Siemens to host inspirational concert

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This article was published 12/03/2021 (1573 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steinbach Arts Council’s next Safe at Home online concert will host Plum Coulee born violinist Rosemary Siemens and husband Eli Bennett.

The free show, planned for Sunday March 14 at 7 p.m. will feature An Evening of Hymns and Inspiration with Rosemary Siemens and SaxAndViolin, a project Siemens undertakes with award winning jazz saxophonist Eli Bennett.

The concert will be pre-recorded in the couple’s B.C. in-house studio, but Siemens said it’s made specifically for Steinbach with the intent of making the event feel like a live show.

“I really wanted to make it feel like they were in one of my shows, make it like they’re right there with us,” she said.

This is the first time the couple has pre-recorded an entire show, and Siemens said the 60 to 70 minute event will included traditional hymns, story telling and duets with SaxAndViolin.

“It’s all made specifically for this event,” she said.

The pair bring a powerful resume to the show. Rosemary Siemens has performed around the world including for two U.S. presidents and Canadian prime ministers, at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, three times at St. Peter’s Basilica, four times at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and was the first violinist to ever perform at the Sistine Chapel at The Vatican.

SaxandViolin, together for about two years have performed many events around the world for companies such as Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Microsoft, Bentley, Dell and L’Oreal Paris. Their debut album entitled Can’t Help Falling in Love was released on Valentine’s Day 2020 and debuted at #3 on the Canadian iTunes Charts.

Siemens, who is known for audience interaction at her shows, said it’s been a challenge to reach people without live events.

“It’s so hard to connect with people over screens,” she admitted.

Siemens hosted a Sunday Hymn Serenade on her YouTube channel and said that has been a positive drawing 19,000 subscribers and over 4.3 million views.

“That’s where I get to connect with a lot of people from around the word so that has been amazing throughout this time,” she said. “I feel like I still want that connection because that’s such a huge part of my show and so this is a way that I can do that and still hopefully have that connection with people.”

Social media has its challenges as well. “It’s like there’s so many options, and how do you get people’s attention, how do you connect, how do you make them feel something?” she asked. “That’s what I’m trying to do on this show.”

SaxAndViolin came together as the then newly married couple looked for ways to spend more time together. Siemens said during their first year of marriage they played 175 shows in 100 cities but spent most of that time apart. Working together addressed that and also attracted new fans.

“People love it,” she said. “It’s kind of like we created our own genre because people hadn’t really heard those two instruments together before.”

Siemens admits this past year hasn’t been easy.

“We had the busiest year booked to date and basically in a matter of a week or two everything was cancelled,” she said. “Who knows when it will come back.”

Offers from the U.S. market are starting to come in, including a gig at Dolly World in Tennessee, but because of border restrictions, Siemens said they can’t accept those offers either.

But bringing hope to others during this time is important.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated but someone is always going through a harder time than you,” she said. “Whenever there’s been a need for us this year God has blessed us with what we’ve needed. I know a lot of musicians have had to go to other jobs and we’ve been sustained through this entire time.”

Siemens said she can’t wait to perform in Steinbach live, but added she hopes people will enjoy the March 14 concert in the meantime. “The concert will be very inspirational and uplifting,” she said.

To check out her work search for Rosemary Siemens and SaxAndViolin on YouTube.

The concert will be made available at www.steinbacharts.ca.