When Wendell Berry seeks a balm for despair in the titular poem of our concert, he follows the wood drake and the great heron. So, too, do we attend to the birds in our second concert, searching for consolation. Our program discovers Carlos Guastavino's confused dove in "Se equivoco la paloma," Charles Villiers Stanford’s elusive muse in “The Blue Bird,” and Caroline Shaw's home-seeking birds in "and the swallow." The program will also include Peteris Vasks' ethereal "Plainscapes," and works by Eric Whitacre, Abbie Betinis, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and the eponymous “The Peace of Wild Things,” by Joan Szymko.
Jeremy Edelstein embarks on his first season as artistic director of the Northwest Chamber Chorus in the fall of 2023. He is also the founder of the Twinbird Project, a flexible vocal ensemble interested in presenting innovative concert programs in unconventional spaces. Previously, Jeremy served as director of music & worship arts at First Presbyterian Church of Deerfield. He feels equally at home with singers and instrumentalists, in a variety of genres, and collaborating across art forms. Poetry, fresh air, and good coffee are the keys to his heart.
Brent Woo is a collaborative pianist based in Seattle who enjoys sharing the joy of music with audiences of all kinds. Brent has performed with Harmonia Orchestra & Chorus at Benaroya Hall and has staged solo music events in venues ranging from Caffe Appassionato to the Boston and NYC subways. He has played organ for First United Methodist Church of Torrance, Bellevue Presbyterian, and Third Church of Christ, Scientist in Seattle, and he has been a seasonal piano entertainer for Hotel Sorrento. He is excited to be joining the Northwest Chamber Chorus for the season.
Olivia Cottrell, a native of L.A., recently moved to Seattle from Virginia where she held a position with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and played frequently with the Richmond and Williamsburg Symphonies. Since being in Seattle she has performed with NOCCO Seattle, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Auburn Symphony and the Northwest Sinfonietta. She studied with Elizabeth Larson for her undergraduate degree at Biola University Conservatory of Music in L.A. She went on to study Baroque performance practice with Dr. Kangwon Kim in Madison, Wisconsin, where she was a member of the Madison Bach Musicians. She is thoroughly enjoying the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and exploring Seattle's unique neighborhoods, with her husband Carl Wilder (Co-Principal Librarian of the Seattle Symphony) and daughter, Marigold.
Cellist Dr. Michael King is a native of Spartanburg, SC. Currently he lives and performs as part of the King-Leiferman Duo and as a freelance musician in Seattle. He received a BM in Music Performance from the University of South Carolina where he was awarded the Cello Fund Award, an MM in Music Performance from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, a Certificate in Suzuki Pedagogy from The University of Denver where he was the teaching assistant to Richard Slavich and a DMA from the University of Washington where he was the teaching assistant to Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir. He has attended summer festivals such as the National Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival and The Meadowmount School for Strings. His teachers include Robert Jesselson, Brooks Whitehouse, Melissa Kraut, Richard Slavich, Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, and Carol Tarr. He is on the faculty of the Suzuki Institute of Seattle where he teaches cello and chamber music.
Suggested Price: $27
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