Enjoyers of great art and classical music will have an opportunity to experience the historical notes of Johann Sebastian Bach, Pal Hindemith and Johannes Brahms at the Chisel Creek Classical Winter Recital and Fundraiser happening in Bragg Creek on Dec. 30.
The inaugural Winter Recital will be a one night only New Year’s celebration concert, with the proceeds from the ticket sales going towards Chisel Creek Classical’s summer events, which run from Aug. 12 to 25.
Violist and artistic director Tilman Sandvoss, who will be performing on stage with pianist Oksana Yaremchuk, said that the Winter Recital will be an opportunity for the Chisel Creek Classical to showcase musical talent, and to blend classical music with the beautiful natural surroundings of the Bragg Creek area.
“Having traveled around and played basically all over the world, I've realized that we live in such a special place with mountains and foothills and prairies and this is really what has inspired the great classical composers throughout all of time,” said Sandvoss.
Sandvoss grew up in Bragg Creek and attended the Mount Royal University Conservatory. He said he knows there is an abundance of musical talent in southern Alberta and that there is a need to showcase it and to get the community more involved in the arts.
Last summer was the first time that the Chisel Creek Classical hosted events and although the program is still in relative infancy, Sandvoss hopes that “as time goes on and years come and go, it grows, as things do, into something larger.”
According to Sandvoss, the money raised from the December 30 recital will go towards covering travel costs for musicians flying in from places like Los Angeles and Montreal, where musicians will be coming this summer to perform in Bragg Creek.
Sandvoss expressed that there is a great importance in supporting the arts and that supporting the Winter Recital is just one way for people to do so.
“I think [people] should be excited about supporting the arts,” said Sandvoss. “I don’t think that’s a very popular statement but I think that there is so much joy to be experienced in music and I think that most people love music and it's a sad reality in some sort of way that our schools don't put as much emphasis on the arts anymore.
“You go to a museum and see paintings and when you see the time when that painter was alive,” he added. “You see the history and the world that surrounded them. With music…you get a real glimpse into the history, you’re taking a trip back hundreds of years and you’re living through the ears of the composer.”
Sandvoss acknowledged that not everyone is going to be a classical music fan, but in his point of view, it’s more than just about listening to music.
“It’s a cultural experience and you get a momentary grasp of what these people were all about.”
The event takes place at the Canadian Violin Making Institute in Bragg Creek at 142 Hawk Eye Road starting at 7 p.m.
