(Maria Leistad)
Meet The Artist!
June 15, 5-7pm
Artists’ Gallery in The Village at Sunriver
Maria Leistad’s Sunriver’s Trumpeter is the featured artwork of Sunriver Music Festival’s 2023 season. Come to the Artists’ Gallery in the Village at Sunriver on Thursday July 15 to meet Leistad, see the stunning original painting, and enjoy light food and drinks. Music provided by Young Artists Scholarship recipient MATEO GARZA, violin.
Throughout its 28-year history, Sunriver Music Festival’s Young Artists Scholarship program has awarded almost $700,000 in scholarships to exceptional classical music students from throughout Central Oregon. Mateo Garza has been a scholarship recipient since 2015 while taking private violin lessons in Bend, has recently graduated from the esteemed Eastman School of Music in New York, and will begin a master’s degree program this fall at San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Artist Maria Leistad knew from a young age that she wanted to be an artist, yet, in her words: “…my path has meandered, greatly influencing how I see and appreciate the world. My days are divided between endeavors that give me opportunities to incorporate my artistic interests.” A second-grade teacher at Three Rivers School in Sunriver (Bend-La Pine School District), Leistad is also an owner of Village Bike & Ski, has two master’s degrees in education and a smattering of post-baccalaureate classes in drawing, painting, and ceramics.
About the painting, in the artist’s words: “The natural music of this landscape that many of us call home is the perfect backdrop for the Festival’s immensely talented musicians. I hope that “Sunriver’s Trumpeter” conveys the same feelings of tranquility, magnificence and possibility that Sunriver Music Festival has come to represent.” The original 18×24” acrylic on canvas painting, custom framed by Eastlake Framing, will be a live auction item at the Festival’s annual fundraiser “Festival Faire” at the Sunriver Resort Great Hall on July 16. Tickets at sunrivermusic.org.
Upcoming Related Events:
** June 10 — THIS Saturday — Young Artists Scholarship Concert
7pm at Sunriver Community Bible Church, 1 Theatre Drive, Sunriver. Free admission.
** June 15 — Artists Reception featuring Maria Leistad, artist and Mateo Garza, violin
5-7pm at Artists’ Gallery in the Village at Sunriver. Open house reception.
** July 16 — Festival Faire annual fundraiser for Young Artists Scholarships
4pm at the Sunriver Resort Great Hall. Tickets at sunrivermusic.org.
Sunriver Music Festival is committed to expanding the audience for classical music by presenting a world-class musical experience in Bend and Sunriver and by nurturing the next generation of artistic talent.
