Watch and listen to ten of the nation’s most promising collegiate musicians at Centrum’s Port Townsend Chamber Music Workshop, June 15-21, 2015.

Artistic Director Lucinda Carver, along with the renowned ENSO String Quartet (pictured), will lead two quartets and two pianists in an immersive week of pre-professional training, recitals, master classes and concert presentations.

“I could not be more pleased about the talent we have secured for this workshop,” said Carver, Vice Dean of the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. “Musicians from the most respected training programs in the nation, including Juilliard, Indiana University, USC and Tufts will convene at Fort Worden to create and share unique opportunities to interact with our community. The entire week will be enlightening for everyone involved, from the musicians to the public.”

Centrum welcomes the public to observe many of the preparatory sessions between the workshop’s esteemed faculty artists and the young musicians receiving training. “It’s akin to a mini Aspen Music Festival experience,” says Gregg Miller, program manager. “It will be a thrill to see and hear the performances take shape, providing local audiences a glimpse into the creative process of music making at the highest artistic level.”

The Azalea Quartet from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and the Quartet Elektra from the Juilliard School of Music in New York City will serve as Centrum’s distinguished guests along with classical pianists Pauline Yang from Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, and Alin Melik-Adamyan from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.

The weeklong workshop will feature five public events, two of which boast free admission. All events are held at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park. The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, June 16 – 7 p.m. Faculty master class featuring string quartet literature (free admission)

Thursday, June 18 – 7 p.m. Faculty master class featuring piano literature (free admission)

Friday, June 19 – 7:30 p.m. String Quartet Showcase Recital ($10)

Saturday, June 20 – 7:30 p.m. Piano Quintet Showcase Recital ($10)

Sunday, June 21 – 2 p.m. Enso Quartet Faculty Concert ($32, $37)

Centrum’s chamber music series has reached capacity audiences since 2014. Ticket buyers are encouraged to order their seats early as seating is limited. Tickets for Chamber Music Workshop events may be purchased by calling (800) 746-1982 or online. Seating at free masterclasses will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

The Enso String Quartet was founded at Yale University in 1999 and has risen to the front rank of string ensembles. Described by Strad Magazine as “thrilling,” the Enso has won numerous awards, including top prizes at the Concert Artists Guild competition and the Banff International String Quartet Competition.  The ensemble specializes in giving master classes for the next generation of professional musicians, and also works with enthusiastic amateurs, young and old, and with musicians with autism, in conjunction with the United Kingdom-based organization Music for Autism.

Lucinda Carver, called “a first rate conductor” by the New York Times, is active as a conductor/pianist and her orchestral appearances have included the National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Opera conducting credits include the Minnesota Opera, New York City Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

She served as music director of the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra from 1991 to 2002.

Pianist Pauline Yang began her piano studies at the age of five and won her first international competition at the age of seven in Washington, DC. In March of 1998, at the age of eleven, Ms. Yang made both her Philadelphia Orchestra debut as well as her solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall.  In the same year, Ms. Yang entered the Juilliard School, where she won both the Pre-College’s concerto and scholarship competitions in her first year. During her undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California (USC), she was a double-major in piano performance and political science, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with honors and as the recipient of the USC Thornton School of Music’s Outstanding Graduate Award and as a Renaissance Scholar from USC College. She received her masters in piano performance from USC in 2013.  She is currently pursuing a masters in international relations at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

A native of Southern California, Alin Melik-Adamyan began her piano studies at the age of four and has since captivated audiences as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Armenia, and Germany.  Alin was the Grand Prize Winner of the Young Musicians Foundation/ASCAP Leiber & Stoller $10,000 Scholarship and immediately continued her success with her first prize at the 2008 Los Angeles Liszt International Competition. Alin holds both Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees in Piano Performance from the USC Thornton School of Music. She is currently an Assistant Lecturer of Keyboard Studies at USC and is pursuing a Doctorate in Keyboard Collaborative Arts, studying with Professor Kevin Fitz-Gerald.

The Azalea Quartet was formed in August 2013, by four devoted musicians who were all pursuing their undergraduate degrees at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.  Though from very different backgrounds, they have brought their music to life through their common passion for chamber music and their commitment to the highest level of excellence. In October 2014, Azalea were named the Kuttner Quartet-In-Residence at the Jacobs School of Music. They also won the Beethoven Haus Residency Competition, held annually by the Jacobs School of Music. They will travel to Bonn, Germany in March 2015, where they will give performances and receive multiple coachings by distinguished scholars on the life and works of Beethoven.

