On November 9, we were enthralled by Trio Guadalevin's colorful, heart-warming music - and insights into some historical origins of the music. Our thanks to Trio Guadalevin members Tony Gomez (on panderos, cajón, teponaztli, jarana and additional percussion), Abel Rocha (on voice, harp, jarana, guitar, quinta) and Gus Denhard (on baroque guitar, oud, jarana, theorbo and vihuela), and collaborator Ke Guo (voice, harp, and dizi).
A video of the October string quartet concert and a write-up of the Classical Tuesdays series ran in The News Tribune and the TNT's blog, and Q13 FOX played a video on their morning local news segment.
You might enjoy reading and listening to these items - you just may learn something about our series that you hadn't heard before!
Thanks to our fabulous string players and socially distanced audience! It was wonderful to bring Puget Sound musicians to a live audience again.
In 2021-22, Classical Tuesdays is delighted to host a hybrid season of live concerts and video. Below is the video of this performance on YouTube. The video is also on Facebook.
Performed by Maria Sampen and Svend Ronning, violin Timothy Christie, viola and Alistair MacRae, cello
Program Boulogne, Joseph, Chevalier de Saint-Georges ………. Quartet No. 5 in G major I. Allegro Assai II. Gratioso
Haydn, Joseph……. Quartet Op. 74, No. 3; “Apponyi, The Horseman (‘Rider’)” I. Allegro II. Largo assai III. Minuet. Allegretto IV. Finale. Allegro con brio
Prokofiev, Sergey…………………Quartet No. 2, Op. 92 (1941) I. Allegro sostenuto II. Adagio—Poco piu animato—Poco meno—Tempo I III. Allegro—Pochissimo meno—Tempo I—Andante molto—Quasi Allegro I, ma un poco piu tranquillo
To open our 2021-22 season, the Clan Gordon Pipe Band helped us celebrate the Old Town neighborhood and Old Town businesses that support the Classical Tuesdays series of musical events. The pipers played traditional folk tunes and dances for patrons gathered at Connelly Law Offices, Ginkgo Winery, The Spar, and Old Town Wine Skins - all businesses on North 30th Street.
Clan Gordon celebrates Old Town Tacoma:
Watch for announcements of upcoming events on October 12, November 9, December 14, January 11, and February 8. Classical Tuesdays is thrilled to offer four live, in-person concerts in Slavonian Hall - and also online for those of you who prefer to watch these concerts from home.
Next in our series: The October 12 concert will showcase string players Maria Sampen, Timothy Christie, Svend Ronning, and Alistair MacRae.
Many thanks to Tacoma Creates, Old Town Tacoma's Connelly Law Offices, Ted Brown Music, and many individual sponsors for sustaining Classical Tuesdays through the challenging 2020-21 season. And thanks to you, our audience, for your unwavering support! We were able to bring you a full season through Zoom, Youtube, and Facebook. In fact, because of the pandemic we have a lovely cache of videos for your further enjoyment!
Below are the 2020-21 season's videos, with links to fuller information on each event.
May 2021 - Elizabeth CD Brown performs
Music
for healing and comfort
Performing
on lute, baroque guitar, original 19th century guitar and modern classical
guitar, PLU Guitar and Lute faculty member Elizabeth CD Brown brings us a
program based around the themes of healing and comfort, in response to the pain
and stress we have experienced in the last year. Featuring music by
Thomas Flippin, including a brief introduction by Thomas himself, as well as
music by John Dowland, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Elisabeth Jacquet de la
Guerre, Fernando Sor, Justin Holland, and Ida Presti. Recorded by Paul Brown.
March 2021 - Songs for the Spring of Waiting
by Tacoma composer Greg Youtz and Tacoma Poet Laureate emerita Josie Emmons Turner
Tacoma Poet laureate emerita Josie Emmons Turner and composer Gregory Youtz discuss and then premiere “Songs for the Spring of Waiting.” Josie’s response to the pandemic shutdown of March 2020 was an explosion of poems that ranged from gardening to students to thinking about the poet Walt Whitman and his response to crisis. Greg’s response to the poems was to set them to music as documents of this unique time. Soprano CyndiaSieden, mezzo-soprano Soon Cho and pianist Oksana Ezhokina premiere the five songs in a way that is also a document of these times- socially distanced and online!
