Wine and Song: Vocals & piano, wine & cheese, all for a good cause and good fun

December 11 is a special Benefit Concert for the Classical Tuesdays in Old Town chamber music series. We will gather across the street from Slavonian Hall (our usual venue) at the Connelly Law Offices (the former Grazie Restaurant building, now beautifully refurbished, with fireplaces and lovely woodwork and marbling.) The address is 2301 N. 30th Street, Old Town Tacoma.

• Concert flyer (PDF, 8 1/2 x 11")

At 7pm we will be serenaded by four outstanding vocalists from T-town: Charles Robert Stephens, Deborah Stephens, Katie Weld, and James Brown. They will be accompanied by pianist Amy Grinsteiner. For the first time in the history of the series, a piano is available! Mr. John Connelly has a lovely grand piano on the ground floor level and we are very happy to make use of it on this special occasion.

Wine and cheese and coffee will be served - upstairs at the bar preserved from the days of restaurant. You are eligible for a raffle drawing with the purchase of a ticket.

Price of admission is $25.

Tickets are available at:

• The Spar in Old Town
  
• The Pacific Northwest Shop in Proctor District

Treat yourself, gift a friend, a relative, a colleague!

7 PM Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
2301 N. 30th Street, Old Town Tacoma, across the street from Slavonian Hall

(Don't forget: We will have two more concerts January 8th and February 12th!)

Bobble Tiki love in The Volcano

From the Nov. 13th Weekly Volcano:

Bobble Tiki’s never been one to hide his prejudices, so he’s just going to come right out and say it: Bobble Tiki loves Brazilian music. He loves Rita Lee from Os Mutantes and could listen to Astrid Gilberto reading the phone book. These days he’s got a little thing for Juju Stulbach, the actress and dancer turned sultry crooner for Mosquitos. All these people will not play the South Sound tonight. Drat.

Wait. Here’s an intriguing substitute. Classical Tuesdays in Old Town Tacoma will host Viva la Musica tonight at the Slavonian Hall. Bobble Tiki is talking chamber music by composers of South American as well as the Caribbean and Europe.

Brazilian soul on flute and clarinet is so sexy. — Bobble Tiki

Thank you, Bobble Tiki. We find you irresistible too.

News Tribune press for Nov. 13 concert

Look for Classical Tuesdays in Friday's (11/2) News Tribune. In the Soundlife section, Rosemary Ponnekanti highlighted several Latino cultural events around the Dia de los Muertos (All Souls Day in Mexico).

Among the ongoing events, Ponnekanti suggests:

The Gallery At TCC's Latino Art Exhibition
- through Feb. 1

Two Vaults Gallery's Dia de los Muertos exhibition
- through Nov. 10

Classical Tuesdays in Old Town's Viva la Musica!
- Tuesday, Nov. 13

Viva la Musica! in Old Town:
It’s not Day of the Dead, but it is Latino culture. The Classical Tuesdays in Old Town series presents an evening of classical music by South American and Carribean composers: Argentine tango maestro Astor Piazzolla, 19th-century Cuban pianist Ignacio Cervantes, Afro-Brazilian guitarist Celso Machado and others. Featuring Pamela Ryker on flute, Cindy Renander on clarinet and John Paul Shields on guitar.

What: Viva la Musica!
Who: Classical Tuesdays in Old Town
When: 7 p.m. Nov. 13
Where: Slavonian Hall, 2306 N. 30th St., Tacoma
Cost: Free
Contact: 253-752-2135, classicaltuesdays.blogspot.com

See our previous post for the concert announcement, or download the concert flyer (PDF).

November 13th concert: Old Town Goes Latin

Viva la Musica! Classical Tuesdays in Old Town goes Latin, with influences from both popular and traditional music of Latin America and Spain.

• Concert flyer (PDF)

Pamela Ryker (flute), Cindy Renander (clarinet), and John Paul Shields (guitar) will perform music by South American, Caribbean and European composers. These works bring to life the dance rhythms, the passion and fervor, and the soul of the Latin heritage. It's music to set your foot tapping. Songs to get you humming.

Come enjoy the music of Argentinian Astor Piazzolla, Cuban Ignacio Cervantes, Brazilian Celso Machado, Frenchman Darius Milhaud and more.

Tuesday, November 13th. 7:00 PM at the Slavonian Hall. Free admission.

Tags: arts, entertainment, music, concert, free, classical, latin, chamber music

Loop 2.4.3 featured on NPR

Many of you have seen Loop 2.4.3's lively percussion concerts for Classical Tuesdays in Old Town.

We're delighted to report that Loop 2.4.3's new CD, Batterie, was reviewed on National Public Radio's Fresh Air today. You can hear the full review here (it's the second feature in the show).

NPR also used a Loop 2.4.3 track as an interlude. The audio is here.

Congratulations to Loop 2.4.3 for a successful debut CD! And remember, you heard them here first, on Classical Tuesdays in Old Town. We hope to bring Loop 2.4.3 to Old Town again, next season.

Wonderful concert by Brass Unlimited, great audience

This week's Classical Tuesdays in Old Town concert was performed by the Brass Unlimited quartet. The members are David Mulkins and Karl Ronning on trumpets, and Keith Gorsuch and Eric Stevens on trombones. All four are professional music-educators in the Tacoma public schools.

Thanks to Jamie for the photo of the concert!

