Walnut Hills Retirement Community comes alive with classical music
Classical guitarist Jack Sanders performed live at the Walnut Hills Retirement Community in Walnut Creek on Wednesday evening, Oct. 21.Sanders is one of several musical artists participating in a concert series developed by the Piatigorsky Foundation, a nonprofit organization that is striving to bring classical music to communities across the U.S. in an effort to bring awareness and appreciation of the music genre.
Paula Miller, community relations coordinator for Walnut Hills, said, “One of our independent living residents brought the foundation to the attention of our president, David Miller. We thought it was a unique opportunity to have classical music here in Holmes County.”
Miller said, “Our residents love musical programs. This is the first time we’ve had classical music at the home. In the past, we have had bluegrass, gospel, Contemporary Christian, polka, and barbershop groups here.”
Miller continued, “This is so different that we are excited to bring this concert here. We are also helping to bring classical music to two of the local high schools. Both Hiland and Garaway high schools have classical concerts scheduled.”
Sanders has been traveling and playing in Ohio and Kentucky. He is a solo guitarist, chamber musician, a music teacher, and builds guitars as well as reproduction instruments such as vihuelas, baroque guitars, and other 19th century instruments.
Sanders, who is from West Los Angeles, visited Holmes County for the first time. He combines his love of working with wood and music by handcrafting guitars. He took time to shop at Keim Lumber and commented, “I visited Keim Lumber, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven.”
Sanders said, “This is my fifth year with the Piatigorsky Foundation, and they always do really good research and they scheduled me to play in Ohio during the fall and I’ve gotten to enjoy the fall colors. I’ve even played some golf. While it was beautiful, it was hard to find the golf ball sometimes under all of the leaves.”
People from the community and residents from Walnut Hills Retirement Home packed the community room and listened intently to Sanders as he played music and talked with the audience for just a little over an hour. He gave the group some background information on the music selections he played and some historical facts about guitars.
Marie Antoinette, King Henry II, and the queen of Spain in the 1700s all played the guitar. He also told the audience that guitars became so popular because they were one of the few early instruments that people could easily sing along with.
The audience got to see two of Sanders’ handcrafted guitars. The first was a copy of an Antonio Stradivarius from the 1700s and the second guitar was more in line with those played today.
Sanders plays about 30 concerts a year. He said, “With the guitar, there are six centuries worth of music to pick from and truly, I love it all. Every piece I play becomes my favorite.”
Sanders continued, “I’m glad to have been chosen as an ambassador for the foundation’s mission of spreading the love of music.”
The Piatigorsky Foundation was started in 1990 by the renowned Russian cellist Gregory Piatigorsky, who felt that classical music was not just for the elite but a necessity of everyday life for everyone. The foundation has helped bring live classical music to hundreds of thousands of people across the United States and now that also includes those at the Walnut Hills Retirement Community.