Over $30,000 has been raised by London Ont., Aeolian Hall benefit concert to support refugees and those trapped by the war in Ukraine.
Funds are still coming in from the two-night Concert for Peace, with local artists and performers taking to the stage on Thursday and then again on Friday.
Executive and artistic director Clark Bryan says at a time when artists are struggling due to the pandemic its amazing to see them show support.
“It’s a real testimonial to the strength and power of community to come together, and at a time when a lot of people are having a hard time with hope for our future,” Bryan said.
“It’s usually musicians that step forward and they lead the causes on the planet. You see it over and over again, and they have had it the hardest during the pandemic, and they’re just willing to.”
Over the two days of performances, 23 musicians and two choirs of around 57 people will be gracing the stage.
All the money raised is being donated to the Red Cross to help with their relief effort for those impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Canadian artists like Loreena McKennitt and Denise Pelly with Stephen Holowitz were among those to grace the stage opening night, but it was the words on a group of boys before the show began that had a lasting impact.
Brothers Stephan Sirko, 5, Michael Sirko, 11, and Yeuhenii Klymenko, 20, were at the concert with their aunt, Toronto artist Anya Romanenko, a long way from their home in Ukraine.
Romanenko was there to share her family’s story and sell prints of her art, with all the proceeds going to support those impacted by the war.
“I think art is the most powerful language, because art can bring people together and it doesn’t need any translation and explanation,” Romanenko said.
“People can understand each other through art, that’s why I think it’s really great that we’re here to share this feeling of beautiful music and songs and paintings and just kind of keeping our souls together.”
Romanenko is from Ukraine, but has lived in Canada for the last 25 years, her nephews having only recently arrived in the last few weeks. First, the two youngest were taken across the border with the help of volunteers, and then their older brother who just arrived yesterday.
Michael told the crowd of concertgoers that their parents have stayed behind to fight, their father in the army and mother also volunteering.
“He (one of the boys) is a really worried about parents, and he is asking all the time, and they’re trying to figure it out. They are just a wishing for this war to be over,” Romanenko said.
They try to call home every night but their parents are in Kyiv, one of the hardest areas hit, she said. Romanenko is working to try and reestablish some sense of normalcy in their lives by enrolling the boys in school and daycare, but it’s hard with so much happening so far away.
“It’s I think surreal is what it is, because I’m talking to my friends, I’m talking to people who are trying to run away or (are) still there, and they’re all helping each other,” she said.
Romanenko said the city her family came frim has been heavily bombed and people are mostly living in subway stations and bomb shelters.
“I’m so glad to see that all the people who are supporting the Ukrainian people, supporting people who doesn’t want to live in the war call people who can understand who we can help”
Tickets for the Friday night Concert for Peace are still available for the live-stream on the Aeolian Hall website.