemnly soothes the suffering of millions of Ukrainians”
Robert Majewski W Kultura

“This music is an important statement in our time”
Remy Franck, Pizzicato

“Astonishingly good”
New Liturgical Movement - Thomas Neal

“Breathtakingly monumental”
Göran Forsling - Music Web International

Axios Mens Ensemble is grateful to receive permission to use photos for the Ukrainian War Requiem Project by Finnbar O'Reilly and Nicole Tung of the New York Times and Bernat Armangue of the Associated Press. Other photos featured by Anna Zavyiboroda. We are also grateful for the donated time from our good friends from Cut&Paste.