Centrum: Washington's home for arts and education.

See you at Saturday's Concert...

Here's Bill Cardine, David Kramer, and Hannes Coetzee from last night's spectacular Wheeler Theater show. Hope to see you on Saturday at McCurdy Pavilion...

Free Chamber Music Evening Presentations

In addition to the outstanding weekend concerts that take place during The Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, the artist/faculty present fascinating evening presentations for the Festival's workshop participants. These sessions are free, and the public is welcome to attend.  All events (except the Cistern concert) are held at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater.

MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 7PM
“More Than Notes”  How do performers turn a page full of notes into beautiful music?  Using pieces by Max Bruch, Artistic Director Helen Callus (viola) is joined by Alan Kay (clarinet) and Jon Klibonoff (piano) to talk about and demonstrate how they work together to bring the page to life.

TUESDAY, AUG 7, 7PM
“The French Perspective” Guitarist William Feasley explores the connection between music and art with a multimedia slide show and live performance.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 7PM
“Music From the Cistern Chapel”  Multi-instrumentalist and composer Stuart Dempster will create a one-of-a-kind sonic experience.  Fort Worden’s 2,000,000-gallon cistern (now empty) is famous among musicians “in the know” for its amazing 45-second, crystalline-pure reverb.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 7PM
“Creating a Masterpiece”  How do composers and performers collaborate to generate new works?  Composer Paul Moravec is joined by Trio Solisti and clarinetist Alan Kay to talk about how his Pulitzer Prize-winning composition Tempest Fantasy evolved from the idea stage into a finished piece. 

As an extra treat, Trio Solisti (Maria Bachmann, violin; Alexis Pia Gerlach, cello; Jon Klibonoff, piano) will perform portions of a Beethoven trio not included on the weekend concerts.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 1:30 PM
Chamber music concert by workshop participants.  Talented musicians from across the country have been working intensively all week.  Come and hear what they’ve accomplished.

Southern Mountain Singing in the Fall

 We've just begun taking registrations for Southern Mountain Traditions: String Band Tunes, Country Songs, and Shape Notes. This weekend workshop in November will focus on the traditional songs of the southern mountain region, and be led by Tim Eriksen, Riley Baugus, and Centrum’s Artistic Director for Fiddle Tunes, Dirk Powell. The three came together as a trio while working on the music for the film Cold Mountain. Together they play and share old-time Appalachian music with a heavy emphasis on vocals. Visit our Fiddle Tunes site for complete information.

Instrument Rentals for Music Workshops

Centrum is pleased to announce that Port Townsend’s independent music store, Crossroads Music, is providing rental instruments for use at selected Centrum music workshops. Rentals are perfect for those who are traveling by plane and don’t wish to risk damaging their own instruments, or for those who just want to try something new. 

Rentals are handled entirely through Crossroads Music. Review their rental information sheet (300kb PDF) , and then contact them for complete information. Our friends at Crossroads can work miracles, but in order to guarantee an instrument, reservations should be made at least 3 weeks in advance of your workshop. You can reach them via telephone at 360-385-1471.

William Feasley

Classical guitarist William Feasley is performing his multimedia show, "Echoes of Goya," worldwide.

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a late seventeenth century Spanish court painter. He is regarded both as the last of the old masters and as the first of the moderns. The subversive and subjective element in his art, as well as his bold handling of paint, provided a model for the work of later generations of artists, including Manet and Picasso.

Feasley's multimedia show takes the form of a guitar recital with an accompanying power point slide show. The works of Goya that are featured range from his early "cartoons" through his mature portraiture, examples of the black paintings, six Caprichos and on to the Milkmaid of Bordeaux (pictured right).

The music falls into three categories; music that was around Goya as he created his art, music that his art inspired and Feasley's musical associations between Goya's art and Spanish music.

The repertoire for the concert continues to evolve. Most recently he commissioned Three Goya Portraits from the Cuban-American composer José Lezcano.

William Feasley, who will be on faculty at the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival August 5-12, 2007, is rapidly becoming recognized as one of today's top classical guitarists.

The first guitarist to be awarded the Peabody Conservatory's coveted Artist Diploma, Feasley has since been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards.

Since making his debut in 1980 with the San Francisco Ballet, performing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, Feasley has maintained an active international touring schedule.

Recent tours have included Spain, the Caribbean, Greece, Yugoslavia, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Iceland.

He has also has released four critically acclaimed discs: Simplicity, American Sketches, Echoes of Goya, and his most recent CD, Shenandoah, a collection of works with roots in popular or folk music.

