For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the glorious music performed at the annual Concert for Peace was once again enjoyed by audiences in person at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan.

After hosting virtual concerts for peace over the past two years on New Year’s Eve, members of the orchestra were overjoyed to not only share their craft, but to hear the applause of a live audience.
 
“This is huge for us,” Kent Tritle, the cathedral's director of music, said. “It’s huge for me. We all got the chills."

"We as performers love what we do, but the audience is such an important part of the circle," Tritle added. 

For many in the crowd of about 1,000, the highlight and focal point of the concert was the world premiere of a new work, "Lullaby for Vaska."

Composer Joseph Turrin, of New Jersey, said he decided to dedicate the performance to the people of Ukraine because the war broke out as he was writing it. 

Turrin said the piece was originally inspired by a story he found on the internet about a family that survived the siege of Leningrad in 1942. 
 
“While I was doing that, the invasion of Ukraine took place,” Turrin said. “I thought, 'Wow, this is strangely parallel to what’s going on.' And that’s how the piece eventually became dedicated to the people of Ukraine.”
 
One audience member named Devorah, who declined to give her last name, said she spent New Year’s Eve attending a Concert for Peace at least 40 times since she moved to the Upper West Side. After learning about “Lullaby for Vaska,” her thoughts were with the people of Ukraine. 
 
“I have compassion for them,” she said. “We just saw their children’s choir here in New York, and they’re wonderful people, and I’m sorry that Russia is attacking them. It’s wrong. 
 
Meanwhile, one woman from Brazil told NY1 she travels to NYC nearly every year — and makes it a point to attend the concert. She was very glad that it is back for audiences to enjoy in person again.