GEORGE NEWS - Solo piano sounds will fill the Arts Theatre in George on Thursday 14 March from 18:00 to 19:40 with Dirkje Daling's performance 'Quoting Caleb'.
Daling will deliver her interpretation of selected compositions by Ludovico Einaudi, Yann Tiersen, Dirk Maassen and Maxcence Cyrin, among others. This musician, artist and gallery owner of Nieu-Bethesda in the Eastern Cape is looking forward to her visit to George.
Asked about the title of her piano performance, which in itself is very unusal, Daling explained the symbolism as follows: "Like Caleb in the Bible, I am taking a bold step by putting myself out there and I hope, like Caleb, that the Lord will go with me."
Tickets cost R140 and R100 (pupils and pensioners) and are available at www.dirkjedaling.com or at the theatre. For enquiries contact 071 070 5410.
About the performer
Dirkje Daling lives and works in Nieu-Bethesda, where she owns the Infinity Gallery and has been exhibiting with other artists of the area since 2014. She studied B.Sc Abstract Mathematics at Stellenbosch University and completed her honours degree in 1998. After working as an actuarial assistant for two years she decided to go into the arts fulltime.
"Growing up I was always inclined towards going into the arts, but my father wisely advised that this is not always the best route to take when it comes to making a living. We ended up making a deal with each other that I would equip myself for the corporate world and give it a good go, but if I then decide to still do art he was going to be okay with it. Needless to say that that is exactly what happened."
A life in colour
Since childhood, Daling lives with the neurological condition chromosthesia, in which sounds invoke images of colour.
In her art Daling recently started to portray these experiences with oils on canvas. "We had a group exhibition in the gallery with the theme 'Melodic Light' and I decided this is the ideal opportunity for me to try and portray something of this experience," said Daling.
"I then took existing pieces of music and painted the colours as I would see them. Although I find it impossible to nearly give an account for the real life experience, I really enjoyed the process and then decided to flip the order. I started painting with the music in mind that I want to compose not having the piano with me, and so this journey opened up whereby I compose by painting."
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