Citizen Child Orchestra (Photo: Augusto Cataldi)

This article was originally published by Brasil 247 and written by journalist Luis Mauro Filho.

The Orquestra Criança Cidadã (OCC), a social initiative founded in Recife to promote citizenship through music, is leading an international tour that unites young people from countries scarred by wars and historic rivalries. The Brazilian group is performing alongside musicians from Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Palestine, Israel, South Korea, and North Korea in peace concerts across Asia and at the Vatican. The highlight of the tour will take place on October 8 in Rome, before Pope Leo XIV.

According to the OCC, the initiative builds on efforts first launched in 2023, when the orchestra joined a humanitarian mission at the Vatican in the presence of Pope Francis, who passed away in April of this year. This time, the delegation is broader, bringing together young musicians from conflict-stricken nations to amplify a global call for reconciliation.

Concerts in historic and symbolic venues

The 2025 tour includes performances at the Youngsan Art Hall in Seoul; the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park — the first city destroyed by a nuclear bomb; Expo 2025 in Osaka; and the Vatican. Each venue was chosen to serve as a symbolic appeal against violence and in favor of fraternity among peoples.

“Seeing young people from countries historically at odds share the same stage, playing side by side, is deeply moving,” said José Targino, OCC’s founder and the architect of the concerts. For him, the selection of musicians is a gesture of hope: “These are voices challenging the noise of war with the sound of harmony and brotherhood.”

Selecting the Brazilians and the repertoire

The orchestra chose 11 young musicians, aged 16 to 22, through blind auditions designed to eliminate favoritism. All are residents of low-income communities in the Recife metropolitan area and have been part of the project for more than a decade.

The program combines Brazilian classics, such as Aquarela do Brasil and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4, with traditional pieces from the participants’ countries, including Arirang (Korea), Kalinka (Russia), Hava Nagila (Israel), as well as works by Myroslav Skoryk (Ukraine) and Fairuz (Lebanon). The concert is divided into two sections — “Community of People” and “Latin American Music” — concluding with a medley of samba and choro.

Bringing together youth from rival nations

The international ensemble features musicians from every participating country. Among the standouts are Israelis Ori Shauel Wissner Levy and Simon Lemberski, Ukrainians Petro Kuzma and Oleksandr Puzankov, Russians Nikita Shkuratov and Zlata Synkova, as well as young North Korean performers playing the traditional haegeum.

“Our mission is more than playing instruments — it’s about reaching people,” said João Targino, who is accompanying the delegation. He added: “If a child attends one of these concerts and walks away believing they can be an agent of change, then we’ve fulfilled our purpose.”

Transformation through music

Founded nearly two decades ago, the Orquestra Criança Cidadã has trained more than 700 students from vulnerable communities in Recife. The project provides music lessons, educational support, meals, and medical care. Internationally recognized, the OCC has performed in Germany, Portugal, Italy, China, Israel, the United States, and Argentina.

The new tour reaffirms the group’s mission to transform lives through art while sending a powerful global message of peace amid an international climate of conflict and division.