Chamber Music Festival returns for 25th anniversary, with something for everyone

||| FROM MARY TAYLOR for ORCAS CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL |||

Music lovers of every stripe will no doubt delight in the repertoire and performers at Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s 25th Season. Founder and Artistic Director Aloysia Friedmann has programmed two FREE concerts on the Village Green in Eastsound, plus more than two weeks of top-notch performances, including a FREE Children’s Concert. This year’s Festival has something for everyone!

Headlining this year’s 25th Anniversary Season are world-renowned pianist Jon Kimura “Jackie” Parker, and trumpeter Jens Lindemann, as well as other Festival favorites, including violinist Chee-Yun, cellist Desmond Hoebig, violist Aloysia Friedmann, the Miró Quartet, and many more. On August 14 th at 3 p.m., Lindemann and Parker will lead a full brass orchestra in a new big-band arrangement of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and a host of other classic jazz standards. Bring your dancing shoes to the Village Green and prepare to enjoy extraordinary music, sponsored by the OICMF Robert Henigson Board Designated Fund.

OICMF is thrilled to host Time for Three, a trailblazing band standing at the forefront of chamber music, for their third visit to Orcas Island. After opening the Festival on August 4 at the Lopez Center for Community and the Arts, the dynamic trio of Nick Kendall, Ranaan Meyer, and Charles Yang return to Orcas for an August 5 th performance on the Village Green at 5:30
p.m.

The classically trained Sempre Sisters, Charlotte and Olivia Marckx, accompany Time for Three on stage for a few numbers, which is bound to feel like a reunion of sorts, as Charlotte and Olivia met and played with the band when they were just young teens! This free outdoor concert is generously sponsored by David Dotlich and Douglas Elwood.

For years, Time for Three has mesmerized audiences worldwide with their intersectional style and sound. Their ability to draw from various musical eras and traditions while maintaining their chamber music roots and their own distinctive style contributes to their wide-ranging appeal. Concertgoers on August 5 can expect a full-bodied musical repertoire, including new Time for Three hits like “Deanna” and “Over,” some pop covers (Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” anyone?), signature oldies (maybe a little “Blackbird” and “Stand by Me”) and, as always, an ample display of brilliant classical music chops. Listening to world-class music barefoot on the lawn as the sun sets ain’t a bad way to end a work week or spend a vacation!

The OICMF Children’s Concert returns this season as well! At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, August 10, children and their families are invited to gather outside at Orcas Center and enjoy a merry band of musicians playing fun and exciting works, including a lively narration of Ferdinand the Bull. Feel free to bring a blanket or a chair and grab a seat on the lawn!

From August 4-20, Orcas Island Music Festival is also offering five 7:30 p.m. concerts, each repeated the next evening at 5:30 p.m., at Orcas Center. All 5:30 concerts will be livestreamed at no charge to the viewer. For tickets and more information, please visit our website at oicmf.org!

Courtesy of Joyce Burghardt’s family, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival is offering free tickets to all Main Stage Concerts for youth ages 6-18 and their families. To secure “Friends of Joyce” tickets, please contact the OICMF office at (360) 376-6636.