Centrum Information Center

Welcome! Tickets are now on sale for Centrum's summer performances. Keep reading to learn more...

2009 Free Fridays at the Fort

For more than two decades, Centrum has produced a free summer concert series for visitors, residents, and families in Port Townsend. From its humble beginnings downtown to its roomy home on the lawn outside the Fort Worden Commons, the series is an excellent way to sample what happens at Centrum in the summer.

We call it Free Fridays at the Fort, and we hope you can join your friends for our 2009 performance series, sponsored by the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader. Seating is provided (or bring your favorite blanket), local and sustainable food is available, and the entertainment is free.

Each performance starts at noon on the lawn at the Fort Worden Commons, and is weather dependent (except for August 7, which will be rescheduled if needed).

• July 3: Festival of American Fiddle Tunes Sampler
• July 10: "Blues-Grass" 12-string guitarist Daniel Macke
• July 17: Readings from the Port Townsend Writers' Conference: Camille Dungy and Shane Book
• July 24: Jazz Port Townsend Workshop Performances
• July 31: Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival Workshop Performances
• August 7: Dream City Idol Contest Final Performance

Borromeo Quartet Plays Auerbach

The Borromeo String Quartet performs this Friday and Saturday at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park. (Purchase tickets 24/7 online or at 800-838-3006.)

Fridays concert program is ambitious:

• J.S. Bach, Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582    
  (arranged for String Quartet by Nicholas Kitchen)
• Lera Auerbach, String Quartet No. 3, 'Cetera Desunt,' (2006)
• Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet in C# Minor, Op. 131 

One of the most widely performed composers of the new generation, Lera Auerbach continues the great tradition of pianist-composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Auerbach's music is characterized by its stylistic freedom and juxtaposition of tonal and atonal musical language.

The Quartet recently shot a video of their performance of Auerbach's String Quartet No. 3, and we've included a clip from the 4th movement below.

For complete concert information, please visit our Borromeo page.

2009 Volunteer “Job Fair” June 16th

Centrum’s 2009 “Volunteers’ Job Fair” will be at 4pm on Tuesday June 16th at the McCurdy Pavilion.  This event is in place of the Volunteer Orientation of previous years.

There will be handouts that more completely describe each volunteer assignment, so those of you who are new or might be considering trying something new will be able to pick up more information. We’ll get to look at the empty venue and talk about safety and emergency procedures. We’ll also introduce a special project that Leah Hammer and I think will be fun… and we’ll be asking for your input and participation.

For those of you who signed up to work with ACCESS Services, this will be an opportunity to take a look at the Pavilion set up and learn about our new  “ACCESS Team Discretionary Seating” procedure. This procedure was implemented last season under the guidance of Lois Frisch, Trudy Rosenberg and Sue Cook. It’s a simple way to give the ACCESS Team the ability to operate seamlessly during events.

It will be a nice way for us to informally gather and kick off the new and exciting summer of Centrum Programs.

Like the Orientation meeting of previous years, this is not a mandatory event. Some of you have already responded that you are unable to attend, which is of course understandable. But for those of you who can spare an hour or two, it would be great to have you come down.

We’ll also be taking a look at the big tent that production will set up for us, and you can chime in on this idea: Volunteer Appreciation Barbecue/Party – a daytime weekend event (first or second weekend in October?) held on the green next to the Pavilion. Centrum will set up the big tent, tables and chairs, and host a grill party.

I’ll have a “ballot box” on hand so you can express yourself!

The Borromeos Visit Beethoven Op. 135

Nicholas Kitchen, the first violinist for the Borromeo String Quartet, has posted a brief video of the Quartet's performance of Beethoven's Op. 135 Vivace during a residency in Toyama, Japan.

The Quartet will be at Centrum June 26-27 performing works of Beethoven, Auerbach, J.S. Bach, Ives, and Wolf. You can learn more by visiting our Borromeo page.

'Thank You' to Our Supporters

Dear Centrum Supporter and Arts Education Advocate:

From all of us at Centrum, we want to express our utmost gratitude to all of our supporters, who, through their work in writing and contacting their legislators, ensured that Centrum’s funding was a part of the state’s biennium budget for 2010 and 2011 at the same level of funding in the previous budget.  This was a very challenging task and we are extremely grateful that we will be able offer Washington students the opportunity to positively impact their lives through the arts.