Brass Unlimited had appeared in the first season of our series, and we were happy to bring them back -- by popular request. They played wonderfully, individually, and especially as an ensemble, as only a group that has performed together for ten years could. Let's be sure to watch for the Brass Unlimited tenth anniversary concert at the end of January.

The pieces performed Tuesday night were often lyrical and mellifluous, at other times sonorous and stirring. The program was full of concert favorites composed by Beethoven, Mozart, Frackenpohl, American-great Copland, and many others. All the selections were transcribed by member Keith Gorsuch.

Expanded season & Poster!

Season poster

You may have noticed the Classical Tuesdays in Old Town season poster around town, with dates for all six concerts.

Want a copy for your fridge door? Here it is, 8 1/2 x 11".

• Download poster (PDF)

Expanded season

Yes, I said six concerts! Our season has expanded by two months.

First off: Thanks to the generosity of John Connelly of Connelly Law Offices, our December concert will be a benefit for Classical Tuesdays (details to be announced).

And there's more great news: our sponsors are supporting two more free concerts in Jan-Feb 2008, to start the New Year with music!

Tags: music, concerts, free, entertainment, tacoma, seattle, classical, chamber music, arts

"Totally bad brasses", like, yeah!

We always enjoy these backhanded compliments from the Volcano. About the concert next Tuesday the 9th:

Arts and cultural picks of the week

Trumpets and Trombones: Somebody’s gotta love ’em. And you can’t do anything but love trumpets and trombones running through Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Aaron Copland at once. Which is what you’ll get when Classical Tuesdays in Old Town presents “Sounds of Celebration: Brass Unlimited in Concert". Four professional music educators — David Mulkins (trumpet and piccolo trumpet), Karl Ronning (trumpet and flugelhorn, Eric Stevens (trombone), and Keith Gorsuch (bass trombone) are totally bad brasses. Check it. — SS

We agree. Totally.

Tags: music, concerts, free, entertainment, tacoma, seattle, classical, chamber music, arts

October 9th concert: Sounds of Celebration

Classical Tuesdays in Old Town welcomes back Brass Unlimited for our October 9th concert. Brass Unlimited performed on our inaugural series in 2005, and we've had many requests to bring them back. So here they are!

• Concert flyer (PDF)

David Mulkins plays trumpet and piccolo trumpet and Karl Ronning plays trumpet and fluegelhorn. On trombone is Eric Stevens, and Keith Gorsuch on bass trombone. Their program for the evening celebrates the sounds of brass with the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Prokofiev and the great American composer Aaron Copland.

These four professional music educators are some of Tacoma's most popular and recognized musicians. The ensemble, celebrating its 10th season! January 2008, has performed with the Bellevue Chamber Chorus, Tacoma Community College Choir, for Tacoma Opera Festival of Trees, Museum of Glass, Lakewold Gardens,and the Harbor Club in Seattle.

7:00 PM at the Slavonian Hall. Free admission.

Tags: music, concert, classical, tacoma, seattle, free, entertainment, arts

Our 9/11 concert: Thanks!

We had a wonderful concert last night. Our favorite string players, Maria Sampen and Timothy Christie, joined by guests Jennifer Caine and Sally Singer, played the beautiful Cavatina from Beethoven's String Quartet in B flat, Op. 130 and Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. Pamela Ryker, on flute, joined the strings in Mozart's Quartet in A Major and baritone Charles Robert Stephens sang a stirring rendition of Dover Beach by Barber.

A big thank you to all who helped make this such a successful evening! An especial thank you to John Petrinovich and the Slavonian Benevolent Society for the use of the performance space in the beautiful old Slavonian Hall. And the coffee donated by Old Town Starbucks was very much appreciated by everyone as we gathered after the concert for community time. A big thank you to Carol at Katie Downs for hosting a supper for the performers at the end of the evening.

Thank you, Alexis, for greeting our friends and neighbors as they came in, and for setting out the coffee and cookies. Thank you Kate and Jim for helping to fold and stack chairs afterwards!

And, a big thank you to our neighbors and friends, old and new, for attending, this our first concert of the 2007 season. We enjoyed such a strong sense of community.

Please take note of our list of generous sponsors and supporters, at left!

In Concert 9/11: Music for Reflection and Inspiration

On 9/11/2007, Classical Tuesdays in Old Town presents Beethoven's Cavatina from String Quartet in B flat, Op. 130, Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, the Flute Quartet in A Major by Mozart and Dover Beach by Barber.

• Concert flyer (PDF)

Performing these works will be Charles Robert Stephens, baritone; Maria Sampen and Jennifer Caine, violins; Timothy Christie, viola; Sally Singer, cello and Pamela Ryker, flute.

The evening offers time for the community to gather for reflection and inspiration, to unite in good will and to share hope and strength for the future.

Join your neighbors for an evening of good music, refreshments and friendship.

7:00 PM at the Slavonian Hall. Free admission.

The News Tribune says we're cheap

This morning's News Tribune lists a number of free and cheap events in the South Sound area:

We had our critics dig deep between their sofa cushions and then hit the streets to find the biggest bang for their bucks. Here’s what they found...

THE ARTS

It might seem at first that the arts are an expensive pastime. Opera tickets cost up to $100, and even museum admission can set you back $20 for a blockbuster show. But culture doesn’t have to cost you.

Music – Free

• Classical Tuesdays in Old Town: This series of eclectic chamber music features local professional musicians; 7 p.m. second Tuesdays from September to December at Slavonian Hall, 2306 N. 30th St., Tacoma; 253-752-2135