Every year, the Bellingham Festival of Music gathers top orchestral musicians from around the country for a packed few weeks of concerts.
In addition to the core orchestra, it also brings in world-famous soloists. The festival’s orchestra will perform five different concerts within a month, all at Western Washington University’s Performing Arts Center, each with different guest performers.
This kicks off Sunday, June 30 with a concert featuring Sarah Chang, then continues on July 6, July 12, July 17 and July 21.
A concert with the renowned Calidore String Quartet will be at the PAC on July 9, and a program of chamber music featuring some of the best musicians from the orchestra will take place at the Cruise Terminal in Fairhaven on July 14. Under the guidance of new Artistic Director Marcelo Lehninger, the festival has chosen a balance of reliable standbys of the classical repertoire, with some more recent or otherwise more adventurous choices.
One aspect that I’m particularly excited to share in this space is that the festival has made some great moves to increase accessibility for music fans who may be “classical-curious” but not ready to shell out big bucks.
First, they have dirt-cheap bargain tickets for anyone under 30. They’re also offering up three free performances: an open rehearsal the morning of July 6, a brass quintet program at the Boundary Bay beer garden on July 10, and a chamber music performance in the Whatcom Museum’s beautiful rotunda on July 13.
Guitarist Pablo Sainz-Villegas will also be doing a free master class on July 20 at the Mount Baker Theatre’s Encore Room, in advance of his performance the next day. If you’re a music fan but have never been to live performances of classical music, these concerts represent a fantastic opportunity to dip your toes in that water.
News
We’ve also got lots of venue news this week, which is always great. Summer just seems to allow music to happen in places where it hasn’t before.
Nacho Problems, the new nacho-themed bar on Railroad Avenue, is apparently going to be having some rock shows. The first one is a punk show on July 5 with Proud Failures, Kids on Fire and Shame Banger. I’m very interested to see what ends up going on in this space.
Bellingham Cider Company just announced its lineup of Sunday night shows for the summer. I made it to a couple of these last summer, and I would say there’s nothing quite like it in town, for the combination of a beautiful view from that deck with fun music and a perfect atmosphere. That series kicks off this Sunday, June 23, with lively vintage jazz from the Hot Tomatoes. The series is organized by the New Prospect Theatre, so check their website for all the listings.
When I put together the live music calendars, it’s pretty rare that I ever get to write “a.m.” on the time. The Office Tavern in Burlington is changing that, with a summerlong live music series called “Brunch & Beats,” starting at 9 a.m. every Saturday. They’ve convinced a pretty strong lineup of Skagit County-based acoustic musicians to wake up early for it, like Cascade Cody (June 22 and July 13) and Savanna Woods (Aug. 3). I love the possibility of playing with people’s expectations about when and where to expect live music.
Finally, the Whatcom County Library System is going to be hosting some music this summer as well, with seven different concerts at seven different branches throughout the summer. It’s also hosting three different jazz workshops for kids. Get all the details at wcls.org/grooves.
Jesse Stanton's music column, The Beat Goes On, appears weekly. Reach him at jsbhammusic@gmail.com; @JSBhamMusic. Check with individual venues to make sure events are still taking place as scheduled. Live music events in Whatcom County: http://www.cascadiadaily.com/category/living/arts-and-entertainment/music/music-calendar
