Ships Ahoy!
Cruise the coastline in Red Carpet Style with S&L travel.
Thanks team Hands On and Boswell Wilkie Circus for making all the backing happen.
A Fairy Tale Wedding at Askari Lodge
A beautiful day it was this past weekend in the bushveld, elephants and wildebeest in view.
The bride left this lovely message: Dear Kristel thank-you for being such a great part of our wedding day, you played beautifully and I cannot imagine the day without you because you made our wedding a true fairy tale!
VioRimba Starts the Party!
VioRimba as the name suggests is a violin meets marimba band collective with a distinctive African feel. Played here on a one-of-a-kind tin can violin. At recent awards breakfast the party started early as delegates just could not resist the enticing marimba rhythms.
To see what happened next click the video link: https://www.facebook.com/kristel.birkholtz/videos/10156535060541948/
VioRimba hit the high notes!
VioRimba combines the lilting African Rhythms of a Marimba Quartet with the melodious Tin Can Violin. Over the weekend the group had delegates for the for the Regional Annual Sports Awards (RASA) tapping their feet and swaying to the infectious music.
A big thank-you to Gigster for booking this event – http://gigster.online
VioRimba is the brain-child of Hands On Promotions – http://hands-on.co.za/
Kids say the sweetest things!
At a recent public performance in the new Loftus Park centre a little boy drew me this picture on the back of a menu and rather shyly handed it over.
It is so lovely to play at venues where children get to hear the violin performed. To see the look of surprise and amazement on their faces it truly special.
A translation of the text reads ‘You play beautiful violin’
Loftus Park have great restaurants and a stage/activity area. Next time you’re in the area , pop in!
Wedding Bells and Flower Girls
These sweeties were too cute not to blog about. It is a heart-warming moment when little flower girls or page boys walk in whilst I am playing a wedding entrance or exit song. These 4 little ones melted everyone’s hearts in their matching floral dresses.
It’s Human Nature For Art’s Sake
It was a treat to perform for the ‘Human.Nature’ photographic exhibition by Natalie Field held recently at the Berman Contemporary Gallery in Sandton, which attracted much interest from art lovers and investors. The beautiful shots from a recent artist-in-residence programme capture mythology, nature and the human form exquisitely.
For more information on Natalie Field’s work see – http://nataliefield.photography/
and the works at Berman Contemporary – https://bermancontemporary.com/
Go Play in the Traffic!
How did a wedding reception end up on the streets of Sandton? The recent reception event hosted at the superb Wombles Restaurant had a team of photographers with a keen sense of fun. So much so that when not dining on delicious food we were outside basically playing in the traffic. The audience, consisting of car guards and restaurant patrons, applauded my solo renditions in the street whilst Candice from Belladucci Photography snapped away, waiting for the car lights to be ‘just right’!
Please take care though if you ever attempt something similar.
Sunset on a Space Station
It’s not everyday one gets to play at a Space Station. The quiet location nestled in the Magaliesburg mountains has a beautiful view of the bushveld which is dotted occasionally with Space antennae. As the sun was setting someone snapped this shot, Space stations and bushveld, who would have thought?
A Thankful Job
I often perform for different private functions and many are warm, happy celebrations. This weekend though I performed for a private lunch that inspired me deeply. A lady in her fifties had decided to to put on a special lunch to say thank-you to all her teachers. She tracked down all her primary and high school teachers that were still alive, arranged transport for them and had a hotel roll out the red carpet for them while I performed for them. There was not a dry eye in that hotel lobby as retired teachers walked in.
How far back would you go to say thank-you to those who shaped and changed your life? – I asked myself…