February 2021 - Greg Youtz and Zhang Er discuss their opera about the expulsion of Chinese-Americans from Tacoma in 1885
Greg Youtz, composer and professor of music at Pacific Lutheran University, and Zhang Er, poet, librettist, and professor at The Evergreen State College, discuss their collaboration on a 2016 opera titled "Fiery Jade" that tells of the lives of women across time and around the world, struggling in times of upheaval. And now, in 2020-21, they have again collaborated to produce a second opera titled "Tacoma Method" which portrays the 1855 expulsion of Chinese laborers, businessmen and families from Tacoma, Washington.
January 2021 - Pianist Joe Williams leads A Guided Music-Meditation
Pianist Joe Williams showcased Tacoma’s Black arts community in a meditation of music, dance and poetry intended to foster reflection during the hard times of the pandemic. Recorded at the Lakewold Gardens January 2021 by Joe, dancer Celeste Reed, and videographer/producer Serena Berry.
December 2020 - Srivani Jade leads a Classical Tuesdays concert honoring Diwali, India's Festival of Lights
This was our annual benefit evening in support of Classical Tuesdays in Old Town Tacoma. Our theme this year was the celebration of love and light, featuring performances from the Puget Sound region and Hyderabad, India, by Satyajit Limaye on bamboo flute, Ashim Bhaumik on Baul vocals, Rahul Deshpande (Harmonium), Manoj Biswas (Tabla drums), and Srivani Jade (Classical Vocals).
November 2020 - Violinist Maria Sampen Previews the Future of Classical Music
Maria Sampen, Professor of Violin at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, performs a concert of the classical music of our times, including music of women composers and composers of color. Accompanied by pianist Isabella Jie.
September 2020 - Steel Pan Performance at Chinese Reconciliation Park
Classical Tuesdays hosted Steel Pan performing the music of Trinidad. Led by Miho Takekawa, the group performed several selections outdoors in Tacoma’s Chinese Reconciliation Park.
Performing
on lute, baroque guitar, original 19th century guitar and modern classical
guitar, PLU Guitar and Lute faculty member Elizabeth CD Brown brings us a
program based around the themes of healing and comfort, in response to the pain
and stress we have experienced in the last year. Featuring music by
Thomas Flippin, including a brief introduction by Thomas himself, as well as
music by John Dowland, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Elisabeth Jacquet de la
Guerre, Fernando Sor, Justin Holland, and Ida Presti.
Elizabeth's Bio:
Elizabeth CD Brown, lutenist, guitarist
A
specialist in standard classical guitar as well as various early guitars and
lutes, Elizabeth C. D. Brown is a very active performer in the
United States. Highlights from recent seasons include being a featured soloist
at the Northwest Guitar Festival, performing concertos by Vivaldi and Sierra
and premiering a new work for guitar and orchestra with the Seattle Symphony.
She has performed in operas by Purcell, Blow, Paisiello, Rossini and Verdi, as
well as all of Monteverdi's surviving operatic works. Elizabeth's first solo
recording, La Folia de España: Dances for Guitar, features works
for baroque, 19th century, and modern guitars, and has been praised for its
"...apparently effortless ease." (Lute News, UK) She is also featured
in the recording Dolce Desio as a member of the early music
trio Le Nuove Musiche, and in the recording Navidad: Christmas in the
New World with Seattle Pro Musica. Her second solo recording, In
Her Honor, includes music from the Princess [Queen] Anne Guitarbook and the
Elisabeth of Hesse Lutebook, as well as her own arrangements of works
by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. An enthusiastic advocate for the
guitar and lute, Elizabeth has given numerous outreach performances at schools,
senior centers, and community centers for the Seattle Classic Guitar Society
and the Early Music Seattle, as well as by arrangement while on tour. She is
head of the Guitar and Lute program at Pacific Lutheran University, and has
taught at Cornish College of the Arts and Seattle Pacific University. See
her on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/ElizabethCDBrown or
for more information visit: www.elizabethcdbrown.com
Available May 18, 2021, onward: www.youtube.com/classicaltuesdays
Available from March 16 onward, we welcome the premiere of songs reflecting our reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic, Watch for the posting at YouTube.com/classicaltuesdays
Join Tacoma Poet laureate emerita Josie Emmons Turner and
composer Gregory Youtz as they discuss and then premiere “Songs for the Spring
of Waiting.”Josie’s response to the
pandemic shutdown a year ago was an explosion of poems that ranged from
gardening to students to thinking about the poet Walt Whitman and his response
to crisis. Greg’s response to the poems was to set them to music as documents
of this unique time.Soprano CyndiaSieden, mezzo-soprano Soon Cho and pianist Oksana Ezhokina will premiere the
five songs in a way that is also a document of these times- socially distanced
and online!
