Charity concert at Hampton, N.B., church to benefit local Ukrainians

The St. Alphonsus Church in Hampton, N.B., will come alive with music Wednesday night courtesy of the Buckley family.

Known as the “Buckley Ensemble,” the group is made up of cello player John Buckley, his brother Chris who plays the viola, and sisters Kathy and Ellen who play the piano and cello.

The sibling quartet is set to play their first annual “Summertime Serenade” at the Hampton church starting at 7:30 p.m. The performance will have songs ranging from classical music to traditional East Coast fiddle tunes.

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“We kind of like to mix it up just to kind of stretch the audience a little bit and also give them stuff that's familiar,” says cello player John. “We played at a senior citizens home on Monday night and somebody said it was nice seeing all of us together because we have played quite a bit as a group.”

The concert will be a charity event for the non-profit group called “Hampton Helping Hands for Displaced Ukrainians.” The group has helped over 250 families since March 2022.

Giving back is nothing new to John. For many years, he held a fundraising concert for a school in Kenya. This time, he wanted to make an impact closer to home.

“There's a number of charities that could benefit from something like this,” says John. “But we're hopeful that it helps these families that have been torn away from their country and their homes to better settle in here and feel welcome.”

What will make the night extra special for the siblings is getting to perform alongside their brother Chris. Last year, he suffered a heart attack and John says there were times when it didn’t look like he would pull through.

“The brain is a funny thing,” says John. “His short-term memory isn't great, but he can play some card games, and he can play cribbage, and he can play (the viola) as we all know.”

John says his brother has continued to defy the odds and is improving every day, something that makes him rather proud to be his brother.

He says the sibling group is working on future projects to help promote peace and give back to those who need it most.

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