Songs for Ukraine Fundraiser

On Sunday 27 November, the magnificent Holywell Music Room was brimming with singers for an afternoon workshop with Stephen Taberner, Australian based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and conductor. Stephen is best known for his leadership of the Spooky Men’s Chorale, as well as his work with choirs and singing workshops.

Workshop participants learnt several powerful and poignant Ukrainian songs, including the Ukrainian National Anthem. The workshop was open to everyone, and the songs were learnt by ear, using a “listen and repeat” approach.

In the evening, the participants returned to the Holywell to perform these songs alongside an eclectic selection of local artists. Both events were all in aid of raising money for the Ukraine. The entire day was free for everyone in return for donations to the following charities:

The Red Cross

Donate to Ukraine's Defenders

Tabletochki

The evening opened with a moving set from Natalya, who spoke about the plight of her country before singing a traditional Ukrainian lullaby. The Starling Sessions are a community group who invite a different member of the group to bring a song to share with everyone. They bounced onto the stage and sang a song in Ukrainian, Latvian and South African. Local singer/songwriter Tamara then performed some sea shanties with her band, The Jolly Grogsters, including a rendition of “Leave Her Johnny” joined by Oxford men’s community choir, Man Choir, led by conductor Phillip Read. The evening ended with some beautiful Welsh folk music from Rholben, a performance from the Spooky Men’s Chorale side project, “A Fistful of Spookies” (with much audience involvement), and of course, the audience’s performance of the songs learned in the Workshop.

A big thank you to Wadham College for allowing us to use the Holywell for this event, to Stephen Taberner for running an amazing workshop, and to Philip Read and Tamara Parsons-Baker for putting the night together.