A pianist is hosting a series of free concerts across the UK to raise much-needed funds for his home country Ukraine, including one in Totnes on Tuesday.

Ivan Hovorun, 38, was born in Kaniv, a rural city just hours from Kyiv, but raised in Lviv, which is near the border of Poland.

His hometown of Lviv, where he spent years studying music, is now a base for refugees displaced by the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.

Ivan learned to play the piano at the age of five from his mother, who was a talented professional musician herself.

He studied at the Krushelnytska Music High School, first performing in public at nine years old.

At 11, he first performed with a full orchestra. Since then, he has been invited to perform with the Lvov Symphony Orchestra annually.

After the head of the Royal Northern College of Music saw him play, he was invited to study at the Manchester school in 2004.

He completed a bachelor degree, post-graduate and masters degree in Manchester.

Now, he owns a studio to teach music and he holds concerts across the country and has performed with major Eastern and Western orchestras as diverse as the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine and the Manchester Camerata.

Despite residing in Manchester for many years, he remains in constant contact with his school friends still in Ukraine.

The Friends of St. Mary’s Church are hosting a concert by Hovorun in the historic town centre venue on Tuesday May 31 at 7.30pm.

Chairman Tony Gregg said: “His tally of solo recitals is truly impressive, encompassing a diverse collection of venues including London’s St Martin-in-the-Fields, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall and Chetham’s School of Music and a wealth of English cathedrals including Lincoln, Blackburn, Chichester, Ripon, and Southwell Minster.

“Ivan is the winner of numerous competition prizes and scholarships including the Farbotony National Piano Competition in Ukraine, the Myra Hess Award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, and the Yamaha UK Scholarship.

“He is forging a reputation as one of the most acutely perceptive and insightfully intelligent musicians of our time and this is an opportunity not to be missed.

“His delightful programme will include works by Chopin, Beethoven, Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Schumann.”

The concert is at St. Mary’s Church, Totnes on Tuesday, 31st May, at 7.30pm.

Tickets are available at www.ttm.churchsuite.com/events/lvuqkzwt or on the door.

Tony added: “Part of the proceeds will go towards the Ukrainian Fund, and we are hoping as many people as possible will come along to give their support.”