Whidbey Island Music Festival: Benefit Concert for Ukraine
Admission by donation
- Tekla Cunningham, violin
- Sheila Weidendorf, piano
Johannes Brahms — Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100
Johannes Brahms — Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
The continuing crisis in the Ukraine moves us present this concert in support of refugees. Admission by donation, all proceeds to benefit refugees fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
About the program: Violinist Tekla Cunningham and pianist Sheila Weidendorf have spent this past year and more immersed in the violin sonatas of Johannes Brahms, meeting weekly during the pandemic to form a micro-music pod. The lockdown has forced all of us indoors and inwards, and this time of reflection and deepening has been transformative one both personally and musically for this project. What began as personal exploration quickly became a chrysalis for transformation as the musical journey deepened over the course of the year together.
Tekla and Sheila will be playing the complete Brahms sonatas this summer at outdoor venues and garden concerts, and are embarking on a recording project as well.
About Tekla Cunningham, violin
Baroque violinist Tekla Cunningham delights in bringing the music of the baroque, classical and romantic eras to life with vivid and expressive historically informed performances.
Praised as "a consummate musician whose flowing solos and musical gestures are a joy to watch", her performances have been described as "ravishingly beautiful" and "stellar". Her greatest musical love is music of the baroque and chamber music of all stripes, though she can’t seem to quit Johannes Brahms. She is co-artistic director of Pacific MusicWorks in Seattle, artist-in-residence at the University of Washington and founder and director of the Whidbey Island Music Festival.
Tekla plays regularly as concertmaster and principal player with the American Bach Soloists. Her new release 'Stylus Phantasticus' with Pacific MusicWorks is delighting critics. "Tekla is a marvel…an endlessly songful bird". Early Music America describes the recording as "played with verve, the music presented here reaffirms the old notion that instrumental music can have the flair of any theatrical spectacle. … a stellar vessel for the boldest showmanship".
Tekla plays on a violin made by Sanctus Seraphin in Venice in 1746.
http://www.teklacunningham.com/About Sheila Weidendorf, piano
A music major in college, Sheila Weidendor received her B.A. in Piano and Music History from the University of Minnesota School of Music, under the mentorship of the late Duncan McNab. Significant injury sidelined my erstwhile life and caused her to walk down new paths, and thus earn an M.A. in Feminist Theological Studies from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Five children and vocational delights in cooperative management, medicinal herbalism, energy healing, writing/editing, and whole foods catering later, Sheila moved from Minneapolis to Whidbey Island, Washington where--miracle of miracles!--music was restored. Since about 2011 Sheila has been regularly performing all kinds of music in the greater Seattle area, blessed to play with the most amazing musicians and spending her days primarily at one keyboard or another--be that the piano, the organ, or the harpsichord.
She has recorded works by Alan Hovhanhess with the late, great Buell Neidlinger and members of the Alder Quartet. According to Fanfare Magazine, "her way with texture is a constant delight."
https://www.sheilamakesmusic.com/