Artwork by pianist Elisaveta Blumina
Run by violinist Yuri Kalnits and cellist Julia Morneweg, ChamberMusicBox, a collective of British and European artists promoting concerts in London and other parts of the UK, is currently organizing the three-day Fermata Festival of classical music and visual art as part of the 2021 Kensington and Chelsea Art Week. Four live concerts are set alongside an exhibition of 100 artworks created by classical musicians during the Covid-19 pandemic when concerts halls were silent. The exhibition is being created by gallery owner and arts consultant Alan Kluckow.
Yuri Kalnits says: « The original idea for the Festival came about as a result of Julia’s and my seeing numerous images of extremely accomplished artworks created by our colleagues during lockdown, with one example being the inspiring « 100 Days of Music as Art » series by Scottish double-bassist Kirsty Matheson. We felt that these works deserved a lot more than ‘likes’ on social media, but rather a dedicated exhibition set alongside, of course, music. »
Conductor Antony Negus, a portrait by mezzosoprano Carolyn Dobbin
Kalnits, Morneweg and Kluckow managed to find nearly 50 talented musician-artists, including Stephen Hough, Roger Vignoles, Moray Welsh, Elisaveta Blumina, Rivka Golani, Ilya Kondratiev and members of the Carducci and Albion Quartets. Many others are freelance instrumentalists, singers and composers for whom their artwork not only became a source of solace during lockdown, but one of much-needed income.
Artwork by pianist Ilya Krughoff
They will be exhibiting approximately 100 works in the live exhibition at St Cuthbert’s Church in Earl’s Court and more on their website, which will very soon host our online Fermata Festival Gallery. All works are exhibited for sale and proceeds, after exhibition costs, go directly to the artists.
The exhibition is set alongside four concerts:
- 25 June: ChamberMusicBox Artists play Strauss and Tchaikovsky Sextets
- 26 June (afternoon): free Community Concert performed by several of our exhibition artists
- 26 June (evening): Misha Mullov-Abbado Group perform original jazz compositions by Misha
- 27 June: Raphael Wallfisch performs Bach Suites 1-3
Kalnits says: « The festival is really meant to be a celebration of the sheer talent, resilience and resourcefulness of those in the profession in the face of unprecedented difficulty.
Festival website https://www.chambermusicbox.com/fermata-festival
