In an age of one-hit wonders, auto-tuning and electronic beats, it's no wonder Michaela Durovic is surprised by a room packed with teenagers eager to savour a classical concert.
"That may be one of the best things," says Durovic, a classic music aficionado herself, who will be performing at an annual concert for charity in Pitt Meadows next week.
"I love how it brings younger people in to experience classical music."
Durovic joins nine other performers at Dan Wardrope's 16th fall piano concert at Swan-e-Set Golf Club in Pitt Meadows next week.
Since it began, the sell-out concert held every fall has raised more than $20,000 for charities, including the Friends In Need Food Bank, B.C. Cancer Foundation and World Vision, since 2005.
This year, the event will raise funds for Free the Children's Clean Water initiative.
Durovic, 16, will be performing for the second year in a row, but this time, she has a solo.
"I like how I started with a duet, instead of being completely overwhelmed by the event," she says.
Durovic will be playing a piece by her favourite composer – Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff.
Rachmaninoff's Elegy is just the kind of composition she likes to play – one that requires good technique and a lot of emotion.
"This piece has so many layers," says the 16-year-old, a student at the Langley Fine Arts School.
"The beginning is slow and has this haunting melody, played over these ever-changing harmonies. It gives me chills."
The middle picks up pace.
"And then it gets to this big dramatic part and finally returns to a simple melody," she says.
Edward Liang has been perfecting his solo for the past month and is focused on portraying the emotions in Brahms' Intermezzo in E minor.
"It's really interesting to play," says the 15-year-old Thomas Haney student.
"It speaks of the emotions of being in a relationship. It's about rage and love."
Liang too is performing for a second year in a row and is proud of how much money the concert has raised for charity thus far.
"We are trying to raise money for third world countries for water and shelter," he says.
"It feels really awesome to give to a good cause."
Showtime
The 16th annual fall piano concert plays Swan-e-Set Golf and Country Club at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 5. It features Durovic, Liang, Derek Maroney, Sharissa Braaksma, Benita Etey, Jessie Henderson, Micheal Dickson, Kieren VanRoekel, Lillian Zhang and Eliza Lim. The program will feature Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin and 3 other 20th century works. Tickets are $14 and include coffee, tea, cookies and muffins. As the event sells out every year, tickets must be pre-ordered y calling Dan Wardrope at 604-818-8853 or emailing djwardrope@aol.com.