Free concert to support Ukrainian children

A Ukrainian-American woman from Darien has organized a concert of classical music with 100 percent of the donations going to fund the education of Ukrainian refugee children now living in Poland.

Admission to the June 4 concert is free, but donations can be made via PayPal. The one-hour concert — held at St. Basil Ukrainian Seminary, 195 Glenbrook Road, Stamford — will feature pieces from Chopin, Mozart, Verdi and Giordano, as well as a selection of beloved Ukrainian songs performed by musicians of national and international renown.

The event is organized by the members of the local

Ukrainian-American community with support from St. Basil Seminary.

“My dear friends from my childhood have become outstanding, dedicated teachers and, like so many of their students, they are also refugees in Poland,” said organizer Olena Czebiniak. “They are dedicated to teaching Ukrainian children despite the war and hardship.

“This is the best way for them to help children and their families,” the Darien resident said. “We are putting on this wonderful concert to raise awareness of the struggle facing refugee students and teachers. All the money people donate will go directly to support their efforts.”

Many Ukrainian students who are refugees in Poland do not speak Polish. The Foundation Nezlamna Ukraina (“Unbreakable Ukraine”) is working to organize Ukrainian schools in Poland, staffed with Ukrainian school teachers who are also among the refugees.

All donations from the concert will go toward the foundation’s efforts, providing the space and materials for Ukrainian students to continue their education.

Among those who are performing at the concert are soprano Anna Torello, a native of Rome who currently resides in Wilton; baritone Robert Garner; and Eugene Sirotkine, a pianist whose family is from Poltava, Ukraine, where he spent his childhood.