A FUNDRAISING concert to raise cash for the British Red Cross’s Ukraine appeal is to be staged in Barnard Castle on Sunday, March 27.
The hastily arranged afternoon classical recital will be performed by Sophia Strings, which features a Ukrainian family who came to the UK five years ago and currently live in Darlington.
Sophia Strings are led by professional Ukrainian violinists and husband and wife Kostyantyn Tsepkov and Irina Zagorna, with Penny Jones on cello and Jill Russell/Paul Donovan on viola.
They were formed in 2017 when Kostia and Irina, along with their daughter Sofia came to England from Ukraine.
Kostia and Irina trained at the Kiev Tchaikovsky Conservatoire and played in many professional orchestras and chamber ensembles, including the Ukraine National Opera.
Sofia a talented singer, who also plays piano and violin.
Since forming, the group has appeared at a range of venues and events across the North East.
For this benefit concert at The Witham, they will play a range of short popular classics and lighter music.
The charity performance came about after the couple met trustees from The Witham at the arts centre's recent Sunday classics show A Woman's Lot, which featured Penny Randall-Davies. Sunday’s performance begins at 2pm. Tickets are £6 and additional donations welcomed. All proceeds will go to the Ukrainian Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal, which comes under the umbrella of the Disasters Emergency Committee.
The concert is the second fundraising event at The Witham in support of those affected by the war in Ukraine.
A charity coffee morning was held on Saturday, March 19.
For more details on the Red Cross appeal, go to https://do nate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/ ukraine-crisis-appeal.
