A church is hosting a special concert to show its support for Ukraine.

The Cambridge Chamber Ensemble will be playing at St Mary's Church on Old Welwyn at 12 noon this Saturday, March 12.

The lunchtime recital will include a combination of the clarinet, piano and viola, to showcase the music of Bach, Brahms, and Bruch.

The concert will be opened by the founder of the Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, Stephen Foster on the viola, who will play Bach’s Cello Suite No 1.

Alina Vorobyeva (clarinet) and Anastasia Matkovskaia (piano), both graduates of the Royal Academy of Music in London, will then play Brahms' E flat Clarinet Sonata.

Finally, the concert will end with a selection of popular pieces for clarinet, viola and piano by Max Bruch.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: In support of all that is happening in Ukraine, St Mary’s Church in Old Welwyn, will hold a concert to show its support.In support of all that is happening in Ukraine, St Mary’s Church in Old Welwyn, will hold a concert to show its support. (Image: St Mary's Church)

The concert is an Anglo/Russian/Ukrainian collaboration.

Alina and Anastasia both hold Russian passports but Anastasia comes from a strong Ukrainian heritage, as her mother and grandparents remain in Odessa, Ukraine, along with other family members.

Anastasia said: "At the moment they are not in the border, so they are not in the worst parts but the city is getting bombed everyday, but they are safe for now at least. I hope it won't escalate even more but I am checking on them everyday.

"I am constantly anxious. I check the news every moment that I am not working for any updates. It is just very very stressful right now."

Both of them are appalled and deeply distressed about what is happening in Ukraine and hope to have an opportunity to speak out on how they feel about the situation, during the concert on Saturday.

Anastasia and Stephen both played a recital in Cambridge earlier this week to an audience of 100, where Anastasia had emotionally spoken out about Ukraine and had received a warm ovation from their audience.

In her speech, she said: "We all admire how people of Ukraine are bravely defending the citizens of their country. There are not just brave but talented as well."

She mentioned David Oistrakh and other musicians who were all and born and raised in Ukraine and those cities where they were born are now getting heavily bombed.

"It is a difficult time for all those involved. We need to remember all those who have passed and the music will stay with us forever."

The concert will be held for free, along with a retiring collection of church funds.