Chateau Windrush will be the host of a fundraiser for Pure Heart Global Mission, an organization working to support the children that have been orphaned by the war in Ukraine. The concert takes place October 5.
Pure Heart is a non-profit foundation founded by by Ukrainian baritone Dmytro Garbovskyi with a goal of helping the orphans and other children affected by war. The organization’s goal is to use music to raise funds.
The Program
The concert will feature a concert version of Rachmaninoff’s rarely performed Francesca da Rimini. Garbovskyi has assembled a cast of talented friends to bring the music to life in the intimate and scenic venue.
All the artists performing have waived their fees in order to donate as much as possible to the cause.
“I know what it’s like to be a child that no one wanted. People laughed at my dream of singing. I was humiliated for daring to dream big. But even a broken heart can become a voice of love. Pure Heart Global Mission by Dmytro Garbovskyi is my way of reaching the children who are waiting for warmth, care, and a simple human “I’m here,” says Dmytro Garbovskyi, Founder & President in a statement.
The cast includes four talented vocalists with piano accompanist.
- Lanciotto: Dmytro Garbovskyi
- Francesca: Anastasia Khomenko
- Paolo, Dante: Joseph Adams
- The Shadow of Virgil: Yurii Yevchuk
- Christopher Burton accompanies at the piano.
Baritone Dmytro Garbovskyi has made an incredible journey both musically and in a much broader sense from an orphanage in Ukraine to the Mariinsky Theatre in Russia to his Canadian home today. Dmytro spent about three years in an orphanage in his native Ukraine, where he relates getting into trouble, but also discovering his singing voice. It took him to Saint Petersburg, where he failed a contest audition, but, on a whim, went across the street and asked to audition for the Mariinsky. His bold approach got attention, and he became part of the company for a decade. Once the war with Ukraine broke out, however, he found the environment in Russia problematic and possibly dangerous, and he emigrated to Canada with his wife and child. He worked at a number of jobs in Barrie, Ontario before starting to organize concerts for small communities, and return to the stage.
Singer-songwriter Anastasia Khomenko was born and raised in Kyiv, where she graduated from music school. Her majors were piano and vocals. She’s been writing songs since the age of ten, and has released several albums of her original music. Anastasia composed an album, including the single Far Away, in 2022 as bombs rained down on her city, and she was unable to leave her apartment.
Tenor Joe Adams earned a MMus from the University of Western Ontario in Vocal Performance, and has worked as a professional musician for more than a decade. In addition to performance, he teaches piano and guitar at the London Conservatory of Music
Bass Yurii Yevchuk performed with the Mariinsky Theatre before coming to Canada. Since then, he’s performed in recitals, as well as with VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert.
Chris Burton studied violin and piano at the University of Ottawa, earning a BMus in Piano Performance. He subsequently studied at McGill University, where he received a MMus in Piano Performance, and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music. He performs vocal, operatic, and instrumental repertoire, and is a sought after teacher and coach. Chris has served musical director for Opera Lirica Italiana, and conducted performances of Le Nozze di Figaro for Brampton Lyric Opera/Opera Kitchener.
- Check details, make a reservation and/or donations [HERE].
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