Miró Quartet to Spend a Week on Orcas in October

— from Linda Slone for Orcas Chamber Music Festival —

Be sure to catch the Miró Quartet the week of October 9-13 while the string quartet is here for an action-packed week of fun activities for all islanders. From pop-up appearances and a family concert at the Grange to a mini concert “tour” onboard the inter-island ferry and several events in between, the Miró Quartet will surely strike a chord with the Orcas Island community and beyond. Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s “Quartet in Residence,” violinists Daniel Ching and William Fedkenheuer, violist John Largess, and cellist Joshua Gindele tour internationally and are instructors at the Butler School of Music, University of Texas at Austin.

From Carnegie Hall to Random Howse On Monday, October 9, the Miró Quartet arrives on Orcas Island in the late afternoon, just in time to play a couple of sets at Random Howse. The quartet played a sold-out Carnegie Hall concert earlier this year; don’t miss this opportunity to hear them while you dine in Eastsound. The music begins at 6:30 p.m., with no cover charge. Call Random Howse at 360-376-1111 to reserve a table.

A Musical Afternoon for Island Seniors On Tuesday, October 10, the Miró Quartet entertains Orcas Island seniors with a short concert at the Orcas Senior Center at 2 p.m. The concert is free to all senior citizens on the island, and will be followed by a reception with treats, coffee, and tea.

Fun Family Concert at the Grange On Thursday, October 12, at 7 p.m., the Miró Quartet performs a wide variety of music, from classical composers to modern (including a piece written for the quartet and musical saw) and maybe even a fiddle tune or two. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students 18 and younger, and can be purchased by cash or check at Darvill’s Bookstore.

Shhh…it’s education! Between all of the concerts and activities during the week, the Miró Quartet entertains and engages Kim Freeman’s Orcas Island Middle School students in two sessions at the Orcas Public Library with their “4 by 4” program, an hour of educational outreach geared toward teens who are not enrolled in the school music program.

Pop-up String Quartet Rides the Inter-Island On Friday, October 13, the fab four expands their audience to Shaw and Lopez Islands to wrap up their residency. The quartet boards the inter-island ferry from Orcas and performs for passengers and crew as the boat makes its way around the islands. They will disembark at Shaw Island for an afternoon of music with the Shaw School students. From Shaw, the four musicians get back on the ferry, this time bound for Lopez Island, where they play a Salon Concert for a very appreciative audience in a private home.

This week of exciting Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival events is generously underwritten by the Valerie and William Anders Foundation and kind patrons like you.