Pre-Celebration Concerts

In order to bring music to the public Leanne Zacharias developed the project "Music for Spaces", which promotes intimacy in art music by exploring unorthodox venues. The following are the two performances that took place before the Chautauqua Spirit Festival begins.

Afternoon Coffee With A Cellist
Afternoon Coffee with a Cellist - Need a reminder that September can be as mellow as July?  On September 20th people came to listen to award-winning cellist, Leanne Zacharias, while they sipped java at the Minnewasta Country Club.  Leanne's warm personality and incredible virtuosity were just the right mix for a relaxing Saturday afternoon.

Strings At The Market
If people were feeling stressed, they were invited to come to the Morden Market on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 - to calm that frantic shopper within them by listening to the sounds of strings. Leanne Zacharias lead an ensemble of accomplished string players through standard, and not-so-standard repetoire while people waited, and while they shopped at the Morden Farmer's Market in downtown Morden

Who is Leanne Zacharias?

Cellist Leanne Zacharias' diverse musical life has been compared to extreme sport. From soloist with baroque orchestra Tafelmusik, apprentice with Montreal's Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, finalist in the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, contracted substitute in the Houston Symphony, artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre for Arts, and new music director on campus radio, she collaborates with composers, choreographers, architects, painters, poets and video artists.  She has premiered dozens of works including those by Arvo Part and Krysztof Penderecki, shared stages with the likes of Edgar Meyer, the Mountain Goats and the Miro Quartet, and created original music for film, radio, TV, dance and four full-length albums with long time cohort, songwriter Christine Fellows.  She received a Bachelor degree in music at the University of Manitoba, a Masters degree from Rice University as a student of Desmond Hoebig, and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas. In Austin, Leanne founded and curates the performance project  Music for Spaces, which promotes intimacy in art music by exploring unorthodox venues, unlikely collaborations and inimitable live moments.  Her research has been supported by the Getty Foundation, a Roberts Presidential Endowed  Scholarship, an Arts Reach Community grant and a prestigious Graduate Continuing Fellowship. She has presented at sound art workshops, new music festivals, gallery installations, collaborative arts festivals and recently at the Symposium on Systems Research in Arts + Humanities in Baden-Baden, Germany.  Leanne recently returned to Manitoba to accept a one-year position at Brandon University as a  Lecturer in music.