Feasley, who is in currently on the faculty of Catholic University, Columbia Union College, and Shepherd University, will be leading a week of workshops August 5-9. As a public capstone to the week, he performs onstage in a free performance at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater on Tuesday, August 7, at 7 pm.    

Saturday, June 30: The Mainstage Concert Extravaganza

On Saturday, June 30, at Fort Worden State Park's McCurdy Pavilion, two separate shows (one in the afternoon and one in the evening) bring together some of the finest singers and slide guitar players in the country.

The afternoon show features a condensed history of the evolution of sliding instruments, from bottleneck to dobro to lap steel and, finally, pedal steel, with Marley’s Ghost showcasing all of the instruments at the show’s close.

The evening show features tight bluegrass duets with Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, the legendary stylings of South African spoon guitarist Hannes Coetzee, songs of the Carter family by Linda and David Lay, and the brilliant four-part gospel harmony singing from Alabama by the Birmingham Sunlights, whose performance at the 2005 Voiceworks Festival absolutely ignited the audience. 

Schedule and bios are below. For tickets, call Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117, or purchase tickets online using our secure Acteva site.

SATURDAY, JUNE 30
PANOPLY OF SLIDE GUITAR, 1:30 pm
McCurdy Pavilion
Reserved seats: $20
• Terry Robb—bottleneck guitar
• Stacy Phillips—dobro
• Bobby Black—lap slide
• Joe Wright—pedal steel
• Marley’s Ghost

Guitarist Terry Robb is one of the most-heralded players of the Pacific Northwest’s blues scene, an eighteen-time winner of the Cascade Blues Association’s Muddy Award. Resting Place, Robb’s debut album with Yellow Dog Records, features cover songs that compliment Robb’s originals, echoing a broad swath of roots legends.

Stacy Philips is a dynamic mainstage headline performer. An internationally acclaimed resonator guitarist, Phillips’s shows are popular throughout the world. Phillips is also the author of more than twenty-five teaching and repertoire books and DVDs for lap style slide and fiddle, and he has worked effectively to educate novice players of this instrument, playing a central role in its resurgence in popularity.

Bobby Black is a master of the steel guitar whose resume looks as if someone could have made it up.  He has played and performed for over fifty years with such artists as New Riders of the Purple Sage, Dolly Parton, the Eagles, John Lennon, Elton John, Barbara Mandrell, the Moonlighters, the Beach Boys, and the Grateful Dead.

Joe Wright’s electric slide technique ignites audiences. He is famous for his use of fuzz tone. His speed metal phrasing of “guitaristic” riffs have drawn rave reviews and his album Powerslide is one of the seminal works of the rock steel genre. His comedy stints are also a well-received feature of his Steel Jam appearances. 

Marley’s Ghost
Jerry Fletcher sings and plays drums, percussion, and keyboards. He’s been in the music business for over thirty years performing, touring, and recording. He has worked with John Denver, Steve Martin, and Jimmy Rodgers, to name a few. His solo CD is entitled We’re Here To Love.

Ed Littlefield, Jr., a product of the northern California folk scene, relocated to Washington state in the early nineteen-seventies. He played with western swing band Lance Romance before founding Sage Arts, one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier recording studios. With his band, Marley’s Ghost, Littlefield, Jr. has released eight albums. 

Mike Phelan of Marley’s Ghost plays in many styles, including bluegrass, rock, folk, and blues. A fine singer and soulful lead instrumentalist, Phelan has released a solo CD, Donora Street. Phelan cites guitarists Steve Cropper, Eldon Shamblin, Doc Watson, and BB King as major influences.

Dan Wheetman came to Marley’s Ghost after the John Denver Band. Wheetman has been Hank Williams, Jr.’s fiddler and had one of his songs recorded by Kermit the Frog. His showmanship and unique sense of humor, combined with an uncommonly powerful and resonant baritone, provide the focal point for the group’s sterling performances.

Jon Wilcox is a member of Marley’s Ghost. He has also released several solo recordings on the Folk-Legacy, Sierra-Briar, and Sage Arts labels, and has toured internationally as a singer-songwriter and interpreter of traditional American and British Isles music. He is a dynamic performer, heavily influenced by the tenor vocal styles of Sam Cooke and the songwriting of Van Morrison. 

SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 7:30 pm
SATURDAY NIGHT EXTRAVAGANZA
McCurdy Pavilion
Reserved seats: $20
• Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum
• Hannes Coetzee
• Linda and David Lay
• The Birmingham Sunlights

Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum. Laurie Lewis’s stage shows are renowned for their musical virtuosity and front-porch friendliness. She has released over a dozen CDs, won a Grammy Award, and twice been named Female Vocalist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Vocalist and instrumentalist Tom Rozum mixes traditional bluegrass and old-time music with Western swing.

