A Devon Kurdish community group is hosting a concert to raise money for victims of last month’s earthquake on Tuesday 21 March at Exeter Phoenix.
The evening will feature performances by The Annika Skoogh Quartet, Per La Vita, Arash Moradi and The Meltwater Three.
All funds will be donated to the Kurdish Red Crescent to support victims of last month’s earthquake in Kurdistan, Turkey and Syria.
Arash Moradi. Photo: Moradi Ensemble.
Arash Moradi is a Kurdish tanbour player from Kermanshah in Iran. He began playing the instrument at an early age, learning from his father Aliakbar Moradi, a leading tanbour player.
Arash has played at concerts and festivals in Iran and Europe including Festival Racines in Toulouse, XIII Cantigas do Maio in Portugal and the Rhythm Sticks festival in London.
He has also appeared on BBC Radio 4 and performed as a soloist at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Arash Moradi lives in London where he teaches tanbour and runs Persian and Kurdish music workshops. He also plays with his father and his brother Kourosh Moradi as the Moradi Ensemble.
Photo of earthquake aftermath in Jindires, Syria by Alaa Ealyawi licensed under Creative Commons.
The Annika Skoogh Quartet is a jazz band led by singer and songwriter Annika Skoogh.
She has performed at festivals around the UK including Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Marlborough International Jazz Festival and The Bristol Harbour Festival.
She also leads a sextet latin band and an Anita O’Day tribute quintet.
Her debut album Waters of March, recorded with the quartet, was released in 2018.
The Kurdish Red Crescent was founded in 1993 and currently has fundraising branches in Germany, Sweden and the UK, where it is registered as a charity.
It is based in northeastern Syria from where it delivers medical and humanitarian aid across the region.
The 6 February earthquake caused damage across 140,000 square miles, affecting an estimated 14 million people.
The United Nations estimates that around 1.5 million people have been left homeless. The death toll to date is 55,700.
The Kurdish Community Devon earthquake appeal concert is at 7pm on Tuesday 21 March 2023 at Exeter Phoenix.
Tickets cost £10 and are available from the Exeter Phoenix website.
