Melbourne Bach Chamber Choir was to open the two-concert offering in Ballarat Central Uniting Church but, due to COVID-19 impacts, will instead arrive in a fortnight's time on the back of a performance in St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne.

Choir member Tom Lumley said it was a wonderful change to bring a "concert with real significance" out of Melbourne to regional Victoria.

For organist Calvin Bowman, a Ballarat Grammar alumus, this is a chance to return to his hometown as a feature performer as part of the concert's important message.

MBC choir conductor Rick Prakhoff has family in the Ukraine and Mr Lumley said Prakhoff had curated a concert for reflection.

Two pieces on the program are titled Peace for Ukraine, but from well before modern conflict. One is composed in the 1880s by Mykola Lysenko, a many commonly regarded as the father of Ukrainian chamber music, and has become a patriotic piece. The second was penned by Valentin Silvestrov at the start of uprisings in 2014.

Mr Lumley said both were particularly relevant now as the world continued to grapple with the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, which started in late February.

At the same time, Mr Lumley said it was important the concert program feature Sergei Rachmaninov's Bogorodyitse dyevo, the fifth movement from the Russian composer's Vespers, also known as his All-Night Vigil.

"All [pieces] refer to peace in subject matter or circumstances of creation," Mr Lumley said. "...It's important to not try and cancel Russian culture either."

Other key pieces on the program include Samuel Barber's moving instrumental Adagio, which premiered on the eve of WWII and has featured at historic state occasions, including the funerals of United States president John F Kennedy, scientist Albert Einstein and Princess Grace of Monaco.

Zoltn Kodly's Missa Brevis was written while the composer was sheltering in the Budapest Opera House cellar during seven weeks' bombing by the German army. The piece was first performed in the opera house cloakroom.

This will be the choir's first performance in Ballarat since the pandemic started.

Mr Lumley said Ballarat, and it's beautiful musical settings, had long been a favourite for the choir.

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Melbourne Bach Chamber Choir is predominantly a community choir performing with professional musicians and choirist. The Ballarat concert is set to feature three soloists.

Proceeds from the concert will contribute to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

Melbourne Bach Chamber Choir's Concert for Peace in Ballarat will be at Ballarat Central Uniting Church, Lydiard Street, on July 9 from 2.30pm. Ticket details: mbc.asn.au/concerts.

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