Sitka Summer Music Festival Notes
By Susan Wingrove-Reed
I am sitting at my laptop in Anchorage, getting ready to pack my bags for my 35th summer in Sitka and the Sitka Summer Music Festival. Every spring I start counting the days until I can come “home,” see so many dear friends, and be part of THE most thrilling chamber music festival. Program notes are done, pre-concert lectures files are plump with stories and historical tidbits. Music Director/cellist Zuill Bailey has put together a roster of terrific musicians and repertoire. All are eager to begin sharing fantastic music and fun. Here are some highlights of the 2019 programs – you can’t miss a single one!
Every week there will be a chance to hear music FREE on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tuesdays at 6 p.m. (June 4 – 25) I will be hanging out and chatting with some of the musicians at Stevenson Hall on the campus – this is a chance to get to know some of the artists in an intimate, casual setting AND hear a live musical treat. Then on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. at the Mean Queen (June 5, 12, 19, and 26) and Thursdays (Bach’s Lunch) at 12:15 at the Odess Theatre in Allen Auditorium (June 6, 13 and 20) there will be lots more music and artists. You can go to the website sitkamusicalfestival.org extra for details.
The weekend evening concerts this year are gloriously over-the-top. Friday, June 7 = “Great Scott!” a mind-blowing program of the incredible piano music of Scott Joplin, the King of Ragtime. Pianist and returning Sitka artist Richard Dowling has been passionate about Joplin’s music for years and issued a remarkable CD of all of Joplin’s piano works that was nominated for a Grammy last year. Do not miss this concert. (And the CDs will be available, too!)
Don’t forget you can hear Richard and other artists talk about their lives and the music at the pre-concert chats 6:45-7:15 on performance nights where I will give a brief overview and interview artists. Saturday, June 8, is a Beethoven buffet of three string trios. Trust me – although they are a set written together (Op. 9), each of them is totally unique – Zuill will be joined by violinist Kurt Nikkanen and violist Scott Rawls; WOW. And there’s a special Brunch cruise at 10 a.m. Saturday – great food and even more Beethoven. Check it out. (And don’t forget the free family concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday with root beer floats for all.)
On Friday, June 14, we will welcome back SSMF founder and violinist Paul Rosenthal for the weekend. A delightful Shostakovich work for two violins and piano will feature Paul, Benjamin Breen and pianist Natasha Paremski. Beethoven’s sparkling Piano Quartet, Op. 16 (adding cellist Jia Kim and pianist Matt Herskowtiz) will be followed by a half-concert by Herskowitz who is a total genius meshing the classical and jazz worlds. Lucky Sitkans have heard Matt before and I promise you will be amazed at his virtuosity and life-loving playing. Saturday, June 15, will showcase pianist Natasha Paremski with two incredible solos – Prokofiev’s atmospheric Visions Fugitive and one of the hardest pieces in the entire piano rep – Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit; inspired by Bertrand’s book (1830) about ill-fated lovers, death and nightmares, this is a piece you won’t soon forget. Then, Zuill Bailey will play the Walton Cello Concerto along with a piano quintet as the orchestra. Described by a Boston reviewer as warm and melodious….what dissonance there is would not alarm an elderly aunt,” I think you can see that this weekend is un-missable.
On Sunday, June 16, our annual feast to support all the music – the all-you-can-eat Crab Feed at Crescent Harbor, 3 p.m.-5 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, June 21 and 22, will include pieces that feature the flute (Amy Taylor returns) by Haydn, Reger and little-known Hungarian Szervanszky. Two delicious sextets for strings are also on the menu; Dvorak’s beloved masterwork Friday, Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence” Saturday. We welcome back violist Christian Colberg, Zuill’s sister violinist Allison Bailey, violist Martin Sher, violinist Helen Kim, and longtime SSMF cellist Evan Drachman.
The last concerts on Thursday and Friday, June 27 and 28, will add the colorful personalities of Ted Gurch on clarinet and crowd-favorite pianist Piers Lane. I plan to musically overdose on works by Leclair, Turina, Sierra and Brahms on Thursday. Friday is going to send us all into total bliss with clarinet solos by Stravinsky and “God Bless the Child” by jazz legend Billie Holiday, a clarinet chamber work by Beethoven, a passionate Piazzolla violin tango and, as a grand finale, an epic Brahms Piano Quartet. Experiencing chamber music in Sitka amazing. The artists throw themselves into every note, touching all of us – it’s why I come back every year. Lucky Sitka – next week the music begins!
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Susan Wingrove-Reed is a music educator from Anchorage. She writes program notes for the Sitka Summer Music Festival, and gives pre-concert lectures.
Cecilia Borbridge
Services Pending
Cecilia Borbridge, 92, passed away May 26 at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage.
Services are pending for the Sitka resident.
T’ai Chi Chih
Practice Listed
T’ai Chi Chih Practice will be 10 a.m. Saturday, June 1, behind Sitka Public Library.
Quilt Guild Meets
Ocean Wave Quilt Guild will meet 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, at the United Methodist Church, 303 Kimsham Street, for a potluck dinner before the meeting at 7 p.m.
Election of officers will be held for the coming year.
The guild meets monthly September through June for inspiration, friendship, creativity and support. Meetings are open to anyone and membership is not required. Those with questions may call Sarah Jordan at 738-7272.
Ugly Side of
Plastic Shown
The public is invited to the fellowship hall downstairs at the Sitka Lutheran Church, 224 Lincoln Street, to view the art show “The Ugly Side of Plastic.”
Hours for viewing are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays and 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Sundays, May 29-June 11. More than a dozen local artists, including Norm Campbell, Pat Kehoe, John Straley and Libby Stortz, have contributed thought-provoking pieces that examine how plastic is affecting people and the environment, organizers of the art show said.
Art also showcases ways people can avoid one-time-use plastic.
The latest contribution, a watercolor piece by Mt. Edgecumbe student Gabriella Comolli, looks at how plastic is affecting fish and what can be done about plastic pollution.
Artists inspired by the show can contribute to the expanding show. Contact Michelle at 747-2708 to participate. Anyone interested in displaying the traveling show may call her.
The show will be displayed throughout the year at various locations and events. It is supported by Bags for Change, a local volunteer group interested in reducing plastic pollution.
National Guard
Explorers Meet
The Alaska Army National Guard Explorers will meet 6-9 p.m. June 5 at the Sitka Armory, 1508 Sawmill Creek Road.
High school students ages 14-20 interested in learning leadership and skills such as survival, combatives, land navigation, patrol techniques, camouflage self and equipment and medical, are invited.
For information contact SFC Justin Mullenix at 907-290-4306.
Museum Exhibit
To Open June 1
The public is invited to the opening of the Sitka History Museum’s new temporary exhibit ‘‘Into the Deep: The Underwater Heritage of Sitka and Southeast Alaska’’ featuring historic shipwrecks and diving.
A reception is slated 6-8 p.m., Saturday, June 1, at Centennial Hall, highlighted by guest speaker Jim Geraghty’s feature presentation ‘‘Shipwrecks of Southeast Alaska, 1867 to Present.’’ No admission will be charged. Light refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be available.
St. Peter’s Seeks
Pianist, Organist
St. Peter’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church is seeking a pianist or organist for Sunday services in June and July.
A stipend is offered. Call 747-3977 or email stpetersbytheseak@gmail.com for information.
