Garden Spot Village invites the public to a performance of Paraguayan harp music on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in the community chapel.
“We are blessed to welcome Eduard and Christine Klassen to our stage, and we hope our neighbors will join us for this exceptional and uplifting musical experience,” said Colleen Musselman, director of life enrichment at Garden Spot Village.
The Klassens perform a variety of Christian harp music from North and South America and Europe, interspersed with personal testimony of God’s work.
Born in a remote wilderness in Paraguay, Eduard Klassen did not see a paved road until he was 15 years old. He began playing the harp in 1977, and his formal training included five years of study in Asuncion, Paraguay. At age 20, he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior and followed the call into full-time music ministry. Since then, he has performed more than 4,000 concerts in 29 countries, playing in churches as well as large concert halls and a variety of other venues. He has also appeared on radio and television and recorded 20 albums.
“I’m working for the Lord, wherever He leads,” Klassen says on his website, eduardklassen.com.
His wife, Christine, is a native of Canada. Trained as a nurse, she has played piano since 1976. She also studied at Winnipeg Bible College. She accompanies her husband on keyboard.
The Paraguayan harp is a traditional folk instrument, a modified version of the classical harp brought to South America by 17th- and 18th-century Spanish missionaries. It is lighter than a classical harp, has 36 strings, covers only five octaves and has no foot pedals. Although players use some of the same techniques on both types of harps, such as arpeggios and glissandi, other techniques are different, resulting in sounds that are unique to the Paraguayan harp.
Garden Spot Village, is located at 433 S. Kinzer Ave. The concert is open to the public. A love offering for the Klassens’ music ministry will be collected.
For more information, call 717-355-6000, email Info@gardenspotvillage.org or visit www.gardenspotvillage.org/events/.