Quartet Ēlektra prides itself on historically informed and transcendent performances of repertoire written between the 1600s and the present. As the string quartet in residence of the World Youth Alliance Organization and Chamber Orchestra, the ensemble has performed in some of the most prestigious venues in the state of New York. Quartet Elektra is the featured ensemble of the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program and will make its Carnegie Hall debut in May 2015.

Charles Ludlam’s satirical masterpiece, The Mystery of Irma Vep tells the story of leading Egyptologist Lord Edgar and his new wife, Lady Enid, both of whom must contend with the tragic and haunting figure of Irma Vep, Lord Edgar’s late first wife. But this is not the only thing amiss at the gothic mansion of Mandacrest Estate. Jane, the acerbic maid, remains devoted to the memory of her former mistress, and the groundskeeper, Nicodemus has secrets of his own. Throw in some werewolves, vampires, mummies, and all things that go bump in the night — played by two actors in some 35 quick changes and you’ve got one hysterical farce!!! This show will keep you in stitches right up to the final twist!

The Mystery of Irma Vep, directed by Amy E. Sousa, runs Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Key City Public Theatre from June 18, 2015 through July 19, 2015.

Unique Comic Style

Ludlam’s theatrical style focused on spectacle and entertainment, rather than gritty realism. In his work he was known to mix references from both high art and pop culture. Ludlam called The Mystery of Irma Vep, “A Penny Dreadful.” Inspired by nineteenth century pulp serial stories, Ludlam wanted to bring to life the lurid, the sensational, and the ridiculous. According to Ludlam, the “slant was actually to take things very seriously, especially focusing on those things held in low esteem by society and revaluing them, giving them new meaning, new worth, by changing their context.” That is why within the show you will hear references from such diverse sources as Shakespeare, Hitchcock, Ibsen, Shaw, Boris Karloff in The Mummy, Chekhov, Poe, silent film and more… see if you can catch them all!

Pulling Out All the Stops

One of the unspoken tenets of Ludlam’s theater is that not only should the story be outlandish but the productions themselves should be over the top. The Mystery of Irma Vep, which requires a small army backstage to pull off over 35 costume changes, is no exception.

Director Sousa comments, “Irma Vep is such a technically-challenging show that there will be more people backstage than onstage. With this particular play, the production crew usually receives a bow at the end because they put in as much work as the actors do!”

This talented crew includes veteran Set Designer David Langley, whose work audiences might recognize from KCPT’s 2013 production of Heartbreak House, Costume Designer Libby Urner, Lighting Designer Karen Anderson, Sound Designer Johanna Melamed…plus the fabulous backstage crew!!!

Cruise Shows

This season, KCPT has partnered with Puget Sound Express to offer a new and exciting way to get to the playhouse — by boat! On Thursday, July 9th theater patrons are invited to board a Puget Sound Express boat at Port Ludlow Marina and cruise to Key City Playhouse to attend a 7:30 performance of The Mystery of Irma Vep. More information at keycitypublictheatre.org or by calling (360) 385-5278.

Tickets for each Key City Cruise are $65/person (includes the play, the cruise, and onboard refreshments during the scenic round trip). Tickets are available at the playhouse box office at 360-385-KCPT (5278), or online at keycitypublictheatre.org.

Check for pre-cruise or post-cruise meal specials at The Fireside Restaurant at the Resort at Port Ludlow, information and reservations at 360-437-7412

A full weekend of sailing races, open to classic sailboats of all sizes, kayaks, dinghies and row boats.

The 32nd Annual Classic Mariners’ Regatta begins June 5, 2015, at the Northwest Maritime Center (NWMC), concluding on Sunday, June 7, 2015. This event draws classic wooden boats from across the state to race, rub elbows and celebrate the beauty of wooden boats. The races are open to classic sailboats of all sizes, kayaks, dinghies and row boats.

The weekend kicks off with a welcoming gathering on Friday night. Saturday brings two races, the first starting at noon and the second one commencing immediately after. A loosely-organized race for wooden dinghies, shells and kayaks will be held Sunday at 9 am, if there are enough participants. The final sailboat race will start at noon and the weekend concludes with an awards ceremony at 5 pm.

www.NWMaritime.org