University concert raises funds for Ebola crisis

Proceeds from the Princeton University Orchestra concert at The Ulster Hall on Saturday 31 January will go to support the work of humanitarian aid agency, Concern Worldwide, to tackle the spread of Ebola in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The Ulster Hall event will feature musical arrangements of traditional Irish sean-nós unaccompanied songs, performed by the acclaimed The Gloaming singer, Iarla Ó Lionáird, from Cork.

It’s hoped the benefit concert, which takes its inspiration from Princeton University`s Institute of Irish Studies, will help strengthen cultural and educational links with the US, as well as raise money for Concern’s response to the spread of Ebola.

Peter Anderson, the NI Director of Concern said: “It’s a privilege to welcome such a high profile university orchestra from the US to perform in Belfast in aid of the Ebola crisis.

“We hope that the concert will appeal to a wide range of people – with interests in classical and Irish traditional music. It gives us a unique opportunity to raise funds for this crucial appeal to support communities in West Africa that have been devastated by the disease.”

The orchestra, made up of around ninety musicians who are students and teachers at the university, will also stage performances in Dublin and Limerick as part of an island-wide tour.

Conducted by Michael Pratt, they will début musical arrangements by American composer Dan Trueman and Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy. Dvorák’s Carnival Overture and Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with soprano, Katharine Buzard, will complete the programme.

The concert is planned and presented by Perform America International in collaboration with Concern.

Tickets are available online, by calling 028 9033 4455 and from the box office at The Ulster Hall.