ST Petersburg pianist Nika Shirocorad will give a charity recital in aid of the Karen Hilltribes Trust at the National Centre for Early Music, York, on October 17.

Nika will perform works by Beethoven, Scarlatti, Rachmaninov, Chopin and Ravel, along with modern pieces by the Englishman Michael Finnissy and American composer George Crumb.

She was born into a family of artists in 1979 and at the age of six she received the Diploma for Children’s Musical Compositions from the Union of Composers in Moldova. By 16, she had won two international piano competitions and went on to have careers in music, art and acting, and she is now completing a PhD at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Nika performs mostly in London but tours in Russia, Sweden and Japan too and she also has a home in York, where she has played charity concerts promoted by Pyramid Gallery since 2012. Terry Brett's gallery in Stonegate also exhibits her paintings and hand-painted silk scarves.

Terry recalls first meeting Nika in 2011. "She came into the gallery one day and we chatted about art for a while, as she was embarking on a Masters degree in Fine Art at St Martins in London," he says. "Nika's art is very appealing, often featuring cats and fairy tale characters, while her hand-painted silk scarves reference artists such as Kandinsky or Klimt.

"It wasn't until later that I came to appreciate that her talent for classical and contemporary piano was also so exceptional. This happened when we helped to promote a series of piano recitals in her home in York.

"Being in the presence of a gifted player in a small space is a very special experience, but we wanted to increase the audience size to make the events more worthwhile. So we have decided to combine the October concert with our annual charity art exhibition, hosting the event in the most appropriate concert venue in York, the National Centre for Early Music."

Tickets are on sale in advance at £15 a head at Pyramid Gallery or £20 on the door. The price includes a sparkling-wine reception at 7pm and the official opening by the Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Ian Gillies, and the founder of the Karen Hilltribes Trust, Penelope Worsley Based in York, the Karen Hilltribes Trust is an international charity that works in northern Thailand to help the Karen people build a better future. The Karen Tribes live in one of the poorest regions of Thailand and the trust's long-term vision is to see the Karen people empowered to help themselves in a sustainable way.

Penelope Worsley set up the charity in 1999 after her son Richard died in a car crash in Germany while serving in the army as a Light Dragoon. Richard had spent six months volunteering with the Karen hill tribes people after finishing school and on his return home he had begged his mother to help these people.

After hearing of his death, the Karen people dedicated a water system to him in a remote village, an action that reminded Penelope of her son's wish that she would help them. After visiting the hill tribes a year later, Penelope saw the adversity the Karen faced on a daily basis. She decided that she could help and in 1999 the Karen Hilltribes Trust was born.

Since 1999, more than £2.5million has been raised and the trust is now working in more than 400 villages in a region covering 100 square miles of remote, mountainous country.

Through the charity's key aims of improving health, education and income generation, the Karen people are supported in projects that achieve these goals and lead to self-help and sustainability while still retaining their identity and culture.

At the 7pm to 10.30pm event on October 17, guests can view and buy paintings and prints in an exhibition by ten Yorkshire artists plus London artists Trevor Price and Mychael Barratt. From sales of this artwork and silver jewellery made by Karen craft workers, the gallery will donate its normal commission to the charity and the artists are each donating a work as a raffle prize too. Afterwards, the exhibition will go back to Pyramid Gallery until the end of the month.

Recital tickets can be bought at Pyramid Gallery, on 01904 641187 or by emailing pyramidgallery2008@yahoo.co.uk