Emerald City Music’s fall season will focus on outreach and connecting with fans
Emerald City Music is calling its fifth season “A Totally Different Fall.”
That means, of course, that the music will be online, but it also refers to a major shift in focus for the Olympia- and Seattle-based chamber music series, which launches Friday, Sept. 25, with a free evening of music and conversation on YouTube.
With concert halls closed, Emerald City’s musicians are turning their attention to community outreach, collaborating with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra and performing — virtually for now and in-person when possible — not only for their base of classical fans but also for some of those most affected by the pandemic.
“Our day-to-day life has changed so much since March, but Emerald City Music is taking this as an opportunity to look at where music can be served most meaningfully,” artistic director Kristin Lee said in a video announcing the season.
Though the series has in the past brought in different musicians and ensembles for each concert, the fall season will feature seven “resident” musicians — not all of whom live in the Northwest — along with Lee of New York City, a celebrated violinist.
“The resident artists will be involved throughout the season,” said Emerald City executive director Andrew Goldstein of Tumwater. “It’s a comforting change to have this group of people with us through the fall.”
Those musicians and small ensembles from the orchestra will perform for residents of Drexel House, the Interfaith Works Shelter and local church shelters, as well as for clients of the Family Support Center of South Sound.
The Emerald City musicians also will play for residents of retirement communities, including Lacey’s Panorama, for clients of Evergreen Treatment Services in Lacey and Seattle, and for Seattle-area hospitals as part of Project Music Heals Us.
The orchestra and chamber series will work together on a series of music workshops for fourth- and fifth-grade students at Tumwater Hill and Peter G. Schmidt elementary schools. The students will learn the basics of composing music and collaborate on a composition with Emerald City teaching artists Brad Balliett and Claire Bryant, both members of New York City’s prestigious Decoda Ensemble.
Members of the orchestra will perform the student composition on Emerald City’s free season-ending livestream Dec. 13.
The chamber group’s fall season also will include weekly Wine Down Mondays, happy hour-style streams beginning at 7 p.m. Mondays Oct. 5-Dec. 7.
In keeping with the series’ focus on casual classical music, the streams will feature live music, conversations, trivia contests and more. They’re intended for supporters of the series, who can access all 10 for a donation of as little as $1.
Wine Down Mondays are intended to build community and offer audiences a chance to get to know more about the music and lives of the resident artists, including cellist Nathan Chan and flutist Demarre McGill, both of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and Seattle baroque musicians Andrew Gonzalez, who plays viola, and Rachell Ellen Wong, who plays violin.
The non-local “residents,” who’ll be participating in virtual events, are clarinetist Yoonah Kim of New York City and cellist Dmitri Atapine and pianist Hyeyon Park, who split their time between Seoul, Korea, and Reno, Nevada.
The Saturday stream, beginning at 7 p.m., will feature live solo and duet performances by Gonzalez, Lee, Kim and Wong, who’ll be broadcasting from a studio in New York City, as well as a discussion with teaching artist Balliett and the debut of a pre-recorded performance by Atapine and Park.
Emerald City Music season kickoff
- What: The Olympia- and Seattle-based chamber orchestra is opening its fifth season — focused on community outreach and service — with a free livestream of music and more.
- Where: YouTube (https://youtu.be/841kOrPmR7w)
- When: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25
- More information: http://emeraldcitymusic.org