Rosebud Chamber Music Festival makes debut performance in Strathmore

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Vault Cultural Collective was excited to have partnered with the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival; who are celebrating their 10th annual festival; to host one of their shows in Strathmore on July 8. 

Carolyn Steeves, chair of the vault cultural collective, said it’s the first time the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival has come to Strathmore and she hopes it is something that will continue going forward.

“The Vault had made an overture to Keith Hamm, the violist and founding director of the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival, asking him if he would be interested in doing one of their concerts in this 10th anniversary season in Strathmore in the Vault (that) would love to support it and sponsor it,” said Steeves. “I knew about the festival, and I have known Keith for a long time. So, I thought it would be a really cool thing for the Rosebud String Quartet to play in Strathmore this year.”

The Rosebud Chamber Music Festival is a classical music ensemble consisting of the Rosebud String Quartet. This year, they were joined by pianist Phillip Chiu, who is described by The Vault as one of Canada’s most celebrated pianists and chamber musicians. 

According to Steeves, she said the Rosebud String Quartet is among the best performing groups of their kind in Canada, and the festival is a fantastic opportunity to hear them on stage.

The Rosebud Chamber Music Festival played in Three Hills on July 5, in Strathmore on the July 8, and returned to Rosebud over the weekend.

Steeves suspected that for Hamm, he may have wished to see the festival expand and be able to attract and reach a new audience.

“I think for Keith, its outreach, wanting to spread the festival farther out in Wheatland County and area. Just to get the word out about this chamber music festival and have people just have a lovely summer concert, listening to beautiful chamber music,” said Steeves about the festival spreading.

According to Steeves, Strathmore has a welcoming classical music scene, as evidenced by the often-well-attended classical performances during the Arts on 817 concert series.

“Our ticket response here in Strathmore has been fairly good. It’s a new venture for us. And so, as a vault, we’re very excited about this event, because this is our second event that we’ve hosted,” said Steeves. “We would love to see them come every year … if there is a good response from the community, I’m sure they would love to come back.”

Among the Rosebud String Quartet was cellist Julie Hereish, violist Keith Hamm, and violinists Robert Uchida and Laura Veeze.