As Russian bombs continue to rain down on Ukraine, musicians around the world are performing to raise financial support for the Ukrainian people. On 31 May, a fundraising concert will take place in Canberra, featuring Ukrainian folk music and works by Brahms, John Taverner and Valentin Silvestrov among others.

Jointly presented by the Canberra International Music Festival, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and the ANU School of Music, proceeds will be donated to the Australian Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal and Doctors Without Borders.

Roland Peelman, the Artistic Director of the CIMF, instigated the concert. Asked by Limelight why he initiated the idea and how important he believes the concert is, he says, “We are doing it to raise money of course – in the scheme of things [it’s] perhaps insignificant, but everything helps. The broader reason has to do with the cultural roots. Music from Eastern Europe, the Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian traditions may seem at the periphery of Europe, but they do form an integral part of European culture. We never imagined that this type of crude aggression, not just between neighbours but between cousins, could still happen in this day and age. Music reminds us of what we have in...