Salish Sea Early Music Festival brings best of Baroque to NW audiences

Next performance: Saturday, April 27, 7 p.m., Orcas Adventist Fellowship Church

— by Deborah Sparks, Orcas Issues reporter —

In the world of Early Music such as Baroque and composers Haydn and Bach, Jeffrey Cohan brings to all music lovers in the Northwest a gathering of musicians on early musical instruments. His passion is for bringing alive the early sounds and spirit that might be forgotten or played for only a select few, if it weren’t for the tours by the Salish Sea Early Music Festival (SSEMF). The Festival is recognized and affiliated with Early Music America, “which develops, strengthens, and celebrates early music and historically informed performance in North America.”

Cohan describes SSEMF as a “coop of musicians,” all specialists in the “mode “ of early music played on period instruments, such as Baroque flute, harpsicord, long neck lute, oboe, and recorder.

In Jeffrey’s role as producer, he researches music, musicians, and their instruments and works through the huge job of scheduling the musicians with the tour dates. “These musicians love working together and often join the tour by putting aside their time for less compensation, purely because they enjoy bringing this music to people.”

Cohan was educated at the University of Washington starting out in Oceanography but eventually embracing his childhood love for flute (which he played in a band). He met Jim Bredouw, also a student and musician, at UW, and eventually moved into Jim’s “The Art Community” (which Jim started in a rented frat house as a 19 year old student). The Art Community housed about 14 artists in a variety of art disciplines and it is there that Cohan met musicians, visual artists, and theatre people that became long time friends and he has collaborated with since graduating. And, after college, Cohan, whose curiosity and excitement kept growing for the flute, traveled to many places in Europe and Japan studying period flutes of the different regions.

His interest has also been in playing Jazz flute and has found ways to integrate and explore period instruments with Jazz. Martin Lund also attended UW at the time Jeffrey was a student, and they have played Jazz together then and in later life.

SSEMF is a not-for-profit organization and relies on grants, individual donations at the door, and individual donors. Jeffrey volunteers all his time as a producer and has volunteers that give him a hand. He also produces the Capital Hill Music Festival and the Cascade Early Music Festival which he modeled after concerts he experienced while living in Paris.

When the tour is in the San Juan Islands their venues are on Orcas Island: the little chapel at the Christian School, Emmanuel Church and the Odd Fellows Hall. On Lopez: Grace Episcopal Church and on San Juan Island: The Brickworks.

The SSEMF tour runs from January 26 to June 23 and performs in a variety of venues throughout San Juan County and the rest of the Northwest. You can see their full schedule and list of musicians and what instruments they play on the website salishseafestival.org.