Children of Ukraine will be the recipients of funds raised through a concert featuring Ukrainian-born opera singer Dmytro Garbovskyi at St. Paul's Centre in Orillia next Sunday afternoon.
On March 16, Garbovskyi, who lives in the Town of The Blue Mountains, will perform works by Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Pucci, Mozart and more for the one-and-a-half-hour concert starting at 2 p.m.
This is the second time Garbovskyi has performed at St. Paul's. He was there last April for his first solo concert performance in Canada. He performed classical pop music, including Frank Sinatra songs.
The upcoming concert, called Radiant of Classic, will also feature Canadian pianist Sabatino Vacca and Italian soprano Mary Ferrari.
"The purpose is to help Ukrainian kids and bring high-quality music to small cities," said Garbovskyi.
Garbovskyi, 35, has not had an easy life. He grew up in an orphanage near Kharkiv but learned to sing in church.
"That was the place where I discovered my talent," he said.
He pursued his education and graduated university in classical opera. When he couldn't find work as a singer in Ukraine, he moved his young family to Russia. He worked as a professional opera singer at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg for 10 years.
"They gave me a huge salary, opportunity and they did everything to build me up as a singer," he said. "For a musician, it was like a dream come true. I had money and respect."
But when Russia started the invasion of Ukraine, Garbovskyi didn't want his tax dollars going toward build bombs to attack his home country.
"When the war the started, they sent a bomb to that orphanage," he said.
That's when Garbovskyi made the decision to leave Russia.
"It was not a good place to raise my kids," he said.
"When war started, I made some posts, (like) 'pray for Ukraine' — nothing bad. Later, I had a conversation with a special agent because of my posts. They said if I open my mouth one more time, I will go to jail."
He applied to come to Canada and, with his wife and two children, arrived in April 2023.
"We left everything there. I sold my new car for 2,000 Canadian dollars. This is the only one thing that I miss. It was a Renault French car," he said.
He still has some friends in Russia who support Ukraine in silence.
"They can't speak about it. If you say anything, you go to jail," he said.
Garbovskyi came to Canada with only 40 euros in his pocket, a suitcase, and backpack. He started working in construction in Barrie the next day.
He continues to work to support his family but is determined to keep up his music. He's committed to giving back to Ukraine and promoting classical music in Canada by touring small cities in Ontario.
"My main goal is to raise money and help kids that suffer from the war," he said.
So far, he has raised more than $10,000 for the needs of Ukrainian children and their families. Even a small amount of Canadian money goes a long way in Ukraine because working people only make about $1,500 a month.
"I don't know how they survive," Garbovskyi said.
He distributes funds to a friend in Ukraine, who knows the needs. She buys items for children, including laptops for education, and medication.
He continues to work on his voice every day and build up his reputation in Ontario. He makes his own bookings and does his own promotions.
Some of Garbovskyi's music can be found on his Facebook page.
Tickets for the March 16 concert at St. Paul's Centre cost $40. They are available here. There will also be a donation jar available at the event.