The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Hi-Line Arts Council, a newly formed organization committed to empowering North Central Montana communities through the support and promotion of arts, culture, and creative expression, held its inaugural event on December 20. Their first performer, in what the group hopes will be a series of high caliber community arts-based events, was world renowned pianist Philip Aaberg.

Aaberg is a Chester native who has received both Grammy and Emmy nominations and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in music from Harvard College. Aaberg's holiday concert was streamed live, free of charge, on YouTube from his recording studio in Chester.

"I was so happy to share some Christmas cheer and to usher in the new and hopeful era of the Hi-Line Arts Council, especially from my studio in Chester," Aaberg said. "I've been giving solo piano Christmas concerts for 34 years, and it's one of my favorite things to do because people are open, charitable, and at their best during the holiday season."

According to his website, Sweetgrass Music, Aaberg is a pianist, composer, and songwriter. As a composer, he writes music that "evokes the spaciousness and beauty of the Western landscape." Since returning to his hometown, Aaberg's musical focus has "transitioned to sonic illustrations of places and landscapes, with a particular emphasis on Montana."

Although classically trained, Aaberg celebrates various traditions with his compositions and eclectic musical background. He weaves strains of blues and bluegrass as well as rock and musical innovation throughout his melodic tapestries that invite both meditation and delight.

Many of his recordings are performed in a studio he designed and built inside a grain bin. His second album, "Live from Montana," earned Aaberg a Grammy nomination for Best New Age Album in 2002. That one was recorded in the Chester High School gymnasium, where Aaberg played basketball years earlier. Throughout his career, Aaberg has produced music that "consistently translates Montana's farms, ranches, and native cultures into musical concepts."

"During a year that has been so challenging for everyone, this high-spirited, high-energy Christmas concert by Phil Aaberg, a composer who has enjoyed international acclaim and is a product of the Hi-Line, was exactly what we needed," said Paul Tuss, Executive Director of Bear Paw Development Corporation and a member of the organizing committee for the Hi-Line Arts Council (HLAC).

The Council emerged following Havre's involvement with the Reimagining Rural (RR) conversations sponsored by Montana State University Extension and the Montana Community Foundation. The purpose of the three-part RR series was to engage residents of rural Montana in developing projects that would enhance the livability of their communities. Havre participants in the RR webinar series ranked the establishment of an Arts Council as one of their top priorities. The HLAC formed this fall with the aim of sponsoring high-quality artistic endeavors for the region.

An incomplete list of the local individuals involved in the Arts Council include Pam Veis, Debbie Vandeberg, Sue Brurud, Grant Olson, Jay Pyette, Andi Daniel, Julea Robbins, Denise Brewer, and Tuss. According to Tuss, "There is no leadership or board behind the organization, just the individuals listed above, and some other folks as well."

Tuss went on to explain that part of the reason the HLAC formed was to replicate the quality performing arts (and other artwork) the community experienced in the past under the patronage of the Community Concert Association and Northern Showcase. Both of those organizations folded several years ago.

Grant Olson, who serves as the Artistic Director for the Montana Actors' Theatre, expressed excitement about the formation of the HLAC. He recalls working technical aspects of productions brought to Havre by Northern Showcase and the Community Concert Association.

"As a student at Havre High School and then while working on my undergraduate degree at MSU-Northern, I often helped load-in and operate the technical aspects of these productions. That experience offered me some of my first glimpses into the world of professional performing arts, a world that I have been immersed in since that time. Here in a rural community, thousands of miles from Broadway, we were able to enjoy live performances in modern dance, the symphony, chamber orchestras, Chinese acrobats, and ballet from companies that also performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall.

Imagine, Carnegie Hall talent in Havre, Montana!

"Not only was the Hi-Line able to engage with world class performances, these companies also reaffirmed and strengthened support for the immense talent and creativity we already have right here! I am ecstatic about the newly formed Hi-Line Arts Council and their commitment to 'empowering our community through the support and promotion of arts, culture, and creative expression.' With the aim to bring touring companies of this stature back to the Hi-Line and fostering the already vibrant art scene in Northern Montana, the Hi-Line Arts Council will benefit the cultural fabric of the area for years to come," Olson exclaimed.

Aaberg is certainly part of that fabric. Upon returning to Chester, he and his wife, Patty, founded Arts Without Boundaries (AWB), a statewide nonprofit that provides music and arts lessons and deepens experiences in the arts for children in Montana communities. The AWB team believes that "student participation in art and music is critical for academic success and can increase the probability of an at-risk student staying in school."

Tim Brurud, Director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line, agrees. "Programming at the Club focuses on five core program areas: Education, Fitness, Leadership, Healthy Lifestyles, and the Arts. We believe that the ability to express yourself through the arts is a key component to becoming a healthy adult, and we are constantly on the lookout for opportunities for our members to experience art in all of its forms. The possibility of partnering with the Hi-Line Arts Council to bring a focus to arts in our community is very exciting."

"Growing up, I had several extraordinary teachers at Havre High and at MSU-Northern who fostered my creative spirit. Theater has so many positive elements. For example, out of necessity, I learned to weld. Theater people have to learn to do for themselves, which develops independence and self-reliance. Most of the time, we have to problem-solve to make things work on a set or in a show. Necessity breeds creativity, and that ingenuity translates into performance," Olson explained.

As he reminisced, Olson named theater instructors like John Musgrove and Jay Pyette who influenced his own creative development. Olson went on to earn his doctorate in drama from Kingston University in London, where he lived for seven years.

"We plan to do some outreach so that we can include people from other communities, like Chinook. There are certainly places at the table for more team members," Olson added.