A DISTINGUISHED pianist is performing Ukrainian music in a free church concert in Tavistock next week.

The Friends of the Tavistock Festival have announced that Margaret Fingerhut will be the special guest at Tavistock Parish Church on Thursday, March 20, from 1pm to 2pm. A retiring collection will be held and refreshments offered.

Margaret Fingerhut has previously performed in Tavistock to critical acclaim. She was born in London of Ukrainian and Polish heritage.

She has performed to support charitable causes including a 32-venue UK tour to raise money for refugees and asylum seekers with her own programme of words and music giving a cultural context to what it means to be a migrant.

Margaret collaborated with a Ukrainian filmmaker to make a video in support of Ukraine which raised money for emergency vehicles in Ukraine. She was awarded an MBE in the 2024 New Year Honours.

She is renowned for her innovative recital programmes. As a concerto soloist she has appeared with all the major orchestras in the UK, collaborating with eminent conductors such as Sir Charles Groves and John Williams in the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican.

She is often heard on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM and many radio stations worldwide, and her film and television work included an appearance in Testimony, a film about Shostakovich.

Margaret also made the first recording of a rediscovered student piece by Rachmaninoff and two solo piano pieces by Sergey Taneyev. Her CD of encores Endless Song was Featured Album of the Week on Classic FM and was selected as Editor's Choice in Pianist.

She has performed contemporary works at venues at the Wigmore Hall, Sage Gateshead, Three Choirs Festival and Ryedale Festival.

She also teaches masterclasses in the USA, Canada, China and Japan, and international summer schools such as Chetham's, Jackdaws and Dartington in Devon.