Master Violinist, choir to perform
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ST. IGNATIUS – Be sure to mark your calendar so you don’t miss the Spring Concert featuring master violinist Wai Mizutani and the Valley Voices Community Choir at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 2, at the St. Ignatius Mission Church.
Mizutani is a faculty member of the Music Department at Flathead Valley Community College and has a loyal following throughout Flathead Valley. He was the featured entertainer Jan. 19 at the Ninepipes Museum’s annual fundraiser, the Black Tie Dinner, and wowed the audience.
“We’re fortunate and grateful that Wai offered to perform a benefit concert for us. It will be a special day with outstanding music in a spectacular venue. We’re happy to share the proceeds with the St. Ignatius Mission Church for their fundraising efforts to restore the murals in the historic church,” said Kathy Senkler of the museum staff.
Mizutani received a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and also attended the Juilliard School of Music, both in New York City. He has a long list of credentials, having won numerous competitions, soloed and performed as a member of numerous international symphonies and orchestras, and has been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. Pianist Siobhan McGuire will accompany Mizutani at the Mission Church concert. Mizutani plays many types of music and treated the Ninepipes audience to “Orange Blossom Special.” He has performed with musical masters such as Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta and Yo-Yo Ma.
The Valley Voices Community Choir is no stranger to Carnegie Hall either. Following a YouTube video submission, the Flathead Valley group was invited to perform at Carnegie this past November.
“A number of us from the museum thoroughly enjoyed the choir’s fundraising concert to travel to New York City last fall. We’re looking forward to hearing their voices fill the Mission Church,” Senkler said. This community choir, formed in 2000, includes both men and women and is led by director Allyson Kuechmann.
The joint fundraiser will assist both local Mission Valley nonprofits with their ongoing projects. The community may recall the Mission Church’s extensive restoration work over the years has included brickwork, stabilizing the floor, and reframing some of the stained glass windows. In 2015, the murals were examined by EverGreene Architectural Arts and it was determined that all the mural surfaces are unstable to varying degrees. An emergency stabilization treatment was selectively applied to reinforce areas of severe deterioration with the objective to prevent the loss of mural surfaces until full-scale conservation of the murals can be carried out. The treatments consisted of the application of Japanese facing paper to the widest cracks and to areas of planar distortion, using Haini mulberry paper cut into 1-foot by 1-foot squares and 1-foot by 6-inch rectangles and adhered in overlapping patterns. Church personnel were advised to give this process some time for settling before trying to do restoration, so right now they are trying to raise funds for this very expensive project. At the Ninepipes Museum, the funds will support projects such as the restoration of the Jocko Valley cabin and security upgrades.
Cookies and coffee will be served in the church basement following the concert. The suggested donation is $10 per person. Please call 644-3435 for further information. Come enjoy a wonderful spring day with beautiful music at the Mission Church on Sunday, April 2.
