9-year-old piano prodigy Stelios Kerasidis composes original score for the people of Ukraine
The ongoing war in Ukraine has taken a deadly toll and forced millions of people, mostly women and children, to leave their homes. Now, one young piano prodigy from Greece is sending a "musical message" and a plea to those responsible: "Us children, we have the right to peace. Please stop this war."
Nine-year-old Stelios Kersadis wrote an original composition, titled "Anti-War Etude" as a dedication to those in Ukraine.
"I couldn't stand to see so much pain and so many people suffering any longer," he said. "My weapons are my piano and my notes, and with this piece I would like to send a musical message for peace to the whole world."
On March 19, UNICEF said that more than 1.5 million children alone had fled Ukraine as refugees since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on February 24. Countless others, the organization said, have been displaced.
The numbers are only growing. As of Monday, roughly 10 million Ukrainian civilians — about a quarter of the nation's people — have been forced to leave their homes behind.
Kersadis is considered a piano virtuoso, earning a Global Child Prodigy Award in 2022, and has been performing since he was 3 years old. He has performed at several renowned institutions, including New York's Carnegie Hall and London's Royal Albert Hall. According to the website Greek Reporter, he is also the youngest Greek to study at the Schola Cantorum Paris music academy.
During the pandemic, he also went viral for his composition "Isolation Waltz," which he wrote to encourage people to stay home during lockdowns.
"I know it's not easy to change the world, but it's worth it to try," Kersadis told Reuters. "Us children, we have the right to peace."