It's About Connecting! - interlude with Edwin Huizinga

by Barbara Rose Shuler

Last year, violinist Edwin Huizinga agreed to speak with me about his experience of the Bach Festival. Edwin is easy to spot in the orchestra. He's tall with shoulder-length red hair and is an impressive figure on stage, especially as a soloist in Baroque concertos and chamber works, where it is traditional to stand while playing. Here is an adapted version for this blog of the article I wrote after our time together, which gives a younger person's perspective of the importance of the Bach Festival.

This evening Bruno will conduct his Heroic Beethoven concert of Symphony No.3 in E-flat Major, "Eroica" and Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major with acclaimed pianist David Breitman. Festival Dramaturge David Gordon and maestro of this website will be giving a talk on this concert at 6:45 at Sunset Center. The talk is free and will be excellent. See you there!

Here's Edwin's story:

The Carmel Bach Festival is not just about making glorious music each summer; it's about people. It's about connecting with friends and strangers who share a love for the festival, the music and a certain ineffable quality unique to this event in this place.

The musicians also look forward to returning each summer to Carmel. The festival is as special for them as it is for patrons. A relative newcomer to the festival ensemble is violinist Edwin Huizinga, age 26, who fell in love with the Carmel Bach experience when he joined the orchestra.

A prodigy who has been playing since the age of 5, Huizinga attracted the attention of concertmaster Elizabeth Wallfisch. She immediately brought him to Carmel after identifying his talent during a master class she taught.

Sitting down with Huizinga for a conversation was a pleasure, not just because of his love of music and the festival, but also because of his deep commitment to making a positive difference in people's lives.

"There is such torment all over the world," he says. "Classical music can bring you together and open you so that you can let your emotions flow and react to beauty. Or it can allow sadness from a Requiem that's happening and you respond can to how you feel. I think if people could respond this way more to their emotions then it wouldn't be possible to have such aggressively terrible things going on all the time."

Huizinga is especially concerned that young people be touched by the liberating affects of music.

"I just think there are so many issues with emotions being shut down with children, not being allowed to show themselves, or to cry," he says. "Music lets us know when it's ok to dance, to relax, to feel.

"I love to play for kids. I tell them how fun it is. I often give them free tickets and they enjoy it. I think classical music can help our society so much."

Huizinga says Pop music mostly doesn't give you a chance to be honest with yourself.

"It's like three minutes and often a loud beat and decibel level, and its commercial," he says. "They are spending a lot of money to drill something out of you. And classical music, through a few geniuses in the universe, really touches you. It touches everyone if you let it. And if you play right for children they want it and are hungry for it. Even young adults that are troubled, if you can get through to them, also love it."

At the Bach Festival, Huizinga soaks in everything he can, especially from Wallfisch.

"I learn from her every day," he says. "She is one with her violin, such a natural player. She's so open to where music can take her. She gets incredible sounds out of the violin."
He also appreciates his time with Weil.

"All year I look forward to working with Bruno," he says. "He's incredible. I don't think I have even told him that but we have such a good time together on stage. He has such unbelievably playful musical enthusiasm. I receive it and I give it back as much as I know how. He is also incredibly knowledgeable."

"I think it is really important that the festival exists and that it is here," he says. "There are all kinds of things that every single individual brings to the festival in the audience and on stage. That is just in the air. You feel it. They feel it. That's why I am here. That's why they come back."

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Barbara Rose Shuler writes Intermezzo, which chronicles classical music, in the Monterey Herald's Go! Magazine each week. She can be contacted at wordways@comcast.net.