— from Joyce Stone, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival —
Aloysia Friedmann and Jon Kimura Parker
Amazing, world famous musicians are coming to Orcas in August for one reason – the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival. August 8 through 23 will be filled with magnificent music and performances you’ll never forget. Opening weekend you’ll journey to Buenos Aires for a true tango adventure, as Artistic Director Aloysia Friedmann and Artistic Advisor Jon Kimura Parker welcome tango pianist extraordinaire Pablo Ziegler and his Classical Tango Quartet. “Nuevo Tango” will heat up the audience August 8 at 7:30 pm and August 9 at 5:30 pm.
“Welcome Back!” concerts August 12 and 13 feature artists back by popular demand, including renowned violinists Andrés Cárdenes and Monique Mead, baritone Philip Cutlip, violist Yizhak Schotten and cellist Anne Martindale Williams. Audiences will be charmed by arias from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute, enjoy pianist Ian Parker’s Orcas Island debut in Beethoven’s joyous trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, taste a dash of Hungarian spice with the Kodály Sérénade, and marvel at the monumental Brahms F Major Cello sonata played by Bion Tsang and Jon Kimura Parker.
Artistic Director Aloysia Friedmann and Artistic Advisor Jon Kimura Parker begin a
“European Interlude” August 15 & 16 in Spain, in Turina’s rarely heard Scène Andalouse, and then join charismatic violinist Chee-Yun and Ian Parker in France for Saint-Saëns’ Violin Sonata. Philip Cutlip will bring you into Schubert’s home in Vienna for a set of Lieder, and the European evening concludes in Germany for Schumann’s rousing Piano Quintet.
It will be a musical family celebration August 19 and 20 when three famous pianists, brothers Jackie and Jamie Parker, and cousin Ian Parker, perform for the featured “Orcas~trations” Concert. Can six hands fit on one keyboard? Jackie, Jamie and Ian take turns in every possible musical combination. Strings, clarinet and voice mix and match with one Parker at a time. This star-studded concert also welcomes the return of the Gryphon Trio with Annalee Patipatanakoon, Roman Borys and Jamie Parker. The program concludes with Parker mayhem as the Steinway handles multiple Parkers at once!
Closing weekend, August 22 and 23, German composer Brahms takes center stage as “Brahms in Vienna” celebrates his incredible creative output during his many years in Vienna. The sheer variety of Brahms’ chamber music is featured, including his trio for clarinet, cello and piano, a selection of lieder, and a few Hungarian Dances for piano duet. The grand finale is a work of pure beauty: the Sextet for Strings in G Major.
The 17th Annual Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival is comprised of 10 evening concerts, Hamlet concerts in Olga, West Sound and Deer Harbor, a Program for Seniors, Children’s Concert and a concert across the water on Lopez Island. The Festival also features Music Lovers Seminars, in-depth seminars with highly regarded lecturers from the Northwest and guest artists, as well as Pre-Concert Talks preceding the 7:30 pm concerts.
Following the concerts, patrons are invited to attend Post-Concert receptions,
where they’re greeted with cocktail cuisine and the rare opportunity to mingle with the musicians. For tickets and the complete concert schedule, visit www.oicmf.org. For more information, call the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival office 360-376-6636.
