Colorado Springs Philharmonic honors Ukrainian clarinetist

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A principal clarinetist for the Colorado Springs Philharmonic says he was moved to tears when one of his friends told him the symphony orchestra wanted to play the Ukrainian national anthem before their performance.

Sergei Vassiliev says he got the call just four hours before they were set to take the stage. The Ukrainian national anthem was played before both Saturday and Sunday's shows.

Vassiliev is from Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, where his family is living right now. Before getting that call, Vassiliev told KRDO he was watching as his home city was invaded by Russians.

"Today they bombed a residential neighborhood where I used to hang out as a kid. You know my friends were there, living there, it’s just surreal to watch that you know," said Vassiliev.

Vassiliev says he's been constantly keeping in touch with his family and following the war on social media. He says the last few days have felt like an out-of-body experience.

Vassiliev was last home in December for Christmas, he says at that time, Kharkiv was bustling and to see it now is surreal.

"It’s wild. I’m just... the silver lining to all of this is, I’m so proud of the Ukrainian people. The way they showed up to this war is just amazing. It’s been amazing to watch and no matter what happens I will forever be proud of that," said Vassiliev.

Vassiliev is working on a GoFundMe page to send money to the people of Kharkiv. Once it's approved, donations can be made here.