Thanks for a festive Wine & Tango

Thanks to all of you, Tuesday’s Wine & Tango benefit was a great success! Every seat was filled and it was a festive evening.

Bertram Levy's Tangoheart Quartet played wonderfully. Their tango was sultry, at times melancholic, and entirely out of the ordinary.

We love the Connelly Law Offices’ beautiful space, with the lights reflecting off the marble and woodwork. It felt like an Old Town living room bedecked for the holidays!

This was truly a community event. The beautiful centerpiece on the reception table was donated by Ambrosia Florist. Martha Scoville set up a lovely reception, with the help of Chris Reynolds (who also, along with Laura Williamson, baked beautiful sweets), Kate Butler and Helen Amsbary. Nicki Tollefson donated tasty empanadas (Argentine pasties) made by Pampeana Empanadas. Kathy Manke, owner of The Spar, contributed the excellent Argentine wines. Todd and Jake brought the chairs over from Slavonian Hall; John Trueman washed and delivered wine glasses; and Jack Connelly prepared the space for our set-up. And it was all videotaped by Bea Geller. (Check out the video of last year's "Opera in Old Town" on YouTube.)

Thank you to everyone for an evening of great music, excellent wines and foods, and warm community! See you at the January and February Classical Tuesdays in Old Town concerts.

The Volcano tells us to Tango on Tuesday

Ron Swarner at The Volcano has come up with the perfect antidote to rush hour and road rage: tonight's Classical Tuesdays benefit concert featuring Tangoheart!

Traffic congestion in Old Town Tacoma after quitting time is no fun — especially when a train is added. Instead of the road rage you're bound to encounter, wouldn't you rather just tango? The folks behind Classical Tuesdays in Old Town are betting you would, which are why they're hosting the TangoHeart Quartet as the main attraction for their benefit concert Tuesday. Led by Bertram Levy, the quartet dedicates their lives to performing the music of Astor Piazzolla and the classic orchestrations of the golden age of tango.

The Volcano also mentions a few of the local masterminds behind the event:
The reception for Tuesday’s concert will showcase Old Town gems. The Spar and Cafe Divino are donating the wines. Proprietress Nancy Oltman of Pampeana will provide the empanadas. The coffee will be donated by Old Town Starbucks.

More details on the event:

December 8th at 7pm
Connelly Law Offices, 2301 N. 30th St., Old Town Tacoma.

Tickets are $25 each, available at the door (if we don't sell out) and also for sale now at

It's going to be a lovely evening. See you there!

The Weekly calls our benefit rousing, tasty, and convivial

The Tacoma Weekly gives a perfect description of tomorrow's tango-themed benefit concert:

a full evening of rousing music, tasty treats and convivial conversation for just $25 a ticket.

For the "rousing music" part, we're delighted to present Tangoheart. Artistic director Bertram Levy is an excellent raconteur, and the group has a distinctive tango sound:
As artistic director of Tangoheart Quartet and a regular visitor to Argentina, Levy has spent more than a decade collecting and transcribing the classic orchestrations of tango....

An accomplished bandoneon player, which gives tango music its unique sound, Levy is one of the few musicians outside of Argentina to add this traditional accordion-type instrument to his tango musical ensemble. Levy and the Tangoheart players present not the stylized, overly dramatic caricature of tango seen in Hollywood films, but rather the elaborate and sophisticated conversation between two dancers that is the real tango... an art form with a history similar to that of American jazz.

When and where:

December 8th at 7pm
Connelly Law Offices, 2301 N. 30th St., Old Town Tacoma.

Tickets are $25 each, available now at
  • Bayview Optical (2217 N. 30th St.)
  • The Spar coffee shop (2121 N. 30th St.)

News Tribune says Old Town is the place to Tango

Next Tuesday's Argentine tango benefit concert is a News Tribune Critic's Pick:

Old Town Tango

This year’s Classical Tuesdays in Old Town Series benefit concert features the TangoHeart quartet, with wine and empanadas reception. 7 p.m. Dec. 8. $25.
 Connelly Law Offices, 2301 N. 30th St., Tacoma. Tickets from Bayview Optical (2217 N. 30th St.) and The Spar (2121 No. 30th St.)

Posted By Rosemary Ponnekanti on December 4, 2009
More on the event here.