- Story by Sean McIntyre

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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Not so long ago, when Christian Kluxen was growing up in Denmark, there was a common expression about people with a good sense of culture and an interest in the arts. Such folks were said to have surely come from a home with a piano.

Kluxen says the phrase is used less frequently these days as younger people draw inspiration from other sources in an entertainment universe that offers unprecedented scope at the expense of less and less time to meditate on what it all means.

It91裸聊视频檚 a disturbing trend, which the 36-year-old says has been especially noticeable in the world of classical music.

91裸聊视频淲e are the first generation where most of us didn91裸聊视频檛 sit down with our parents and listen to classical music,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淚 am convinced that ours is the lost generation of classical music.91裸聊视频�

But Kluxen wouldn91裸聊视频檛 have competed with hundreds of applicants in a multi-year process to become the 91裸聊视频檚 new music director if he wasn91裸聊视频檛 hopeful that change is possible. After all, we live in a world where classical music consistently evokes powerful emotions in popular films and primetime advertisements.

All we need to do, Kluxen says, is make great music accessible. Providing the opportunity to experience Beethoven91裸聊视频檚 Symphony No. 7 performed by some of the most accomplished musicians in the world, for example, is bound to generate enthusiasm and expand people91裸聊视频檚 musical understanding.

91裸聊视频淐ulture is not something we make, it91裸聊视频檚 what we are. It lies within all of us already, it just has to be found and opened up,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淢any people of my age are searching for something with depth. If we can just get them in the concert hall once, or maybe twice, they will come back.91裸聊视频�

VSO audiences will often see Kluxen in his role as conductor, though much of his work as musical director occurs off stage as he guides the organization91裸聊视频檚 artistic direction. Among other tasks, he91裸聊视频檒l help create a repertoire based on the orchestra91裸聊视频檚 strengths, recommend guest conductors and soloists, and be engaged in the process of hiring new musicians.

91裸聊视频淭here are many people in the institution who set a way for the organization, but I91裸聊视频檓 here to say which way the organization should be going artistically,91裸聊视频� Kluxen said in an interview at the VSO91裸聊视频檚 View Street headquarters, only a few hours before the public launch of the organization91裸聊视频檚 2017/18 season.

Small Danish flags on the office91裸聊视频檚 main reception desk welcomed Kluxen to the city and the building was charged with an atmosphere of eager anticipation and excitement over what91裸聊视频檚 ahead. Kluxen is one of those fabulously energetic people who can spark inspiration in those who surround him.

A busy string of concerts and opera performances across Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark and Finland saw Kluxen spend fewer than 10 nights in his own bed during the first three months of 2017. Despite the gruelling schedule, Kluxen landed in Victoria with the same confidence, energy and enthusiasm that enabled him to complete a three-year assistant conductorship at the in 2013, and undertake a at the in the 2014/15 season.

He91裸聊视频檚 conducted orchestras around the world. After his brief stay in Victoria and a well-deserved two-week reprieve, he was off to Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Romania before returning to the West Coast in early summer.

Accompanying this impressive resum茅, however, is a comforting genuineness.

Within 48 hours of his arrival in Victoria, Kluxen had already gotten to know the young owners of a new cafe across from the VSO91裸聊视频檚 downtown headquarters, received an impromptu city tour from his hotel91裸聊视频檚 concierge and got a sense of the city91裸聊视频檚 folk scene from some local musicians.

Kluxen likes to consider himself a normal guy with an extraordinary job. His interests are pretty commonplace: cooking, drawing, drinking and making crazy plans for the future with his girlfriend. Musically, his interests are understandably diverse, ranging from Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine to Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald.

91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 go around hearing music inside my head all the time,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淧eople often think that conductors and musicians are a mirror of what they saw in a movie like Amadeus, but I think you91裸聊视频檒l find that most of them are really normal people. If they hear music all the time, everywhere they go, this would probably require some hours with a psychologist instead.91裸聊视频�

Kluxen is funny, opinionated and refreshingly unafraid to speak his mind. Qualities likes these bode well for a conductor eager to inspire a broader, new generation of classical music lovers and for one who91裸聊视频檚 been given the keys to chart the VSO91裸聊视频檚 artistic direction.

Sporting jeans, a black T-shirt and a simple blazer, Kluxen was dressed in the casually stylish uniform of the up-and-coming generation of millennials who refuse to curb their hopes and dreams to facilitate business as usual. He says he91裸聊视频檚 got nothing to gain from putting on airs to sound older, wiser or more sophisticated. His life is an ever-evolving journey, and Kluxen doesn91裸聊视频檛 shy away from confidently speaking from the heart.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 just myself and I will always speak my thoughts,91裸聊视频� he says.

Kluxen91裸聊视频檚 candour is infectious. It91裸聊视频檚 not long before he feels like an old friend who is able to laugh, confide and commiserate. He switches seamlessly from talking about the emotional weight of a great piece of music, the tragic consequences of funding cuts to local arts and culture and the power of music to address society91裸聊视频檚 ills.

91裸聊视频淚 conduct in many places and, basically, I have to say it makes me very optimistic to always see that people are just people and that, actually, we all do the same things in slightly different ways,91裸聊视频� he says.

91裸聊视频淚 do this job because I like it, but I also believe that it has the power to change something for some people.91裸聊视频�

Thankfully, it may not be long until the family piano gets placed back in its rightful place after all.