On July 18, the Tokyo College of Music’s Music Liberal Arts school held a charity concert at TCM Hall on the Daikanyama Campus to raise money and awareness to support war-torn Ukraine.
Organized by third-year student Nanaha Kinoshita, the show featured Ukrainian artist Kateryna performing folk songs on the bandura, a traditional Ukrainian string instrument. Kateryna is one of only two bandura players in Japan and has been involved in charity work for her homeland both here and abroad. She also expressed a wish for the concert to be shown in Ukraine once the conflict is over. Other performers featured included faculty and students from the Tokyo College of Music and about 70 volunteer youth singers from outside the school.
When asked what inspired the event, Kinoshita said: “Through music we can protest and pray for peace. This project aims to appeal for peace through the power of music, while watching news of the war every day, feeling the pain of not being able to do anything, feeling helpless.” This spurred her and the 38 other organizers into action and the result was the successful concert.
The organizers, who received assistance from Ukraine to promote the concert, also got a shot in the arm from celebrity UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Tokyo College of Music alumnus Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, who raised funds via her Instagram account and talked up the event online.
All funds generated by the concert were donated to UNICEF to aid war victims, provide medical care and help children caught up in the conflict. Students from the school also participated in collecting donations on the streets around the Nakameguro shopping district in June and July, bringing in over ¥426,000 for UNICEF.