The story is familiar. Girl travels to Arizona. Girl stumbles upon Sedona. Girl falls in love with Sedona. Girl buys a house in Sedona. But here’s where it differs: Girl then decides to create a music festival for international artists and hold said festival in Sedona. That’s what happened to French-born Sandrine Erdely-Sayo, pianist and artistic director for the inaugural Piano on the Rocks International Festival happening April 15-17 at Church of the Red Rocks and Sedona Creative Life Center. The festival will feature Sandrine, who has graced the stage at Carnegie Hall, along with French pianist and laureate of the Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition, Helene Tysman; musicologist Carl Schmidt; soprano Barbara Di Toro; and narrator Elizabeth Pena.
Sandrine, who divides her time between Sedona and Philadelphia, says she wanted to create a festival that marries her love of literature and music. That’s where her creative partner, Elizabeth Pena, comes into the picture. Elizabeth and Carl Schmidt will read from well-known pieces of literature and poetry during the shows. The theme of this year’s festival is “From Paris to Sedona,” which means the focus is on French composers and composers who lived in Paris. Sandrine hopes the format will attract audiences of all ages. “Classical music needs new people and a younger audience,” says Sandrine. “You don’t see teenagers and children at concerts, and I want to change that. I want to bring music to the world of reflection and philosophy, and Sedona seems like the perfect place to do that.”
Sandrine has lived in the U.S. for 24 years. She moved to Philadelphia after winning a music competition in Paris. She almost didn’t make the move. “It was too far away, and I
didn’t speak English,” she says. But now she loves her adopted country and plans to move to Sedona full time. This is the first time she has organized a music festival. “It’s very different to be an artist and have to think about the business side of things – they don’t go together,” she says. “I feel like I need to divide myself into two persons.” – Erika Ayn Finch. Photo by Nicolas Piet.
SEDONA CALENDAR: Events, activities, shows, happenings