We are very mindful of the fact that we have three outstanding legislators in our district – Representatives, Majority Leader Lynn Kessler and Deputy Majority Whip Kevin Van De Wege along with Senator James Hargrove.  These individuals spent countless hours behind the scenes working with their fellow legislators to restore and preserve this funding.

Having been involved in arts education advocacy in other states and communities around the nation, I am greatly moved by the activist spirit of Washingtonians and the fact that so many Centrum supporters from all over the state took time to call and write their legislators. It clearly made the difference.

Again, thank you for your continued support of Centrum, its programs, and arts education in the State of Washington.

Gratefully,

John A. MacElwee
Executive Director

Tickets On Sale for Summer Performances

We're excited to announce that tickets are now on sale for all of Centrum's summer performances. Grammy-Award winners, National Heritage fellows, and National Book Award winners are just a few of the hundreds of performers who, along with tens of thousands of audience members, transform Fort Worden State Park into one of the finest showcases of music, dance, and literature in the Pacific Northwest.

Tickets to Centrum performances are available online, including amazing package deals that will save you 33% off of regular prices.

We look forward to seeing you!

Borromeo String Quartet at Centrum

Centrum is proud to welcome the Borromeo String Quartet to Port Townsend on June 26 and June 27.

Since their explosive debut in 1989, the critically acclaimed Borromeo String Quartet has become one of the most sought after string quartets in the world, performing over 100 concerts of classical and contemporary literature across three continents each season. Audiences and critics alike champion their revealing explorations of Beethoven, Bartok, Schoenberg, Shostakovich, and Golijov, and their affinity for making even the most challenging contemporary repertoire approachable and enlightening. The Borromeo Quartet’s long-standing and celebrated residency at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has been called “one of the defining experiences of civilization in Boston” [Boston Globe] and their ongoing concert series at the Tenri Cultural Institute in New York has been hailed as “one of New York’s best kept secrets” [New York Sun].

7:30pm, Fri June 26, 2009
Joseph F. Wheeler Theater

• J.S. Bach, Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582    
  (arranged for String Quartet by Nick Kitchen)
• Lera Auerbach, String Quartet No. 3, 'Cetera Desunt,' (2006)
• Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet in C# Minor, Op. 131 

Saturday, June 27, 1:30pm
Joseph F. Wheeler Theater
“Late Beethoven Fact and Fantasy”
FREE all-ages multi-media presentation featuring live performance, animation and speaking by the quartet members.  Young and old will be both informed and entertained.

7:30pm, Sat June 27, 2009
Joseph F. Wheeler Theater

• Hugo Wolf, Italian Serenade
• Charles Ives, String Quartet No. 1
• Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1

Purchase tickets to the Borromeo String Quartet's performance.

• Individual reserved seats: $25/20 each show (18 and under: free)
• Special package discount: $40/30

The four members of the Borromeo Quartet are among the most accomplished musicians of their generation. A recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Medallion for Artistry, and the Presidential Scholar in the Arts award, first violinist Nicholas Kitchen been performing professionally since the age of 12. He created seven seasons of innovative programming as Artistic Director of the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival and performs as a member of the Music From the Copland House ensemble.

Praised for his depth of insight and creative flair, second violinist Kristopher Tong began his career as concertmaster of the Utah Youth Symphony at age 14. He has served on the faculty at the Yellow Barn Festival’s Young Artists Program, and as principal second violin with the Verbier Festival Orchestra, touring with them throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Mr. Tong has also performed with Mizayaki festival Orchestra in Japan, the New York String Orchestra, and was a member of the original cast of Classical Savion, a collaborative project with tap dancer Savion Glover.

Born in Tokyo, Japan, violist Mai Motobuchi started playing violin at age five and gained recognition in Asia as first prize winner in the 1989 All Japan MBS Youth Music Competition, and in the All Japan Ensemble Competitions in 1990 and 1991. She has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma and Seiji Ozawa, and is in demand as a teacher on two continents, serving on the faculties of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and the Tenrikyo Institute of Music in Tenri, Japan.

Hailed by the New York Times for her “focused intensity,” cellist Yeesun Kim made her orchestral debut at age 13 with the Korean Broadcasting Service Symphony, and has since performed in over 20 countries. She has collaborated with Rudolph Serkin, Joshua Bell, Christophe Eschenbach, and Leon Fleisher, among others. The Borromeo Quartet takes its name from the area in Northern Italy, by Lago Maggiore, where it played its first concerts together.