By FRONTIER
The third instalment of the Music for Myanmar event was hosted at Yangon’s Chatrium Hotel on November 22, bringing a touch of classical music to the commercial capital.
The event is a partnership between charity Link for Aid and the Chatrium Hotel, and raises funds for projects in and around Yangon, including the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf in Dagon Township, Shwe Pyi Thar’s Nawarat Monastic School and the Parami Orphanage in Dala.
The event was headlined by two classical musicians, Irish violinist Héloïse Geoghegan and Guiseppe Andaloro, a pianist from Italy.
Born in Dublin, Geoghegan made her debut aged 16 with the RTE Concert Orchestra of Ireland and has performed at world-renowned venues including Carnegie Hall in New York and London’s Wigmore Hall. Andaloro, born in Palermo, has performed around the world and won numerous competitions, including the Hong Kong International Piano Competition in 2008. In 2005, he was presented with the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Award of Artistic Merit.
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On the night, in the hotel’s poolside garden, the pair played a combination of music from classical composers, including Tchaikovsky, Bartok, Mozart and Pizzolla. A local touch was also lent to the occasion with a performance from renowned Myanmar singer Chan Chan.
The event also included a fashion show with designs from Yangon-based French designer Charlotte Barjou, a dinner, an auction and a raffle, with prizes valued up to US$3,000, including a luxury river cruise and airline tickets.
The first Music for Myanmar was held in 2013 at what was then Traders Hotel (now Sule Shangri-La), with the second event hosted in 2015 at the Chatrium Hotel – a memorial performance from Italian crooner Matteo Setti.
The event is the brainchild of Link for Aid founder and Irish travel writer Ms Pamela McCourt. Before this year’s concert, she told Frontier that it was being hosted to raise money for causes that were close to her heart.
During a visit to the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf, she spoke of her plans to raise funds that would expand her charity’s activities at the school and other locations.
“The interesting thing about Myanmar is that you can do a lot of good, and not with an awful lot of money,” she said.
Editor’s note: Frontier is a Media Partner for the Music for Myanmar event
