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 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/
The theme of tonight’s event was ‘Water’ to highlight the topical issues facing us regarding water. Each table had a different expression of water decoration and the event was perfectly situated along the Vaal river while I added some ‘water music’ to the occasion.
Water is currently a very topical issue in South Africa with our current drought conditions. Water is precious!
Recycling was the theme of this event for Coca Cola’s school recycling awards sponsorship. Various schools and communities demonstrated out-of-the-box creativity on how to re-use and up-cycle waste materials found in their environment. In keeping with the up-cycling theme, I brought along my Tin Can violin which is made solely from reclaimed materials and yet plays like real violin. To complete the look I had a dress made up with hand-cut plastic bag trim. It was such a pleasure to meet some of the kids who are changing mindsets in their communities about waste.
The day ended on a poignant note though, as I was pulling out of the inner-city venue, thinking about outfits made from reclaimed materials, my eye spotted a homeless man just outside the venue, wearing nothing but 3 plastic bags…for some, recycling is not a choice.
My Tin Can Violin is a one of a kind instrument made […]
Chatting violins, orchestras and Stradivarius plus a surprise performance of happy birthday for the broadcast host Gareth Cliff at Cliff Central. You can catch the interview here:
http://cliffcentral.com/gcs/gcs-25-8-17-pt3/
The figure in the photos was actually the birthday cake made by Crystal Du Preez at Sensational Suga – and the head actually bobbled!
On arriving at the Snowflake building in Potchefstroom this weekend, I was convinced I was at the wrong address. Being early to set up for a violin wedding performance at this venue, there was only one other car in the dusty parking lot, but the place otherwise looked like a derelict building. Plucking up the courage to speak to the occupants of the other car, I realised that I was at the right place and that appearances can be deceiving. The Snowflake building is an old flour mill turned venue that has character around every corner. It is delightfully quirky and hasn’t tried to hide it’s industrial past.
After the ceremony we managed to sneak in a few photos ourselves of this unique venue.
As a performer one doesn’t often hear the audience stories behind the scenes of a show. At a recent lunchtime regular performance this last week, the concert co-coordinator told me these two lovely stories about how music can make a difference to people’s lives:
‘Kristel, thank you so much for today. One of our regular guests said she had sunk into depression over the past few weeks, but after your performance today, felt uplifted and able to carry on. Another rather fragile guest comes to the lunchtime performances only when he knows you are performing. You bring light.’
More touching than the applause after a show and more sustaining than the fee for performing a show are words like this that show music can touch people’s lives for the better!
In this set is a wide mix of classical miniatures, folk songs as well as a Jazz piece titles Pitlochry and The Muppets Theme Song.
Ashlea Martin (pianist) and myself have been recording the violin exam syllabus as reference material to violin students. We make a backing track of the piano accompaniment available for download and provide a quality audio and visual reference of the pieces.
https://kristelbirkholtz.bandcamp.com
ABRSM Grade 1 is just out, so please check out the following links if you are looking to learn some new pieces. The selection is lovely just great for listening.
These are two of our favourites.
Colourful floaty dresses in silk and chiffon were on display at the Secret Room’s launch of the new summer range at Bryanston’s Riverside Shopping Centre. Each dress has been thoughtfully designed and made. The fabrics are high quality and imported.
It was a feast for the eyes to perform violin at this launch event with ladies whirling around the shop in various dress options! I have my eye on a few too. Visit them online at http://www.thesecretroom.co.za/
The lovely new range of L’Atelier de Givenchy fragrances had a very special launch in Sandton City this August. An engraver was on hand to personalise any perfume bottles or lipsticks bought at the launch. This was a wonderful touch and many customers bought gifts for friends or themselves that they could personalise. To add some ‘fragrance’ to the air, I was asked to play some mood setting violin music to entertain the customers while choosing their perfect perfume or having their names engraved.