Start your Pride weekend with a symphonic celebration of love, resilience, and the power of music to bring us together. The Olympia Symphony proudly presents Believe—a free outdoor concert as part of Capital City Pride! This joyful, uplifting program features shimmering works of classical beauty alongside musical theater favorites that speak to the heart. Enjoy …
Music! Art! Acting! More Music! It’s our annual celebration of local artists with Kathy Gore Fuss (painting), Jill Barnes (song & emcee), John Serembe (monologue written by Bryan Willis), Holly Reeves (cello), Christian Carvajal (travel writing), Kathleen Byrd (Olympia’s new Poet Laureate), Jami Heinricher (Design – Sherwood Press), and Jennifer Hermann (Piano). It’s a fast, …
As rap music continues to evolve and diversify, it only makes sense that talented artists raised on hip hop and armed with music degrees seek to sample from the greatest discoveries of every musical era. That’s absolutely the case with Ensemble Mik Nawooj, the hip-hop orchestra coming soon to The Washington Center for the Performing Arts.
Composer Andy Akiho’s full-length percussion program, Seven Pillars, debuts this weekend at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, presented by Emerald City Music.
by Karen Lunde for OLY ARTS When an orchestra covers a beloved composer, it must take care to play his music with precision. “No piece of music is easy,” said Huw Edwards, Music Director and Conductor of the Olympia Symphony Orchestra, “but Mozart is famous for being so exposed — any blemish on [the performance’s] …
by Karen Lunde for OLY ARTS In mid-February, Emerald City Music will take Olympia South Sound music lovers on a spiritual journey through classical music. This is the first time an Emerald City concert will feature a soloist, baritone Christopher Herbert, a two-time GRAMMY nominated member of the male classical quartet New York Polyphony. Gilbert …
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Native Olympian Nathan Rødahl will conduct the Olympia Chamber Orchestra’s fall concert, where Arriaga’s Symphony in D, Janacek’s Suite for Strings, Korngold’s Shneeman (The Snowman), Debussy’s Petite Suite and Bizet’s Symphony in C come together in an unconventional performance. Each of the five composers share something in common with …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Emerald City Music has recently started its second season. Just about everything about ECM’s shows strays from the highfalutin norm of the classical set. They feature more relaxed environments and more contemporary compositions, thereby aiding in bringing a new audience to classical music. One of their upcoming shows is …
by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS In October, Olympia Symphony Orchestra embarks on an ambitious celebration of its 65th year. The program Opening Statements launches the season with “Awakening,” a contemplative, three-movement piece by Joseph Curiale, an American composer who’s created works for the screen and concert stage for more than three decades. Maestro Huw …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS March 21 is the 332nd birthday of composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and Olympia organist Curt Sather will spend the day—the whole day—celebrating. Sather, the music director at St. John’s Episcopal Church, will play all of the composer’s organ works—nearly 300—in a 24-hour marathon performance he’s calling Bach Around the …