Musical prodigy Cole Knutson will perform Aug. 12 and 18 at St. Joseph Calasanctius Church in North Battleford. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Support for the Arts

Acclaimed N.B. pianist performing two more shows to raise support

Aug 12, 2019 | 4:56 PM

After a strong turnout for his previous show in June, North Battleford pianist Cole Knutson will perform two more concerts before leaving to begin his studies at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England.

He will perform Monday, Aug. 12 and Sunday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph Calasanctius Church in North Battleford. The first show, called Reminiscence – A Piano Trio Recital, will feature Knutson with Zaide Masich on cello and Jeanny Jung on violin performing works by Beethoven, Piazzolla, Smetana and Christos Hatzis.

The following event, called a Liederabend concert, will include Knutson performing with award-winning baritone Jonah Spungin, who resides in Calgary, and Jung on violin covering the works by Brahms, Schubert, Schumann and Vaughan Williams. Admission to both performances is by donation.

Knutson has already reached his goal to raise $60,000 to help cover his costs while he undertakes the two-year classical piano artist masters program overseas. He thanked donors and benefactors for their support.

“When I set out to do this there were some people in support and some who said I was a bit crazy for doing it,” he said of his idea that the community may want to help support his studies to become a world-class artist. “I wanted to put my faith in the community because the community has always excelled in supporting its own people in the Battlefords. It surpassed my expectations more than I could have ever imagined.”

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Knutson said he is sharing the donations from the upcoming recitals with local young musicians Jung and Masich who will perform with him.

He said he will also make a gift to the church in appreciation for offering him use of the venue for the concerts.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow