June 30
Head out to the Village Green on Sunday, June 30 at 5 p.m. for Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings as part of the FREE Summer Concert Series from Orcas Center, Country Corner, OrcaSong Farm and GiveOrcas/OICF.
Roy Rogers is considered one of the world’s preeminent master Delta slide guitarists. With over 20 recordings to his credit, Rogers has garnered eight Grammy nominations for producing, as a recording artist, and as a songwriter. His collaborations have garnered major media accolades globally for producing critically acclaimed Grammy-nominated recordings for John Lee Hooker and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, as well as collaborations with Ray Manzarek (The Doors), Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, Allan Toussaint & Sammy Hagar, among others. He is known worldwide for his searing performances that have been named a festival favorites at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland, Montreux in Switzerland, Pistoia in Italy as well as many North American festivals in Canada and the United States, having performed worldwide for more than four decades.
“I’m the guy that always likes to push the envelope,” Rogers says, at home in Northern California. “We have always covered a lot of ground with other artists that I have had synergy with our musical tastes, and my band has been with me for many years – we just sync so well. I’ve been very fortunate through the years to collaborate with many gifted artists that I admire and consider longtime friends.”
More information and a full concert lineup can be found at www.OrcasCenter.org.
June 30 and July 1
Two nights, two pianos, five of classical music’s most beloved piano concertos ever composed. On June 30 and July 1, world-renowned pianist Jon Kimura “Jackie” Parker will master Ludwig van Beethoven’s complete piano concertos in an epic Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival two-night event at Orcas Center. Highly acclaimed Houston Symphony principal keyboardist Scott Holshouser will accompany Parker at both concerts slated for 7:30 pm.
“It’s a marathon,” Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival Founder and Artistic Director Aloysia Friedmann said. “Having had the extraordinary experience of hearing the Miró Quartet play the complete Beethoven String Quartet Cycle here on Orcas Island, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have Jackie play this equally magnificent cycle here in person.”
Parker has given hundreds of performances of the Beethoven Piano Concertos worldwide, including at London’s Barbican Centre, the Sydney Opera House, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, the Central China Philharmonic, and Shanghai Symphony, among countless others.
Parker also serves as Artistic Advisor of Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, Artistic Director of the Honens International Piano Competition, Creative Partner of the Minnesota Orchestra, and Keyboard Chair at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University.
This past March, he performed all five Beethoven Piano Concertos with Symphony Nova Scotia in celebration of that orchestra’s 40th anniversary.
“It’s a rare feat to have all five concertos in the pianist’s fingers,” Friedmann said. “So, I thought if there’s a way to bring the joy of Beethoven and these masterpieces to Orcas Island, that would be a remarkable thing.”
Friedmann said that her decision to headline Parker was also inspired by her late mother, famed oboist Laila Storch, who adored the concertos and Parker’s singular ability to convey Beethoven’s genius.
Though Friedmann initially wondered how to bring these concertos to life without an orchestra, she and Parker found the perfect solution in Holshouser. In addition to his 40-year tenure with the Houston Symphony, he has a particular specialty in accompanying piano concerto repertoire.
Holshouser has accompanied well over one hundred young artist competitions, including the annual piano concerto competition at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.
“We literally schedule [Rice University’s piano concerto] competition around Scott’s availability,” Parker said. He was the ideal choice to “take this on.”
“All great piano concertos showcase the brilliance of the piano,” Parker continued. “But the five Beethoven Concertos go so much further, with each a fully crafted masterpiece with solo and orchestral parts intertwined beautifully.”
On June 30, Parker will perform the first three concertos in the order they were composed, including Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3, which Parker learned at 15. Despite his expertise, Parker said that the concerto is “still a revelation” every time he returns to it.
On July 1, Parker will perform Beethoven’s fourth and fifth piano concerto, the fifth commonly known as the “Emperor.”
“Each [concerto] redefines the form with bold ideas and thrilling musical plot twists,” Parker said. “But Concerto No. 5 rips apart standard concerto structure with three massive solo cadenzas at the very beginning.”
Also particular to this concerto was Beethoven’s complete hearing loss at the time of its composition.
A sponsor of the event, and the designer of its printed program, Annie Moss Moore said of this last published concerto: “The miracle was not that Beethoven could continue to write music after he became deaf. The miracle was that he still wanted to.”
To purchase tickets to one or both concerts, please visit oicmf.org. Tickets are $50 for each concert and $90 for both concerts. Tickets for students, ages 6-18, are $10.
Free “Friends of Joyce” tickets are also available for young people, ages 6-18, and their families. To request these tickets, please call the Festival office at (360)376-6636.
The two concerts are generously sponsored by Carl de Boor, Annie Moss Moore in memory of Richie Moore, Leslie Seaman and Aloysia Friedmann in memory of Laila Storch.
July 3
Irene Roldàn from Spain, one of Europe’s prominent young harpsichordists and winner of the prestigious Bach Prize and an additional special award at the 2022 International Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany, will perform “Johann Sebastian Bach” with baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan on Wednesday, July 3 at 5 p.m. at the Orcas Adventist Fellowship Church in Eastsound, in this eighth and final 2024 Salish Sea Early Music Festival performance.
The program will include the artists’ transcription for flute and harpsichord of the Sonata in C Minor for violin and obbligato (or fully written-out) harpsichord, works for solo harpsichord, and sonatas both for obbligato harpsichord and flute, and for flute and continuo (a bass line with numbers denoting harmonies from which the harpsichordist improvises).
Admission is by suggested donation (a free will offering) of $20 to $30. Those 18 & under are free. For additional information please see www.salishseafestival.org/orcas.
July 4
• The big day of events sponsored by the Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce begins at the Village Green at 9 a.m. with the Firecracker 5K Fun Run.
Starting at 11 a.m., enjoy the following in the Village Green: Community Picnic and Market. This year’s event is sure to be bigger and better than ever featuring some of your favorite island food and market vendors, the ever-popular cake walk, a Kidsville activity tent, beer and wine, the chili cook-off and pie baking contest. Thre is also an incredible line-up of music with island darlings Baker & West going on stage at 3 p.m., local phenoms The Studz at 5 p.m., and nationally renowned Grateful Dead tribute band Cosmic Charlie playing from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.
Visit https://orcascometogether.my.canva.site/2024-fourth-of-july-website for details, including registration for the Firecracker 5K Fun Run, chili cook off, pie baking contest, and annual parade. Parade registration closes Wednesday July 3 at 5 p.m. Chili cook off and pie baking contest registration closes Tuesday, July 2 at 5 p.m. 5K registration closes Wednesday, July 3 at midnight.
• At dusk, the fireworks will begin in Eastsound.
July 6
• Orcas Island Fire and Rescue pancake breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. • Orcas Island Fire and Rescue pancake breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. Volunteers will be serving up its secret recipe for pancakes, sausage, eggs and beverages. Adults are $10, children $7, under 7 years of age eat for free. All proceeds support your local firefighters and EMTs.
• Community parade at noon in Eastsound.
• The Children’s House Eastsound Mayoral election results after the parade.
• The Orcas Island Lions Club is delighted to announce the return of its annual Salmon BBQ from 4 – 7 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall. This beloved community event will feature a delicious menu including smoked salmon, barbecue chicken, baked potatoes, rolls, and coleslaw. Whether you choose to eat there or take it to go, all proceeds from the barbecue will support local community service projects and scholarships. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun and enjoy great food for a great cause. Please come and be part of this cherished tradition! Tickets are at the Liquor Store, Kay’s Antiques, Pawki’s , Cherie Lindholm or at the door on the day of the event.
• Crow Valley Gallery is delighted to bring Teresa Smith’s paintings to Orcas Island. Teresa is a painter from eastern Canada whose impressionistic colorful pieces capture the magic and beauty of the San Juan Islands in an unforgettable way. In her words, “I paint an island. Cathedral trees, lagoons, and wild places. I paint the spaces between branches, filtered light and a mosaic like stained glass. A woodland temple and shelter from the storm.” The show will be in the gallery’s waterfront room for July. There will be a reception with the artist on July 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. The gallery is at 296 Main Street and open every day.
• Art social from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to celebrate the opening of Laughing Cat Designs Studio (in the post office building). Enjoy door prizes, a raffle, cookies and more.
July 7
• The American Legion Annual Pig Roast starts at 4 p.m.
• Orcas Center Summer Concert series featuring Jens Lindemann live on the Village Green is at 5 p.m. As the first classical brass soloist to ever receive the Order of Canada, Jens Lindemann is hailed as one of the most celebrated artists in his instrument’s history and was recently named “International Brass Personality of the Year” (Brass Herald). Jens has played both jazz and classical in every major concert venue in the world: from the Philharmonics of New York, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Moscow and Tokyo to Carnegie Hall, even the Great Wall of China.
Harpsichordist Irene Roldàn.
