Cooking up treats for the ears and eager stomachs, the Sequim Community Orchestra (SCO) closes its 11th season by opening up for the public a concert and bake sale, set for Saturday, May 13, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave.
Music at the event — a fundraiser for the SCO String Kids program — starts at 7 p.m. and includes only two pieces, which is unique for the group. Often, the ensemble performs a movement or two from several different works, often arranged for youth symphony. Their May concert, however, features one excerpt and one full symphony.
The orchestra will open with “Capriccio Italien” by Tchaikovsky. This piece was inspired by a trip the maestro took to Rome with his brother Modest, a respite from the composer’s disastrous marriage with Antonina Miliukova. The piece begins with a bugle call Tchaikovsky heard daily from his room at the Hotel Costanzi, which was next door to a military barrack. Other themes within the work were inspired by music he heard on the street during Carnival. He later wrote the piece as a memory of the trip.
Haydn’s “Symphony 104,” the last in a series of 12 symphonies called the “London Symphonies,” is possibly the most familiar of the master’s works. The ensemble will perform the symphony in its entirety to end the concert. As with all of SCO’s concerts, admission is free and the concert is open to the public.
Donations to support the youth string education program of the SCO are gratefully accepted and help to maintain a selection of quality student instruments for loan, rental of classroom space, hiring teachers, and maintaining a robust music library.
SCO background
The orchestra was founded in 2012 by the co-principal viola performers with the Port Angeles Symphony, who both saw that their private students in Sequim were lacking the opportunity learn in an ensemble, the goal was education — not just for the students, but adults as well. With no audition required, accessible music and a supportive group of peers at different levels of abilities, the SCO is for all who wish to make music and enjoy learning together, members say.
Heather Titterness, a violinist with the group and educator in Port Angeles, said she gains three things from her time with the SCO: “The challenge of learning, the camaraderie of my fellow musicians, and the joy I get supporting students who otherwise would never have the opportunity to learn a stringed instrument and play in an ensemble.”
Phil Morgan-Ellis, the orchestra’s conductor and music director said he’s pleased with the growth of musicianship of the group, coming back together after two years of COVID pandemic interruptions.
“You have never sounded so good!” he said during an April rehearsal.
SCO representatives said the group is a supporter of the Sequim City Band and is grateful to use the band’s new rehearsal space at the James Center for Performing Arts.
Learn more about the Sequim Community Orchestra or Youth Orchestra at sequimcommunityorchestra.org or email board president Justin Knobel at president@sequimcommunityorchestra.org.
Photo courtesy of Sequim Community Orchestra / Conductor/music director Phil Morgan-Ellis leads a Sequim Community Orchestra rehearsal on April 25 at the Sequim City Band’ expanded rehearsal hall at the James Center for Performing Arts. The orchestra closes their 11th season with a free concert and bake sale at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, at Trinity United Methodist Church.
