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.
Thanks for a festive Wine & Tango
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
- Bayview Optical (2217 N. 30th St.)
- The Spar coffee shop (2121 N. 30th St.)
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 TangoMore on the event here.
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
Tickets for the Benefit Concert
Tickets for the December 8 "Wine & Tango" benefit are available now at two Old Town locations!
Stop in at Bayview Optical or at the coffee shop at The Spar. Both shops are located on 30th Street. Tickets at $25 each are your passport to a lovely evening of Argentine tango, wine and empanadas.
Once again this year, the benefit will be held in the Connelly Law Office's handsome wood and marble premises at 2301 N. 30th St.
We can't wait for Bertram Levy and his Tangoheart Quartet to guide us through the history of tango!
- Download a flyer (PDF)
November 10: Shostakovich Quartet No. 8
Join us Tuesday, November 10, for Inner Revelations: A Performance and Conversation on Dmitri Shostakovich's deeply personal String Quartet No. 8, Opus 110, composed in 1960.
Violinist Maria Sampen and violist Timothy Christie are joined by cellist Kevin Krentz and violinist Linnea Johansen to discuss and perform this masterful string quartet by one of the 20th Century's greatest composers.
Often in disgrace under the Stalin regime for his "bourgeois decadence" and Western influence, Shostakovich's works are marked by strong emotion, wit and parody. This event, 7pm in Slavonian Hall, is not one to miss!
- Download concert flyer (PDF)
December Benefit: Wine and Tango
Tango! This year's Classical Tuesdays benefit concert features the Tangoheart Quartet. A lovely wine and empanadas reception will follow.
December 8th at 7pm, at the handsomely refurbished Connelly Law Offices, 2301 N. 30th St., in Old Town Tacoma.
- Download a flyer (PDF)
Tickets are $25 each, available now at
- Bayview Optical (2217 N. 30th St.)
- The Spar (2121 N. 30th St.)
Check back for details on our November 10th concert at Slavonian Hall!
The Spew highlights our next world music event
The Weekly Volcano's Spew says Tuesday's Persian concert is the place to be:
5 Things To Do: TuesdayDetails on the concert are here.
1. The Kamand Ensemble performs classical Persian music with lute and percussion instruments to kick off the free Classical Tuesdays in Old Town series at 7 p.m. inside the Old Slavonian Hall.
by Michael Swan, October 13, 2009
Tacoma Weekly says Tuesdays are for Old Town
Have you read your Tacoma Weekly? Classical Tuesdays leads the Tacoma Scene section with a nice piece on the October 13th opening of this year's concert series.
Tuesdays are for Old Town
Fifth season of Classical Tuesdays in Old Town welcomes world music, local talent, community pride
By Matt Nagle, Tacoma Weekly
We really appreciate that the Weekly gets what we're all about. The article touches on our fabulous performers:
Already known to audiences at the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle, Kamand Ensemble... studied with the great masters of traditional Persian music and state that they “dedicate every performance to increasing multicultural awareness and building relationships of respect and appreciation within the community.”
Our love of both the local and the exotic...
bringing together Tacoma musicians, mixed with a few surprises to keep things fresh each season.
And our community, which provides...
the important social aspect of the concert series that people seem to enjoy so much. Musicians mingle with the audience, audience members reunite and meet newcomers and everyone gets to enjoy a bit of informal Old Town hospitality.
See you on Tuesday!
Kamand performance a Critic's Pick
Next Tuesday's Persian music concert is a News Tribune Critic's Pick:
Classical Oldtown goes PersianConcert details are here.
Classical Persian music from lute and percussion instruments kicks off the Classical Tuesdays in Old Town series of free concerts on Tuesday. 7 p.m. Oct. 13. Free. Old Slavonian Hall, 2306 N. 30th St., Tacoma. 253-752-2135, classicaltuesdays.blogspot.com
Posted By Rosemary Ponnekanti
Persian ensemble opens for us October 13th
Classical Persian music opens Classical Tuesdays' fifth season of free chamber music concerts in Old Town Tacoma!
The ensemble Kamand, with musicians Ahmad, Milad and Ali, will perform traditional music of Iran. The concert features the barbat and setar instruments, from the lute family, and the tonbak and daf percussion instruments. Join us to celebrate the diversity and beauty of our community's music.
Tuesday, Oct 13th, 7 pm, FREE.
Slavonian Hall, 2306 N. 30th St., Tacoma
Info: (253) 752-2135
Announcing our 2009-2010 Season!
October 13th kicks off our fifth season of Classical Tuesdays in Old Town! We'll feature four widely varied free concerts and our annual benefit concert:
October 13, 2009
Classical and traditional Persian music by the Kamand Ensemble.
