‘Live! at the Q’: Seniors can catch classical music performances via Zoom classes

Laguna Beach Live! and the Susi Q Senior Center have come together to provide a platform for rising stars in classical music to showcase their abilities.

“Live! at the Q” is a program that will feature young and talented artists as their performances are made available over a digital medium.

The Susi Q Senior Center in Laguna Beach will host Nicole Kouwabunpat, a pianist from Chamber Music OC’s pre-college program that will play pieces from the work of celebrated composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Frederic Chopin, Johannes Brahms and Joseph Haydn.

Members of Chamber Music OC’s pre-college program range between the ages of 10 and 18. Kouwabunpat, a senior at Aliso Niguel High School, has performed at various venues, including the Newman Recital Hall at USC, the Soka Performing Arts Center and the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

Kouwabunpat’s performance can be seen in a Zoom class from 3 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, the link to which can be found through the senior center website at thesusiq.org/register-for-free-classes.html. Cindy Prewitt, the president of Laguna Beach Live!, said that the audience would be limited to 100 attendees in the Zoom room, but the program is free to view.

“It’s something I would like to continue because it’s something that reaches out to those who can’t go out, even when it isn’t COVID, or who don’t want to go out,” Prewitt said. “I think this is a silver lining, to be able to reach people who are homebound in a new and good way.”

The program will include a short interview with April Kim, the education director for Chamber Music OC. Those attending the event will have the opportunity to ask Kouwabunpat questions in the chat.

Prewitt said that grants from the Laguna Beach branch of the Assistance League and the Festival of Arts Foundation helped in purchasing a microphone to have musical performances recorded.

As for her hopes for the program, Prewitt would like to see “Live! at the Q” happen monthly and have the ability to livestream the classical music artists on YouTube.

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