McLean church hosts benefit concert to fund medical supplies for Ukraine

A church in McLean and an orchestra based in Tysons have teamed up to do their part to assist humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.

The Virginia Chamber Orchestra will put on a free Benefit Concert for Ukraine in the McLean Baptist Church sanctuary (1367 Chain Bridge Road) at 4 p.m. this Sunday (Oct. 16).

The concert will feature soprano singer Mandy Brown, violinist Emil Chudnovsky, and pianist Tatiana Loisha as well as the VCO String Quartet.

They will primarily perform classical music, including works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, and Antonín Dvořák, but Rogers and Hammerstein also appear. The program closes with “Shche ne vmerta Ukraina,” the national anthem of Ukraine.

While the concert is free to attend, the church will accept donations that will be used to provide medical supplies in Ukraine, according to VCO.

“The Virginia Chamber Orchestra is very pleased to partner with the McLean Baptist Church in presenting a Benefit Concert to provide medical supplies for the people of Ukraine,” VCO Board of Trustees President Douglas Lovejoy said in an emailed statement. “We welcome everyone to the concert and will appreciate your donations.”

Since Russian military forces invaded Ukraine in February, more than 15,000 civilian casualties have been recorded by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as of Monday (Oct. 10), though the organization believes the actual numbers of deaths and injuries are much higher.

Like in other communities across the U.S., acts of solidarity and support for Ukraine have become common in Fairfax County, from a regional winter coat drive and a fundraiser by local breweries to symbolic displays of the eastern European country’s blue-and-yellow flag.

The full program for Sunday’s benefit concert in McLean is below:

• “Sheep May Safely Graze” by Johann Sebastian Bach — VCO String Quartet
• “Uzun Hava” by Osman Kivrak — for violin and viola
• Selections from “44 Duets” by Béla Bartók, including Ruthenian songs from Ukraine
• “Allegro from Quartet in F Major, Op. 96 ‘American’” by Antonín Dvořák — VCO String Quartet
• “Polonaise Brilliante in D Major” by Henryk Wieniawski — Emil Chudnovsky, violin
• “Chanson d’amour” by Jan Tarasiewicz — Tatiana Loisha, piano
• “L’invitation au voyage” by Henri Duparc — Mandy Brown, soprano
• “The Winds are Blowing,” a Ukrainian folksong by Mykola Lysenko — Mandy Brown, soprano
• “Introduction” and “Rondo Capriccioso” by Camille Saint-Saëns — Emil Chudnovsky violin
• “Nocturne in C Sharp Minor” by Frédéric Chopin — Emil Chudnovsky, violin
• “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from “Carousel” by Rodgers & Hammerstein — Mandy Brown, soprano
• “Shche ne vmerta Ukraina” by Chubynsky/Verbytsky

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