November 10, 2009
We welcome back violinists Maria Sampen and Timothy Christie.
December 8, 2009
Our annual wine & music benefit concert at the Connelly Law Offices, featuring the music of Tango!
January 12, 2010
We celebrate Tacoma composers in works for small ensembles.
February 9, 2010
Masses of harps!
A big Thank You! to the Slavonian-American Benevolent Society for the use of their beautiful hall in Old Town.
Concerts start at 7pm the second Tuesday of the month. All but the benefit concert are at Slavonian Hall, 2306 N 30th St, in Old Town Tacoma. Info: 253-752-2135, http://classicaltuesdays.blogspot.com
Remember:
- Print this page!
- Print our season poster! (be sure to choose "Scale to page")
- Watch for the poster at local businesses!
- Check this space!
- Mark the concert dates now!
- Check the News Tribune Calendar!
New video of Wine & Song 2008: Opera in Old Town
As we plan our fifth season of Classical Tuesdays in Old Town, we'd like to share a video of last winter's benefit concert. In this clip you'll see and hear Charles Robert Stephens, Gino Lucchetti, and Tanya Stambuk in a lovely performance December 9th, 2008, at the beautiful Connelly Law Offices.
Many thanks to Jim Robbins for producing the video, and thanks once again to the many supporters of Classical Tuesdays. Check back soon for our season announcement and details of our October concert.
Stadium Brass on February 10th: Students & their teachers in concert
Tuesday's concert will showcase brass students and their teachers. Our featured students are the Stadium High School Brass Ensembles, including the Trombone Choir, Horn Choir, Tuba Duet, and Brass Quintet, all directed by David Mulkins.
- Download concert flyer (8½ x 11", PDF)
The Stadium Brass will be joined by the Brass Unlimited quartet, pictured at right. You may recall Brass Unlimited from our series in 2007 or even from our first season. Members David Mulkins, Karl Ronning, Keith Gorsuch, and Eric Stevens are all beloved music-educators in the Tacoma public schools.
On the program are composers such as Prokofiev, Sparke, and Copland - you'll hear marches, dances, fanfares & more. Please join us for our final concert of the season!
Tuesday, Feb 10th, 7 pm, FREE.
Slavonian Hall, 2306 N. 30th St., Tacoma
Info: (253) 752-2135
Weekly Volcano spews on tonight's concert
The Weekly Volcano spewed all over tonight's (January 13th) concert. In a good way, that is.
From today's Spew column:
Pollywogs, Pachelbel and Preludes. Such is the tongue-in-cheek title for a concert to be given tonight by the Just Sax Quartet — four Gig Harbor-based saxophonists whose classical repertoire is punctuated and syncopated by the inclusion of jazz and pop arrangements. Offering this alliterative program: Pam Ryker, artistic director for the series, “Classical Tuesdays,” at Slavonian Hall, in Tacoma.Thank, Volcano! And really, there's no need to resist.
Debussy's Children's Corner Suite contains the famous “Golliwog’s Cakewalk,” which appears on the program as “Pollywog’s Lake Talk.” Among other whimsies: a swinging “Sorcerer's Apprentice”; the always dependable Pachelbel's “Canon;” the equally dependable jazz powerhouse, Lennie Niehaus’ “Fugue”; and an upbeat encore piece, the very Joplinesque (Scott, not Janice) “Ragtime Suite.” That's merely part of their program. Leader Julie Allison plays soprano and alto; Stacia Rink, alto; Sheryl Clark, who transcribes much of the material, tenor; and Catherine Kostelecky-Roe, baritone. Just Sax was born in 1988 as “Three Chicks and a Chicklet.” (The latter didn’t gum things up — she was simply the shortest.) They’re all educators; one is a chemistry professor; they all play in the Tacoma Concert Band. How can you resist them … or the free admission?
[Slavonian Hall, 7 p.m., no cover, 2306 N. 30th St., Tacoma, 253.752.2135]
The concert flyer is here.
The News Tribune picks our sax concert
Next Tuesday's Saxes Galore concert is going to be something unusual - and the News Tribune thinks so too.
Critic's Picks this week: Friday, January 9th, 2009
It’s Just Sax in Old TownClearly the critics know good sax when they hear it.
Sax-ophones, that is. The local all-female sax quartet Just Sax plays Pachelbel, Preludes and Pollywogs in a free concert, part of the Classical Tuesdays in Old Town series. 7 p.m. Jan. 13. Free. Slavonic Hall, 2306 N. 30th St., Tacoma. 253-752-2135, classicaltuesdays.blogspot.com
Posted by Rosemary Ponnekanti
Concert details are here.