In December Classical Tuesdays celebrated Diwali, India's Festival of Lights! With songs and instrumental music by Srivani Jade and friends, performing live from the Puget Sound region and India!
This was our annual benefit evening in support of the Classical Tuesdays in Old Town Tacoma series of free musical events. Our theme this year was the celebration of love and light, featuring performances by:
Satyajit Limaye on bamboo flute
Ashim Bhaumik on Baul vocals
Rahul Deshpande (Harmonium)
Manoj Biswas (Tabla drums)
Srivani Jade (Classical Vocals).
We warmly thank Connelly Law Offices for their continued support, and Old Town Wine Skins for hosting our pre-concert distribution of treats and savories. As always, we thank Tacoma Creates, Ted Brown Music Co., Slavonian Hall and many generous neighbors and friends for their support of the arts community and their continued financial and volunteer support of the Classical Tuesdays series.
Watch for this on Classical Tuesdays in Old Town Tacoma's links, starting 7pm November 10 and available from then on at:
https://www.youtube.com/user/classicaltuesdays
https://www.facebook.com/classicaltues/
Maria Sampen, Professor
of Violin at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, enjoys a vibrant
musical career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral performer, recording
artist and teacher. She performs both standard repertoire and new
experimental works; her engagements include concertos, concerts and
masterclasses in Europe, Asia, Canada and all over the United States. Dr. Sampen
has been featured as soloist on KING FM in Seattle and other public radio
stations throughout the country. She has released recordings on AMP Records,
Block M Records and Perspectives in New Music/Open Space. She is currently
preparing recordings of Georges Enesco’s Sonata No. Béla Bartók’s Sonata No. 2,
and Marilyn Shrude’s “Memorie di Luoghi.”
Maria Sampen, violinist
Dr. Sampen performed and
studied at the Mozarteum Sommerakademie, the Banff Centre for the Arts, the
Carnegie Hall Professional Training Workingshop, the Aspen Festival, Tanglewood
and the Musicorda Festival. She holds degrees from the University of
Michigan and Rice University and was also a fellow at Aspen and the Tanglewood
Music Festival. Her major teachers include Paul Kantor, Kenneth Goldsmith
and Paul Makara. In addition to her work as a soloist, Sampen concertizes
frequently with her new music group, Brave New Works, as well as the IRIS
Orchestra of Tennessee, and the Puget Sound Piano Trio.
Indonesian pianist and
teacher, Isabella Jie, completed her Master of Music and Performer's
Diploma degrees at Indiana University and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of Minnesota, Her DMA dissertation connects her extensive studies of western music with her Indonesian heritage and passion for teaching: "Debussy and Gamelan: An Introduction to Gamelan Music for Piano Students".
The program for Maria's virtual recital will include movements from:
Classical Tuesdays hosted Steel Pan performing the music of Trinidad. Led by Miho Takekawa, the group performed several selections outdoors in Tacoma’s Chinese Reconciliation Park.
It was a gorgeous day with great musicians in a special spot in Tacoma! Here's the video - do join us to celebrate our cultures and artists. Glad to collaborate with Tacoma Ocean Fest to showcase our community!
Performers: Donovan Klega, Matthew Kusche, Elizabeth Larios, Jordan Bluhm, Ashley Neufeld, Rui-An Tseng, Claire Calderon, Darek Solomon, Jacob Shaffer, Sebastian Hernandez, and Dr. Greg Youtz.
Director: Dr. Miho Takekawa.
The performance features music by Black artists (Sonny Rollins, Marvin Gaye, Ray Holman), extended possibilities of steel band music of different styles (Calypso, Motown, Classical, Reggae), and captures authentic Trinidadian steel band sound (by Ray Holman).
