On June 16, violinist Daniel Röhn and pianist Olena Nikulina captivated the audience at the Kiama Anglican Church with a performance entitle ‘Dance!’ featuring the works of Brahms, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky. 

Pamela Baxter attended and shared her thoughts: “This concert was the third in this year’s Classical Kiama series and the first time this year that Daniel Röhn (the founder of Classical Kiama) has been the star turn. With the theme of ‘Dance’, Daniel managed to provide a fresh insight into what is considered dance music. It would have been too easy to have a programme of ballet ‘bits’ and a waltz or two but this programme tested knowledge and opened the audience to new ideas and appreciation. 

“The church, with its beautiful acoustics, is now heated, and so for the audience it was both comfortable and relaxing, allowing us to sit back and appreciate all that was on offer.

“We had a tango and a gavotte, a waltz and a folk dance, music for poetry and a stately pavane… but there was so much more. With an unbroken performance of over an hour, Daniel and his accompanist (Olena Nikulina on piano) held the audience spellbound. Enough for two curtain calls and a full encore. The audience buzz afterwards was effusive about the range and quality of the performance. 

Kiama is very fortunate in terms of musical and other events, and Pamela says, “However, for the classical music lover, there has been a gap … a gap now filled by the offerings from Classical Kiama. The variety is astounding.” 

“The first concert this year was with Adélaïde Ferrière on the Marimba – labelled a percussionist but is so much more. The second concert was the Goldner string quartet followed by the Dance! concert with Daniel.”

With three concerts left in the 2024 season including classical guitar, Classical Kiama has found its niche and is providing excellent entertainment to an increasingly loyal audience.

The Bugle will bring you notice of the next Classical Kiama offering.