London Orpheus Philharmonic Orchestra
LOPO organised three concerts to raise money for the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan that occurred on 8 October 2005. A newsletter was sent to people interested in the work of the Murshid Hospital Trust (which was running the support operation on the ground in the Neelum Valley, one of the worst affected areas) during the period of the concerts.
Every penny of the £5532.34 raised went to the Murshid Hospital Trust which was operating relief operations in the affected areas - particularly the Neelum Valley. The money was used to: save lives; alleviate suffering; and help with longer-term rehabilitation.
You can still make a donation by clicking here.
The image used for the concert publicity material (called Relief) was by Vaseem Mohammed, a renowned Muslim artist who had an exhibition at St Botolph's during the concert. The translation of the text on the image reads, "Verily, with every difficulty there is relief."
Vaseem has kindly donated two pieces of his work to auction to raise more money - details can be found by clicking here.
The Devonshire Players
The concert was held at St Botolph's Church in London (Aldgate EC3) - LOPO's "home" - and raised £1000 which was matched by an annonymous donor to make the total £2000. In addition, Vaseem Mohammed, a renowned Muslim artist, made a donation from the sale of one of his works. Click for programme and details.
The second, lunch time concert, was held at St Andrew's Church as part of their free concert series. Money from the retiring collection was put towards the fund. The Devonshire Players, members of LOPO, played Schubert's String Quintet in C.
The LOPO Trio
The third concert was held in the evening of 1 December at St Andrew's Church (Holborn in London). The concert raised around £500 and had an enthusiastic audience. Click for programme and details.