Music:
St. Thomas (Calypso Jazz Standard - the composer Sonny Rollins’ parents were from the US Virgin Islands and he was inspired by a song that his parents sang)
Strangers Like Me ~ Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (Disney song and Marvin Gaye hit song - arranged by the Puyallup School District’s Steel Pan Group instructor Sebastian Hernandez)
Bogoroditse Devo (composed by Rachmaninoff - Russian choir music. Arranged by current Steel Pan member Darek Solomon)
Red Red Wine (Reggae classic, arranged by current Steel Pan member Jordan Bluhm)
Steelband Paradise (Composed by Miho’s mentor Ray Holman from Trinidad and Tobago)
Before the performance is a short conversation between:
Pamela Ryker (Artistic Director of the Classical Tuesdays series)
Greg Youtz (Pacific Lutheran University Music Department and Trinidad and Tobago Study Abroad program)
Miho Takekawa (PLU Music Department)
Sebastian Hernandez (and Bryn Meyer and Noah Leifsen, students in the PSD Pans of Steel ensemble).
A 12 minute video of Classical Tuesdays' Korean Wave event is showing on WATV KBS, a Federal Way-based cable TV station in the Korean Broadcasting System with 7 million viewers in Washington State.
The video is also on the WATV KBS homepage (https://www.kbswa.com/) and YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/t3umRYJP60c). You'll see a short intro outside Slavonian Hall and several parts of the Korean Wave-style arts fusion show, ranging from traditional Korean music and dance to a Korean fashion show.
Classical Tuesdays in Old Town Tacoma is excited to bring the Wave Korean Performing Arts ensemble to Slavonian Hall November 13. This amazing troupe performs contemporary as well as traditional music and dance - and fusion fashion!
The Wave Korean Performing Ensemble
The increasing awareness in recent years of diverse aspects of South Korean culture - from fashion and film to
pop music and cuisine as well as traditional Korean arts - is often referred to as the Korean Wave.This growing popularity of all things Korean - Korean dramas and Korean pop music especially - has flourished via the internet and social media.
Korean Performing Arts will feature traditional music on the haegeum two-string Korean fiddle, the gayageum 12-string Korean harp, traditional standing drums, folk and court dances, and then shake it all up with a hip-hop multimedia "Kimchi"! We'll also enjoy a fusion fashion show presented by Miyoung Margolis, designer at Seattle Aphrodite! Korean Performing Arts have planned quite an exciting, colorful evening for us!! Bring your cell phones to send short videos out to the social media community
1.
Several North End neighbors have stepped forward to help support this event: A Big Thank You! to Nicola Tollefson, John & Karen Trueman, Stolz & Associates, PS, Janice Sakai
Join us November 13 at 7pm! Come for coffee and cookies
before the music starts.
As usual, the performance at Slavonian Hall is Free and appropriate for all ages. Easier access is available from the alley to the hall on the second floor.
This year the Tacoma Art Museum invited our Artistic Director, Pamela Butler Ryker, to participate in the 20/20 Identity and Portrait Project featuring 20 Tacomans.
In the 5-minute video below, Pam describes her identity as a musician and a Pacific Northwest native, and how those experiences shape her role as Artistic Director of Classical Tuesdays in Old Town. We hope that friends of Classical Tuesdays will enjoy this behind-the-scenes glimpse of our Artistic Director!
Of course the series is also shaped by its setting and support in the Old Town Business District and its loyal community of audience, volunteers, and performers.
Last week, TV Tacoma's CityLine featured Classical Tuesdays Artistic Director Pamela Ryker along with segments on the Tacoma Film Festival and the Fall Free For All. CityLine is great to work with, and we're enjoying hearing from those of you who've already seen the episode.
If you missed the show last week, you can still catch it online or on cable:
Thanks, everyone, for a fantastic start to Classical Tuesdays' 6th season!
Slavonian Hall was packed for Gary Stroutsos playing flutes of the Lakota, the Hopi and the Zuni. Gary told stories about learning the songs of these great tribal nations, and played melodies evoking sounds of nature.
Many thanks to Dayton Knipher for capturing the evening in these terrific photos.
Also check out this short video of Gary performing in Slavonian Hall, thanks to Carol Abed:
What an exciting start to our season. Be sure to download a copy of the season poster to hang on your fridge! Our next concert will be November 9th.
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.
