posts about live music, performance of music, concerts, etc.
By Molly Gilmore In its 2018-2019 season — its first full season under the direction of conductor Nicholas Carlson — the Olympia Chamber Orchestra will go beyond the expected classical repertoire. Small by orchestra standards, the group of 40-odd musicians in their 20s through 80s aims to have a big impact on Olympia’s classical-music scene. …
By Molly Gilmore On Saturday, Oct. 27, Emerald City Music invites you to the musical version of a Parisian café — warm and intimate. Café Music spotlights a group of 20th-century French composers known as “Les Six,” who hung out with other avant-garde artists at Paris’s celebrated Le Boeuf Sur Le Toit. It also showcases …
By Molly Gilmore Broadway Olympia’s production of The Rocky Horror Show — opening, oh so fittingly, on Halloween — was more than two decades in the making. That’s quite a feat considering the musical-theater company launched its first season just two months ago. It all began in 1995, when managing director Kyle Murphy first saw …
By Karen Lunde At the conclusion of the 2017-2018 season, after 18 years with Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia, conductor John Welsh retired. With Welsh’s blessing, Portland native Cameron May has taken up the baton as SOGO’s new conductor and music director. He comes to Olympia by way of Champaign, Illinois, where he’s finishing a …
By Adam McKinney For over two decades, Jenn Champion has been making open-hearted music in the Pacific Northwest. Champion made her name in indie rock favorites Carisa’s Wierd, then found success with her solo project, S, which favored a more stripped down bedroom pop. It’s refreshing to see Champion’s recent pivot to electro-pop, presented in …
By Molly Gilmore Masterworks Choral Ensemble begins its 38th season by celebrating nature’s glories. The singing group will wade in the water — and explore the elements of earth, air and fire, too — in Sacred Elements at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts. “I really resonate with the environment,” said Masterworks artistic director …
By Adam McKinney Legend has it – and legends have everything – that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at a Mississippi crossroad at midnight. In exchange for his soul, the devil granted him the ability of a master guitarist. Regardless of whether this event actually took place, what we know from the …
By Karen Lunde Ever bought a musician at auction? On October 20, The Olympia Peace Choir will auction off some of its finest musical talent at its gala benefit, Tune in to Fall. Guests will be able to bid on six different acts, and musicians will then perform for the winner and everyone at the …
By Adam McKinney Olympia has never been short on entertainment options; the city’s embrace of the arts and wide varieties of creative expression ensures there’s something interesting to do and see just about every night. The sheer volume of options borders on overwhelming. It’s helpful, then, to know of one place, in particular, that always …
By Adam McKinney As fall approaches, we see also the arrival of Emerald City Music’s third season, which runs through May of 2019. Continuing the company’s mission of staging classical and chamber-music performances that appeal to both aficionados and newcomers to the genres, ECM programmed a season brimming with bold and approachable shows. In keeping …