Hannes Coetzee was born on a farm in the Western Cape region of South Africa and taught himself to play guitar on a three-stringed homemade guitar built from an oil can with cat-gut strings. Since meeting South African songwriter David Kramer, who will join him at the Festival, he has performed to sold-out crowds in every major South African city. This marks his first trip outside the borders of South Africa. Coetzee’s teaspoon guitar technique have made him a YouTube sensation. A single video of him playing has garnered nearly one million hits.

Linda and David Lay. Linda began singing in church and on stages when she was six years old. She sings bluegrass and learned many of her songs directly from the Carter family. She sang lead and played bass with Appalachian Trail, one of the most respected bluegrass bands to come out of the bluegrass heartland. David Lay plays guitar and sings low harmony; he has a keen ear for the traditional music of the Virginia region.

The Birmingham Sunlights grew up in the heartland of African-American a cappella gospel quartet singing in Alabama. With deep respect for their musical heritage, the Sunlights sought out and received priceless musical instruction from older local quartet masters. They have developed a repertoire of impressive original gospel compositions to complement their traditional songs. Their music inspires audiences and brings listeners to their feet.

Old Style Cajun Honky-Tonk Dance

Friday, June 29
Old Style Cajun Dance, 8 pm
Building 204 Dance Floor
General Admission: $10/children 18 and under free
• Christine Balfa Powell and Richard Comeaux

Dance to the classic sixties’ Cajun roadhouse dance hall sounds, or just come and listen to the hot Cajun sounds of pedal steel, lap slide, twin fiddles, and rhythm section!

Christine Balfa Powell grew up playing triangle with her father, Dewey Balfa, and absorbed music and language from the thriving culture around Basile, Louisiana. She plays guitar and is the primary vocalist of the Balfa Toujours, a brilliant young band from Louisiana making a name for itself in traditional music. She is also the founder and director of Louisiana Folk Roots, a non-profit organization that supports Louisiana traditions.

Richard Comeaux, perhaps the best pedal-steel player in Louisiana, is currently signed to Capitol Records with his band River Road. Comeaux also plays pedal steel for Lil’ Band O’ Gold. As the Austin American Statesman notes, “Comeaux’s playing straddles melodies like a graceful tightrope walker.” 

For tickets, call Centrum at 360.385.3102, x117 or visit our secure online Acteva site.

Free Fridays at the Fort Concerts

Centum invites you to come to Fort Worden each Friday at noon for our free concert series "Free Fridays at the Fort." From June 29 through August 10 on the lawn at the Fort Worden Commons, audiences sample music from Centrum's summer festivals, as well as outstanding local and regional musicians.

Free Fridays at the Fort
12n-1pm
Fort Worden Commons

June 29: Voiceworks/Port Townsend Slide and Steel Festival
July 6: The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes
July 13: Rhythm Planet
July 20: Navy Band Northwest: Five Star Brass
July 27: Jazz Port Townsend
August 3: Port Townsend Country Blues Festival
August 10: Dwyer Family Band

Free Fridays at the Fort Concerts

Centum invites you to come to Fort Worden each Friday at noon for our free concert series "Free Fridays at the Fort." From June 29 through August 10 on the lawn at the Fort Worden Commons, audiences sample music from Centrum's summer festivals, as well as outstanding local and regional musicians.

Free Fridays at the Fort
12n-1pm
Fort Worden Commons

June 29: Voiceworks/Port Townsend Slide and Steel Festival
July 6: The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes
July 13: Rhythm Planet
July 20: Navy Band Northwest: Five Star Brass
July 27: Jazz Port Townsend
August 3: Port Townsend Country Blues Festival
August 10: Dwyer Family Band

Free Fridays at The Fort Concerts

Centum invites you to come to Fort Worden each Friday at noon for our free concert series "Free Fridays at the Fort." From June 29 through August 10 on the lawn at the Fort Worden Commons, audiences sample music from Centrum's summer festivals, as well as outstanding local and regional musicians.

Free Fridays at the Fort
12n-1pm
Fort Worden Commons

June 29: Voiceworks/Port Townsend Slide and Steel Festival
July 6: The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes
July 13: Rhythm Planet
July 20: Navy Band Northwest: Five Star Brass
July 27: Jazz Port Townsend
August 3: Port Townsend Country Blues Festival
August 10: Dwyer Family Band