Young British Violinist on Fundraising Tour for UNICEF

17-year-old Anthony Knight has already raised more than £12,000 for the charity

A 17-year-old British violinist has set himself a target of raising £20,000 in support of UNICEF by playing recitals in hotel lobbies across Europe.

Taunton School student Anthony Knight has already given more than 60 performances in Brussels, Frankfurt, Bern, Milan, Venice, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, and Cologne, and will soon tour the Baltic states. He will appear in the Lobby Lounge of Grand Hotel Kempinski Riga on Monday, December 11, and the Lobby Lounge of Grand Hotel Kempinski Vilnius on Thursday, December 14.

The idea for the UNICEF tour came from Knight's previous experience with fundraising concerts: in 2022, he raised £6,094 for the UK government's Ukraine Appeal by playing recitals at 27 churches in his home county of Somerset.

Currently studying for his A-levels, Knight leads his school's symphony orchestra, plays in its string quartet, and was named the winner of the Taunton Young Musician of the Year in 2022.

"The combination of Anthony’s incredible musicianship and his dedication to supporting people in need was such a positive and creative response to terrible injustice," said Toby Carden, Taunton School's Director of Music, of Knight's efforts for Ukraine.

"We are immensely proud of Anthony’s achievements. As a young person he showed that we can all make a positive difference to our society and the world."

If you would like to donate to the fundraiser, you can do so here.

Below you can hear Knight playing the first movement of Telemann's Fantasia no. 12 in the lobby bar of Albergo Cavalletto e Doge Orseolo, San Marco — one of Venice's oldest hotels.