Printer Friendly Version - Cellists for Ukraine Plan Benefit Concert

Cellists for Ukraine Concert will perform a benefit concert on Sunday, June 12 at 3 p.m. at Guilford Church of Christ Scientist, 49 Park Street, Guilford. Participants will include, from left to right, Gordon Chen, Luke Robbins, Ann West, and Christopher Hwa. Maria Gregory, not pictured, is scheduled to play as well. Photo courtesy of Ann West

Students in Ann West’s cello studio are participating in a Practice-athon through the month of May, to culminate in a public concert: Cellists for Ukraine, Sunday, June 12 at 3 p.m. at the Church of Christ Scientist, 49 Park Street, Guilford.

The program will start with the Ukrainian Anthem and include solo and ensemble works by Bach, Brahms, Dvorak, Massenet, Mendelssohn, Paganini, and Rachmaninov, accompanied by Yale pianist Sara Kohane.

Free will offerings will be accepted. One hundred percent of all donations will be divided between the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee (www.uuarc.org) and misto-dobra.com.ua/english, a nonprofit organization based in western Ukraine that helps women and children displaced by the war.

Those who are interested in joining the Practice-athon or volunteering ideas, suggestions, time, and talents can email West at cellowest58@gmail.com.

West is a professional cellist who has taught and lived in Guilford for several decades. She felt deeply troubled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but powerless alone to help families under siege and innocents forced to flee as refugees.

Then she started to work on uniting public and private music teachers and their students to raise funds for humanitarian aid to Ukraine through the Practice-athon.

The example of her private cello student Owen Steffen and his family inspired her to do this. Watching live footage of Ukrainian wives and children being separated from their husbands, and fathers and the killing of innocents, Steffen’s parents felt an urgent need to help young families suffering in Ukraine. Both parents, with the helping hands of their children, started Cookies for a Cause, selling homemade chocolate chip cookie dough, meeting their goal of raising $5,000.

West felt the Practice-athon would help not only Ukraine, but herself, other teachers, and their students recovering from the protracted psychological impact of the Corona Virus Pandemic.

In a letter to teachers, parents, and students, West wrote, “We are now entering the third phase of what may be a protracted war in Ukraine. As we near the end of the school year and look forward to summer vacations and camps, it may be tempting to stop watching the news, and tuck the plight of Ukrainians in a drawer out of sight. We have the freedom to relax, recreate, and travel. Families under siege in Ukraine cannot escape from protracted daily attacks and suffering. They need our continued moral support and financial aid to survive.”

With the encouragement of Eric Dillner, CEO of the Shoreline Arts Alliance, West is calling out to all artists to find creative ways to do what they love and turn it into service for Ukraine. She invites all people to do the same and imagine the positive ripple effects this would have.