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Classical music will combine with Ukrainian folk music, performance and the spoken word in a broad-ranging concert next weekend.
"Sunflowers in Bloom — Harmonies for Ukraine” is the brainchild of veteran Dunedin musicians Donald Cullington (piano) and Sydney Manowitz (violin), who have gathered an impressive array of local performers around them for the showcase.
The concert, to be held next Sunday, November 8, from 2pm at St Paul’s Cathedral, aims to raise awareness of the plight of the Ukrainian people and funds to support young people’s musical education in Ukraine.
Cullington and Manowitz, who were the driving force behind a concert in support of Ukraine four years ago, felt that it was important to continue raising awareness of the situation in that country.
"As well as raising awareness of the sufferings of the Ukrainian people, we want to provide some practical help for its musicians,” Cullington said.
"So, all proceeds from the concert will be sent to the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, which supports young Ukrainians who wish to pursue a career in music and raises funds to help talented children in Ukraine in various ways.”
Cullington is delighted that the concert line-up will include the opportunity to perform alongside daughters — Dunedin-based flutist Fiona Pickering, and Brussels-based pianist Lorna Boussaha.
Along with an array of classical musicians, the concert will feature special guests The Stella Singers, Ukrainian folk performers, and readings from Terry MacTavish.
The programme will feature music from Antonin Dvorak, Fryderyk Chopin, Arnold Bax, John Rutter, William Walton, along with traditional music from Scotland, Ireland, Spain, and Ukraine.
Local group “Stand with Ukraine” will also present items during the concert.
Dunedin-based Honorary Ukrainian consul Olena Grubb welcomed the concert’s support for Ukraine’s long-established system of specialised music education.
“Ukrainian musicians are teaching, learning and performing under the most difficult conditions imaginable,” she said.
"Yet the Kyiv academy’s place among the world’s top 100 performing arts institutions shows that Ukraine’s musical life is not just surviving but succeeding.”
Ukrainian musicologist and Professor at Ukrainian Catholic University Dr Yuri Chekan described the impact of the war on musical institutions, including the bombing of the Kharkiv University of Arts and Odesa Conservatory. Both continued to operate.
Dr Chekan said displaced musicians had been hit hardest.
Ms Grubb said support from support from Dunedin’s Sunflowers in Bloom — Harmonies for Ukraine concert on November 8 would “play a huge role in supporting Ukrainian music in times of war”.