Music is the Universal Form of Magic | Oleksandra Kharytonova | TEDxLAHS

Oleksandra Kharytonova, a junior at Los Altos High School who moved to the United States from Ukraine after the start of the war, describes how playing the flute helped her find connection in unfamiliar places. Her experiences include performing in refugee shelters, joining marching bands in the U.S., and building community at her new school. She reports that benefit concerts she took part in raised over $330,000 for Ukrainian humanitarian aid. She also founded the first Slavic club at her school and recently started a platform to help immigrant students understand the U.S. school system. The talk presents music as a way to belong when everything else feels unfamiliar. It was given at an independently organized TEDx event.

• Playing the flute in refugee shelters and benefit concerts
• Joining marching bands and creating community at a new U.S. school
• Benefit concerts that raised over $330,000 for Ukrainian humanitarian aid
• Founding a Slavic club and a platform for immigrant students

She shares how playing the flute helped her find connection in unfamiliar places, from performing in refugee shelters to joining marching bands in the U.S. and creating community at her new school. Through her story, she shows how music became more than just something she loved; it became a way to belong. Oleksandra Kharytonova is a junior at Los Altos High School. Oleksandra moved to the United States from Ukraine after the start of the war. She has been playing the flute for over 12 years and grew up in a family of musicians, which shaped her connection to music from a very young age. After relocating across several countries, she used music to reconnect with others and rebuild a sense of normalcy, including performing in benefit concerts that raised over $330,000 for Ukrainian humanitarian aid. At her current school, she founded the first Slavic club to bring together students who shared similar backgrounds, and she recently started a platform to help immigrant students better understand the U.S. school system. She is interested in how music can connect people, especially in moments when everything else feels unfamiliar. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx