The last thirty days in SandBox brought an extraordianry array of rich offerings. In late June we worked with Regenertive CA to present the Award Winning documentary film "Common Ground" The sell out audience was treated to the sobering and inspiring film followed by an enlightening discussion with guest panelists who are specialists in the field of regenerative farming. Many thanks to the executive producer, Laura Turner Seydel for bringing the film to SandBox! And thank you to the CEO of Regenertaive CA, Kristin Coates for her work with this wonderful organization.
In mid July we welcomed another sell out crowd for "Alina Bercu and Friends". Romanian pianist Alina Bercu came to SandBox from Germany for a week of music making that will not be forgotten by anyone who was lucky enough to be in SandBox that evening. Alina's "friends" were the prize winning violiniust Nancy Zhou, principal violist of the SF Symphony Jonathan Vinocour and yours truly, Michelle Djokic on cello. This concert was made possible by the generous visionary and master of countless memorable film scores, Mark Mancina. These musicians met only one time the afternoon of the concert yet magically shared a breathtaking performance of glorious Schumann Piano Quartet. Alina then took us on an iunfiorgettable ride with her effortless technique, effervescent inner passion and endless pallette of colors that shone in every note of solo sonatas by Beethoven and Prokofiev. We were honored to have the one and only Clint Eastwood in the front row listening to every note. The following day Alina held a masterclass for students of the Neiman Paino Studio in the free Bach's Lunch presented by Musikiwest.
This was followed by singer songwriter Jason Eady who is one of the most captivating stroytellers/songwriters we've encountered. It was a memorable evening where some of Jason's fans traveled as far away as Sacramento to be here that night. We were also treated to extraordianry wnes from wine maker Nat Wong of Blade and Talon.
SandBox is a labor of love to be sure. There are times when we wonder why we are doing this and can we sustain an ats venue? Then we share these mircualous moments as a community where we leave everything at the door and sit together sharing goose bumps, tears, and laughs and our passion for keeping SandBox alive is re-ignited.
An excerpt from a letter shared recently by an audience member will sustain us for a cvery long time:
"Over and above the stellar evening, I have come to expect that I will be exposed to music new to me at The SandBox concerts. You have made an incredibly valuable contribution to the Monterey Bay Area community. Ours was a lucky day when you chose to move here and anchor your talents in our harbor. I am in awe of all that you have accomplished." Paul F. - Monterey
Thank you Paul! And thank you to all of you who have shared your enthusiasm for SandBox and for supporting our events and artists. Together we are building castles in SandBox.
We close out July with the first concert of its kind in SandBox. The intoxicating sound of the marimba will fill the air on Monday, July 29th with internationally recognized, prize winning percusssionist and composer Ksenija Komljenović. She is a Marimba One artist and will be playing on an instrument handcrafted by Marimba One in Arcata, CA. The program will journey from bach to Phillip Glass.. I can hardly wait to join Ksenija in Mariel by Golijov and Louange a Leternite de Jesus by Messiean. If you are reading this today, there is still time to get a ticket for the concert which will be Monday July 29th @ 7PM.
Thank you for taking this time with me as I try to slow down and reflect on all the wonderfdul memories we've made together in SandBox.
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