Between May 27th and June 12th, 2025, the New Hope Orchestra is embarking on a national tour titled "Resounding Echoes, Free Wings." Cellist Octavian Lup, the founder of the ensemble, shares more details in an interview with Ioana Țintea.

On Tuesday, May 27th, the New Hope Orchestra begins its national tour titled Resounding Echoes, Free Wings-a project that combines classical music with personal life stories, all in a context of prevention and education aimed at teenagers. What inspired you to launch this initiative?

I'm truly happy to present this project, which is one of the most meaningful and ambitious I've initiated. It addresses a very serious issue-substance abuse in schools, universities, and high schools, and beyond. Since the New Hope Orchestra has already established itself as a socially engaged ensemble, responding to the needs of our society and country, we couldn't ignore this cause, which I believe can be tackled in Romania, even if it's difficult. This time, music will be interwoven with the testimonies of young people who have managed to escape the grip of addiction, along with insights from certified experts in the field. We'll be blending all of these elements for high school students in five cities across Romania. The venues are already full, so we have every reason to believe this will be a truly memorable experience.

What repertoire have you chosen for this tour?

We've selected accessible pieces-works by Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, and Puccini, focusing on their most well-known compositions. At the same time, we wanted to introduce high school students to our world as classical musicians and help them understand and appreciate the depth of this music. It's an incredibly powerful medium for conveying emotion, sparking reflection, and stirring the heart-and perhaps even prompting them to consider which side of the fence they're really on.

The tour begins on May 27th in Timișoara. What cities will follow after this first concert?

Before that, I should mention that we had concerts in Suceava on May 25th with Handel's Messiah, and in Iași on May 24th. After Timișoara, we'll head to Arad, then Satu Mare on May 29th, Sibiu on May 30th, and finally, we'll make our way to Bucharest, where we'll wrap up the tour in glorious fashion on June 12th, at the Romanian Athenaeum.

New Hope Orchestra is a young ensemble, yet it already has a powerful voice if we look at the diversity of its past activities. How do the young musicians experience this form of artistic and social responsibility?

They are incredibly responsive and engaged in our projects. In fact, I often find myself in the unfortunate position of not being able to accommodate everyone who wants to take part. Still, we've tried as much as possible to extend our reach beyond Bucharest-to cities like Cluj, Iași, and Brașov-all of which have specialized high schools and music faculties. We've aimed to bring in the most gifted and talented young musicians, because that's also something we need to take into account when selecting members for our orchestra and projects.

What message do you want to send to the young people attending the New Hope concerts?

We want them to know that life is beautiful, that our loved ones are important, and that music, spirituality, and everything that is good and beautiful should be central in our lives. We also want to remind them to take care of themselves, because the challenges of substance use, addiction, and harmful social circles are not easy for anyone. We assure them that this concert will offer a truly extraordinary experience.