The sound of the cello won over Courtenay teenager Claire Mindell when was was eight.
Since then, Mindell has been making music for half her life.
At the age of eight she tried out violin in an elementary school group. Included in the group was one cello and its resonant sound changed her focus. She enthusiastically embraced the cello by age nine and has been pursuing excellence ever since.
Quadra Island Festival of Chamber Music will feature Mindell as their Youth Musician in the concert Wednesday, July 10 at the Quadra Community Center.
She says playing cello takes her to “a different state of mind; I forget everything but the music.” She loves that she can “convey emotions and stories to people without using words.”
Mindell’s talent and passion have afforded her a number of exceptional opportunities. For example, out of 100 cellists who applied to Boston University’s Tanglewood Young Artist’s program last year, Mindell was one of the 12 who were accepted. For a list of some of her other accomplishments, go to quadrafestival.ca to see her bio. Mindell will be playing Paganini’s Variations on One String on a Theme by Rossini at the Quadra Community Centre (QCC) on Wednesday, July 10 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available online at quadrafestival.ca and may be available at the door.
Besides the remarkable Mindell, the “Romance of the Waltz” Wednesday QCC concert will include lovely waltzes for string quartet and Beethoven’s masterpiece – the Sonata in A major for cello and piano.
Tickets are also still available for the Festival Finale, also at the QCC on Friday, July 12 at 7 p.m., which will present an original piece for three cellos. Meanwhile, thanks to those who have purchased tickets to the other festival concerts that week, they are now sold out.
In addition to the evening concerts, a Family Concert will be held at the Quadra Community Centre at 10:30 a.m. on July 11. These concerts are always fun, interactive, and informative, suitable for children of all ages and adults alike. They typically play several excerpts from the evening concerts. The Family Concert is by donation.
For more information and tickets or just to browse our beautiful website, go to quadrafestival.ca.
