London musicians band together, raise $72K for Ukraine
Two sold-out benefit concerts at Aeolian Hall have raised $72,000 to support Ukrainian refugees and others trapped by the escalating violence in the eastern European country.
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Two sold-out benefit concerts at Aeolian Hall have raised $72,000 to support Ukrainian refugees and others trapped by the escalating violence in the eastern European country.
The Concert for Peace in support of Ukraine concerts Thursday and Friday night were headlined by two-time Juno Award winner Loreena McKennitt with appearances by several London musicians and singers.
“They were both incredible evenings,” Clark Bryan, the Aeolian’s executive and artistic director, said Sunday. “We had 23 performers plus about 67 choir members. After two years of the pandemic, with musicians being as hard-hit as they have, it was heartwarming to see them come together and do this.”
The ultimate total from the two-night fundraiser may be higher as donations continue to trickle in, he said.
The money raised from the concerts will support Red Cross humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. More than 3.8 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the Russian invasion began Feb. 24.
The concert series’ reach extended beyond the sold-out crowd at the Aeolian, Bryan said.
“We had people who logged on to our live stream all the way from China, Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand,” he said. “We had viewers from 40 states and all 10 Canadian provinces.”
Three children who fled Ukraine to stay with their relatives in Canada in the early days of the conflict were there both nights, Bryan said. The children’s aunt settled in London after emigrating from Ukraine years ago and is a friend of Bryan’s.
The success of the back-to-back concerts is an example of how Londoners are willing to come together and help others, Bryan said.
“It really speaks to the power of community and the fact that many of us have felt very hopeless and unable to do anything,” Bryan said. “There’s always something we can do at the community level to ripple outwards.”
UKRAINIAN INVASION RELIEF: HOW YOU CAN HELP
- To donate to the Canadian Red Cross, call 1-800-418-1111 or visit www.redcross.ca/donate/other-ways-to-donate
- The London Ukrainian Centre is taking cash donations. Call 519-686-9811. E-transfers can be sent to info@londonukrainiancentre.ca
- Donations to the Ukraine Newcomer Fund with the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre can be made at giving.lcclc.org/product/UKRN22/ukraine-newcomer-fund
- Churches such as Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity are directing their members and others who want to help to the London Ukrainian Centre
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