Cutting Keys presents a unique one-night concert bringing Ukrainian bandurist and singer Mariia Petrovska together with Southend pianist Taylor Higgs on grand piano.

Taking place at SCF Plaza on Saturday 1 August 2026, this will be the first full concert in Southend-on-Sea centred around the Ukrainian bandura. The evening will introduce local audiences to an instrument with a remarkable sound, history and cultural importance, presented through a new musical collaboration created especially for this event.

The bandura is a Ukrainian plucked string instrument, often described as part lute, part harp and part zither. It developed from older instruments including the kobza and became closely connected with Ukrainian language, poetry, folk memory, Cossack history and national identity.

Traditional players, known as kobzars, travelled between communities performing historical songs, religious material, poems and epic ballads. Their music preserved stories and traditions that might otherwise have been lost. Because the instrument became such a strong symbol of Ukrainian culture, bandurists and kobzars faced restriction, censorship and persecution under Russian imperial and Soviet rule.

Today, the bandura remains one of Ukraine’s most important national instruments and a powerful representation of cultural survival.

Mariia Petrovska will bring the voice and character of the bandura into conversation with Taylor Higgs on grand piano. Rather than treating the piano as simple accompaniment, the performance will allow both instruments to lead, respond and create something new together. The combination of bandura, voice and grand piano will give audiences the opportunity to experience Ukrainian musical tradition within an original contemporary concert setting.

This performance forms part of Cutting Keys, a Southend-based concert series led by Taylor Higgs. Each edition is built around the grand piano and a carefully selected instrument, artist or musical tradition that local audiences would not usually encounter in a formal concert programme.

Previous Cutting Keys events have included performances featuring kora and guzheng, as well as a Gnawa-focused concert bringing the Moroccan guembri together with piano and additional musicians. Every edition has a different line-up, repertoire and musical direction. The concerts are created for one night only and are not repeated.

A percentage of ticket sales from Bandura: The Forbidden Instrument will be donated to Ukrainian Children SOS. The charity was chosen by Mariia Petrovska after the organisers asked which cause she would like the concert to support.

This event is suitable for listeners interested in Ukrainian culture, world music, classical piano, unusual instruments, traditional song and original live performance. No previous knowledge of the bandura or Ukrainian music is needed.

Event: Cutting Keys: Bandura: The Forbidden Instrument
Date: Saturday 1 August 2026
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Southend Christian Fellowship, SCF Plaza
Address: The Plaza Centre, 600 Southchurch Road, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2PT
Tickets: £10 Phase 1 tickets
Charity: A percentage of ticket sales will be donated to Ukrainian Children SOS