Beethoven's music to raise $100,000 for flood victims

Orchestra Conductor brings together top musicians to aid rebuilding efforts in Pakistan after last year’s floods.

Orchestra Conductor George Mathew will use Beethoven to aid rebuilding efforts in Pakistan after last year’s floods left millions injured and homeless, reported Bloomberg on Monday.

According to the news report, Mathew, the founder and artistic director of Music for Life International, asked top musicians from New York and nearby cities to come together for “Beethoven for the Indus Valley,” a charity concert to be held later in the day to assist victims of the Pakistan floods.

Mathew, who started the charity in 2008 to bring classical musicians together for humanitarian causes, said “relief work is very important, but perhaps some sustainable work could be done to help economic development.”

The concert seeks to make about $100,000, Mathew said. The proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Acumen Fund, a New York-based non-profit organisation which has invested more than $11 million in housing, water and agricultural projects in Pakistan since 2002.

The artist, who was raised in India, was traveling there last summer when the disaster struck Pakistan. Although there have been constant tensions between the two nations, he sees a prospect for less discord, reported Bloomberg.