Ukraine Benefit Concert

You are invited to a Ukrainian benefit concert at St. Faith’s Anglican Church featuring Ukrainian concert pianist, Anna Sagalova, and the Ensemble Harmonia. The music for the evening will include Chopin Piano Concerto no. 1 in E minor, as well as works by Ukrainian and other composers. A light reception follows the concert.

Tickets for the concert are free. Donations will be collected on site with all money going to the Primate’s World Relief & Development Fund for disbursement to local Ukrainian organizations that serve seniors, children, people with disabilities, people in need of medical care, as well as those who have had to flee their country to escape the war.

Anna Sagalova

Anna Sagalova is a well known Ukrainian pianist. She is an Honored Artist of Ukraine and Associate Professor at Kharkiv I.P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts and completed also a postgraduate course with G. Otto at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar (Germany).

Anna participated in the international piano masterclasses in Ukraine, Switzerland, China and France, classes of the professors K. Steinegger, P. Soubleau (Switzerland), E. Skovorodnykov (Ukraine-Canada), N. Shtarkman (Russia), K. Hellwig, G. Rosenberg, E. Haase, M. Dorrit, G. Otto (Germany), V. Zuponchich (USA), L. Knezhkova-Hassi, (Canada), K. Zera, P. Yansen (France), B. Sokolai (Hungary), Xiao Zong (China) were attended.

Anna is an internationally recognized artist and a laureate of many musical contests in Italy, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Canada and Germany. She frequently plays as a soloist with symphony orchestras throughout Ukraine under the baton of conductors from Ukraine, USA, Switzerland, Great Britain, Austria, etc.

Anna has given concerts in the Bern state radio, the International Museum of the Red Cross in Geneva, the Bozendorfer Hall in Vienna, the House Museum of F. Liszt, the concert hall in Altenburg in Weimar (Germany) and others.

She has taken part in a number of festivals, including the Days of Ukrainian Culture festival in Poznan (Poland), Music festivals in Vigo (Spain), Trier (Germany), the International Music Festival in Lubostron (Poland), the International festival of chamber music in Shanghai (China), Kiev-Music-Fest (Ukraine), and Kharkiv Assemblies (Ukraine). Her performances have been broadcasted on radio and television. She has recorded two compact discs.

In 2016 Anna was elected as a chairman of the Advisory Department in the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine “Council of Young Scientists”. She is also a member of the National Cultural and Art Education Cоuncil under the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. She took part in higher artistic educational curriculum,

Anna is the Artistic Director of the International musical art contes Kharkiv Assembles, co-founder of the project Music Against Cancer, and a producer of multiple events and concerts. She is a jury member in several national and international music contests in Ukraine. Anna gives piano master-classes in Ukraine, Spain and the UK. Among her students and graduates are winners of all-Ukrainian and international music competitions.

About Ensemble Harmonia

Harmonia is a string chamber ensemble based in Vancouver, BC. The group originated 16 years ago when founder Tony Lee invited a small group of musician friends to play string orchestral music in his living room. Since then, Harmonia has grown to about 16-20 players with resident conductor Nick Urquhart and concertmaster Dominic Woo.

Harmonia’s focus is on performing many of the great string works that are rarely heard in concert halls today. Orchestra members come from many walks of life – professionals, businessmen, teachers and retirees. All are advanced performers of their respective instruments and dedicated to the joy of making wonderful music together.

Over the years, Harmonia has performed numerous fund-raising concerts for charities, retirement residences and hospitals. Harmonia has performed at Taiwanfest over the past three years, and also played the Lunar Year 2022 concert at the Orpheum.

Primate’s World Relief & Development Fund

In the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of the year, the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) began partnering with organizations in Ukraine to provide direct assistance. By the end of March, over $200,000 had been distributed through those partners. Donations have continued to come in and by September, that amount had increased to over $1 million, allowing PWRDF to expand the number of partners it is working with. Your donations tonight will go directly to PWRDF’s continued efforts to support local Ukrainian organizations supporting the elderly, people with disabilities, children, and individuals needing medical attention. You can learn more about PWRDF’s Ukrainian partners at pwrdf.org/category/ukraine.