Chamber music lovers will be happy to hear that Mountain Time Trio is performing at the Polaris Theatre on March 21 to raise funds for the Windwood Festival in Airdrie.
The annual Windwood Music Festival is a series of creative music performance projects by artists gathering in Airdrie for a two-week residency in August.
Returning for a “mini” festival this month, the trio, which is made up of Maitreyi Muralidharan (violin), David Dietz (cello), and Tong Wang (piano), gushed about how well they mesh on stage and how special it is for them to return to Airdrie.
“There is something about the energy that we have when we play together that is so visceral and tangible by everyone in the audience, but I just have this feeling that coming back to Airdrie and bringing all of what we have done together as a group back to our home turf is going to be something absolutely inexplicable, and we are so grateful,” said Muralidharan.
Wang, who founded the Windwood Festival, added that it’s very special to find musicians that are passionately connected and love to work together.
“There's nothing as amazing as doing what you love with so much passion with people you speak this other language with,” said Wang.
On top of that, Wang added that the repertoire for the March concert is one of their dream programs.
Dietz said he’s particularly excited for the final piece, called “Legend of Ashitaka” from Princess Mononoke. The group has only played it a few times but Dietz described it as electric every time they perform it.
“Some of my favourite memories as a performer have been playing this particular piece with this group,” Dietz said.
Muralidharan added that the unique piano trio written by Indian American female composer Reena Esmail provides some contrast from the contemporary classical music repertoire and that the Rachmaninoff piano trio isn't as commonly performed due to the difficulty level.
“There are very few pianists who can actually play this part and Tong happens to be one of those pianists who can play this part really well,” Muralidharan said.
In the days leading up to the Polaris Theatre concert, the Mountain Time Trio will be working with local Airdrie schools to lead interactive music education workshops as well as Airdrie music schools to present masterclasses.
“It’s quite common to find music education in the form of band class in schools in Airdrie and in Alberta in general, but students don't often have the opportunity to see stringed instruments or piano and hear professional level performances,” said Dietz.
The trio will be visiting Croxford High School and North Northcott Prairie School on March 20.
They hosted a similar mini festival last March with community outreach. This year, they’re excited to work with some younger kids, engage with the community, and remind everyone about the Windwood festival.
“This mini festival is mostly about engaging with the community, reconnecting with the community, and just sharing what we love to do with the community,” Wang said.
This year’s third iteration of the Windwood festival is projected to be a bigger endeavor with more collaboration between local artists and community members. Muralidharan added it has been apparent from the start that Airdrie is really excited about developing their arts and culture scene.
The upcoming concert takes place at the Polaris Theatre on March 21 at 7 pm. To buy tickets, head to showpass.com/mountain-time-trio/ or for more information, go to windwoodfestival.com/.
