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Musicians return to 100 Mile to perform

Just under 100 in attendance
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Sally Arai (left), Naomi Cloutier and Martin Kratky on stage performing at Martin Exeter Hall this weekend. Max Winkelman photo.

Pianist Naomi Cloutier, cellist Martin Kratky and clarinetist Sally Arai were in 100 Mile House on Sunday for a chamber music performance.

“It went well from an attendance point of view and from a musical point of view,” says one of the organizers Dennis Tupman. “These are excellent musicians playing excellent music, challenging us in some ways with the unfamiliar … including myself.”

The music they chose was excellent, he says. There were about 96 people in attendance.

“Considering the time that we put this on, our break-even point was about 50 or 60. I budgeted for 60 and that would have been a comfortable budget,” he says. “This is an intimate group. It’s chamber music. It’s meant to be an intimate group.”

He says he avoids the words “classical music” because it doesn’t mean anything anymore. They haven’t done the math yet but they’re looking to give the artists something above starvation wages and to give something back to the arts council, he says.

“We’re not doing this for any profit what so ever.”

Kratky and Cloutier have performed in 100 Mile House before. They’ve been very generous with their time, says Tupman.

“They’re coming back because they love us because we love them,” says Tupman. “We’re happy to see them return and they were happy to come back and that is direct from them. They told me they love coming up here.”

Tupman says it’s difficult to say if they’re going to plan any more chamber music performances but that he certainly hopes so.

“I would like to say what a joy it’s been with everybody who’s helped in the community. It was really a community effort. Many people stepped up to help. We took the spark to lead because somebody had to do it but we didn’t feel we were hanging out there.”