A community concert has raised approximately £8,000 for the Disasters Emergency Committee Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal.
De Beauvoir Association arranged the concert at St Peter’s Church to raise money after the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria caused over 50,000 deaths.
The concert took place on March 4, and involved 23 children from Tel Yurek (“one heart”), a choir consisting of Turkish families local to De Beauvoir, as well as other performers.
The group sang the Turkish pop song Kalbimin Tek Sahibine (“one makes their prayers”). Organiser Cecilia Darker said: “there are some very nice words in it and we thought that was appropriate.”
She said: “I had about three weeks to pull it together; it absolutely had to include a Turkish and a Syrian element.”
Other musicians who performed at the concert include Honey B Mama, guitarist and vocalist Raman Singh, 10-year-old Alyssia Jolly, and professional opera singers Robin Bailey and Jennifer Begley. There was also African dancing and drumming from Amberleigh Arts.
The concert was opened by two young presenters, Ayda, aged 12, from Turkey, and Mohammed, age 15, from Syria.
Darker said: “They started off by saying who they were, how long they lived here and what they wanted to do for the earthquake.”
Guests also enjoyed a selection of Turkish treats made by local people from the De Beauvoir Estate.
Mohammed’s little sister, Nour, read a speech in the second half of the concert with Vicar Fr Simon Cuff about helping people in Syria.
The concert was an enormous success, with around 200 tickets sold and 70 performers contributing.
It raised almost £8,000, and an ongoing online auction continues to raise funds.
The online auction ends on Friday and can be found on Jumblebee.
Darker said: “I’m just delighted that so many people have contacted me and said what a lovely concert it was, and they loved the variety as well.”
The Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal: https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal
