To most violinists, buying a violin made by Stradivari, Guarneri, Guadagnini, or Amati is an absolute dream. To luthiers, producing an instrument to the likes of those great makers is a life-long venture. And Joseph Nagyvary made that venture a little bit easier. Joseph Nagyvary was a chemist. Born in 1934 in Szeged, Hungary, he…
Nothing to do this Saturday evening? Why don’t you check out Bohemian Café, a violin/piano recital happening at Mount Royal? This recital is being put on by Andrea Neumann and Alexandra Andrievsky, who are also my former violin teacher and piano teacher, and it’s a benefit concert, in support of CIM and the Center for Newcomers.…
Music is a huge part of my life. I’ve always loved it, from growing up, all the way to today, as I sit here listening to music while writing this. This year, I’ve been able to explore some different ways of playing music. Being in grade 7, this is my first year in school band,…
I had the pleasure of attending one of Kensington Sinfonia’s concerts “The Contest Between Harmony and Invention.” The Kensington Sinfonia is a violin ensemble that performs all around Calgary and is led by Artistic Director, Donovan Seidle. Besides being an Artistic Director, he is also well-known in the music community for being the Assistant Concertmaster for the…
When I first heard about Mount Royal Conservatory’s Morningside Music Bridge (MMB) program from friend and participant Yan Li a few years back, I thought, “Wow, that sounds too good to be true.” That was back in my unseasoned days of both musicianship and citizenship so I decided to sit back and listen to her stories of…
“Music brings people together in a way that nothing else can.” – Tawndunn Quintet – Solana (13), Keilin (15), Mo (16), Joan (13), Haena (15) Shot backstage at the Conservatory and Bella Hall open house with members of the Advanced Performance Program
The Mount Royal University Conservatory’s long awaited Bella Concert Hall and new facilities opened its doors to the public for the first time last Saturday in a lively open house that featured performances by members of their various choir programs, the Calgary Youth Orchestra, chamber groups from the Advanced Performance Program, and much more. Among the…
“It’s a Lauren thing. Ooooh tsssss.” – Lauren (Marco) and Lauren (Polo), 16 and 16 Shot backstage at the Conservatory and Bella Hall open house with members of the Calgary Youth Orchestra.
On Thursday, Oct. 30, I attended a concert featuring Joshua Bell, a famous professional violinist, playing Violin Concerto No. 1 by Max Bruch. This piece is played widely among classical music students. (In fact, my own sister has been playing this piece for a while, so it has been cutting through my ears lately). No…
It takes around an hour for a c-train from Dalhousie to arrive at Chinook, and when you’re really rushing to get some Christmas shopping done, time stretches. It was 10am on a no school Friday and I was cranky, tired, and impatient to get things over with. I sat at the very end of the…
The annual Calgary Kiwanis Festival is in full swing for 2012. This is a music festival that features amateur musicians performing repertoire in their musical instrument, at all grade levels. Giving almost 9,500 musicians the chance to perform for their peers and receive adjudication from the most high-caliber professional musicians, thousands of youth involved in…
A little musical twist on the favourite internet poptart sensation.
I recently stumbled across an article about how much arts are truly appreciated in society. Though it was published in 2007, I found it extremely reflective on the state of things today.
Youth flocked to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and took over this performance. Why? Because it was Tchaikovsky on the program!
Tchaikovsky, the beloved Russian composer and considered one of the greatest musicians of his time, was an extremely troubled man.