Ukrainian opera singer features in concert raising more than £5,000

A concert featuring a Ukrainian opera singer who lives in Exeter has raised more than £5,000 for the British Red Cross’s Ukraine appeal.

The concert took place on 12th November, at Luppitt Village Hall in East Devon, featuring musical acts, an auction and a raffle.

Ukrainian mezzo-soprano Iryna Ilnytska opened the night with two songs: a Ukrainian lullaby and a folk song called ‘The Moon in the Sky’.

David Kalisch, from Combe Raleigh and Roger Hicks, from Luppitt, organised the event and also appeared as busking duo Blue Sky.

Iryna Ilnytska said: “I feel very grateful to David, Roger and to the British people for supporting Ukrainian people in this terrible time of conflict. They support not only by words but also by their kind deeds.”

David Kalisch said: “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after Iryna’s songs had finished. The whole evening was very stirring and very emotional but also very community minded and people were just so ready to give to Ukraine.”

David was partly inspired to set up the fundraiser because his father was a refugee who fled Czechoslovakia in 1939, at the onset of the Second World War.

“I have the history of what it’s like for that to happen, and for my family to have to uproot itself and leave and start all over again somewhere else. So there was a personal connection to the whole refugee story which was a strong incentive for me to do something,” he said.

The Walnuts also played. Band members include television presenter Matt Allwright and broadcaster Fergus Muirhead.

The initial target for the fundraiser was £3,000, but so far £5,800 has been raised and they are now aiming to raise £7,000.

The British Red Cross has helped almost 10,000 people arriving in the UK from Ukraine. People have been helped with such things as community integration, understanding their rights and entitlements, ensuring access to critical services such as health care, education and employment, housing, financial support and tracing family members when contact has been lost.

Money donated to the fundraiser will go to the British Red Cross’s Ukraine Crisis Appeal. This will help to support the work of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, which has been responding from the outset, providing critical and lifesaving support to those affected.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/redcrossukraineappeal