Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra
Our mission is to entertain, inspire and engage our community through musical excellence and affordable concerts.
PTSO has a group of musicians who have completed 30 years with our organization. We want to honor the dedication and commitment they have shown to building the Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra to the vibrant organization it is today. They are shown in the photo below:
Front row (l. to r. ): Pat Yearian, Carl Hanson, Sally Scholz.
Back row (l. to r.): Kristin Smith, Pat Kenna, Nancy Miskimins, Vidya Speck, Steve Ricketts, Chuck Easton.
PTSO Chamber Music Series musicians played to a full house at the Port Ludlow Community Church on June 24, 2023. This inaugural concert ended with a standing ovation and beautiful reception. Thank you to everyone who made this concert a success, particularly the musicians:
Sung-Ling Hsu – piano and viola, Marina Rosenquist – violin, Guy Smith – lute, Joel Wallgren – clarinet, Michael Carroll – piano, Pamela Roberts – cello, William Walden – guitar, and Mike McLeron – mandolin.
PROGRAM
Sonata #1, Op. 38 in E minor for Cello and Piano – Mov. 1 – Allegro non troppo
Pamela Roberts, cello and Sung-Ling Hsu, piano
Elizabethan Popular Tunes – Packington’s Pound, a Scottish tune & Watkins Ale – Anon.
Pavin and Galliard by Alfonso Ferrabosco of Bologna
A Jig by Anthony Holborne
Guy Smith, lute
Duo No. 1 for Viola and Cello, Mov. 4 Bolero and Mov. 5 Finale by Roman Haas
Sung-Ling Hsu, viola and Pamela Roberts, cello
Railroad Bill by Colter Wall
Blackberry Blossom – traditional
Black and White Rag – traditional
William Walden, guitar and Mike McLeron, mandolin
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano by Francis Poulenc
Elegie et Tango, Op. 4 by Seung Ha You
Joel Wallgren, clarinet; Pamela Roberts, cello; Michael Carroll, piano
Piano Trio in D Minor, Op. 120 – Mov. 2 – Andantino by Gabriel Faure
Marina Rosenquist, violin; Pamela Roberts, cello; Michael Carroll, piano
It is with great enthusiasm that PTSO will once again be a full and complete orchestra. It’s been a long time — more than two years — and we look forward to being back together again playing full orchestral music for our friends and community.
Please reserve these dates on your calendar. There will be open dress rehearsals the Friday evening before each concert at 7:00PM.
High quality masks are encouraged. Please stay home if you have illness symptoms.
Sunday, October 30, 2022
“Tuba Concerto” by Ralph Vaughn Williams
Gaelic Symphony” in E minor by Amy Beach.
Dec. 3, 2022
Mozart Bassoon Concerto in B-Flat major with bassoonist Ian Schneiderman
Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8
Programs are subject to change.
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Petite Suite for Orchestra, Karl Bach (b. 1934)
Mysterious Mountain, Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)
Milonga de Emilia, Jovino Santos Neto (b. 1954)
performed by Jovino Santos Neto, piano
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Sunday, April 30, 2023
Symphony no. 8, Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904)
Bassoon Concerto, W. A. Mozart (1756-1791)
featuring Ian Schneiderman, bassoon
Community Reading Sessions in August. Details TBA
Junior division
First: Violin, Veracini Gigue
Second: Cora Brinton, violin, for her Rieding Concertino in Hungarian Style
Third: Joshua Yearian, piano, for his Beethoven piano Sonata movement
Honorable mention: Kai Andersen, violin, for his Schumann Two Grenadiers
Senior division
First: Zia Magill, violin, for her Mozart A major concerto movement
Second: Anabel Moore, violin, for her Bach A minor concerto movement
Third: Nola Bertucci, violin, for her Schumann Sonata movement
Conductor’s prize, chosen by Nan Toby Tyrrell, goes to Aiden Murney, piano, for his Satie “Gnossienne #1”
4th Annual Port Townsend Young Artist Competition
April 15, 2023
Grace Lutheran Church, 1120 Walker St, Port Townsend
Application Deadline is April 1, 2023
Sunday, December 4, 2022
Aliyah Yearian was named first-place winner in the most recent Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition.
Overture to Die Fledermaus, Johann Strauss
Symphonie Espagnole in D minor. 1st mvt, Edouard Lalo,
featuring 2022 Young Artist Competition winner Aliyah Yearian, violin soloist
Overture to Hansel and Gretel, Engelbert Humperdinck
Les Patineurs “The Skaters”, Émile Waldteufel
A Christmas Festival, Leroy Anderson
(Photo of Aliyah c/o PTLeader.com)
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Chimacum School Auditorium
Sunday afternoon at 2 PM
Gaelic Symphony, Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Tuba Concerto by Ralph Vaughn Williams
featuring John DiCesare, principal tuba for the Seattle Symphony
John DiCesare was the Principal Tuba of the Louisville Orchestra before coming to the Seattle Symphony. DiCesare has performed with orchestras nationwide, notably The Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra Pittsburgh Symphony and St. Louis Symphony. During the summer months DiCesare plays with the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder.
An active educator, DiCesare previously held positions at Campbellsville University, Indiana University Southeast and Kent State University. DiCesare’s teachers include Craig Knox, Tom Lukowicz, John Bottomley and he holds degrees from Duquesne University, Kent State University and is pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at West Virginia University as a prestigious Swiger Fellow. DiCesare resides in Seattle with his wife, Amanda, and dog, Bentley.
With optimism, PTSO is planning performances for its 2021-2022 concert season. Dates and Musical Highlights are listed below. This season PTSO will be highlighting Jefferson County musicians.
Sunday, October 24, 2021 || Concertino for Oboe and Strings by Brenno Blauth with Anne Krabill, oboe.
Saturday, December 4, 2021 || Fantasia by Heitor Villa-Lobos with PTSO 2021 Young Artist Competition winner, Maria Powell, tenor saxophone.
Sunday, February 27, 2022 || Grand Tango by Piazzolla with Pamela Roberts, cello.
Sunday, April 24, 2022 || Artik Concerto for Horn and Strings with Bruce Kelley, French horn.
Open Dress Rehersal is June 2 at Finnriver Farm & Cidery at 6 pm.
Featuring Michael Nicolella on guitar. With a repertoire spanning from J.S. Bach and Domenico Scarlatti to Jimi Hendrix and Elliott Carter, Michael Nicolella is recognized as one of America’s most innovative guitarists. He has received wide critical acclaim for his performances, recordings and compositions. As a concert artist, Michael has performed throughout North America, Europe and Japan as solo recitalist, chamber musician and soloist with orchestra.
When not enjoying the Finnriver fare, we ask that audience members please wear masks.
Open seating. No reservations needed.
PTSO concerts are free to attend (but not free to produce). We gratefully accept donations.
Please send questions to: contact@PTSymphony.org
Posted Thursday, April 21, 2022 10:07 am
Leader News Staff
news@ptleader.com
Marrowstone Island-based horn player Bruce Kelley will take the spotlight during the Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra’s next concert.
The Symphony Orchestra’s next performance is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, April 24 in the Chimacum High auditorium.
Kelley is the principal horn player in the Port Townsend and Port Angeles symphony orchestras. Prior to that, he was the principal horn at Eastside Symphony in Redmond for 30 years. In addition, Kelley was a founder of the Northwest Mahler Festival in Seattle.
The symphony orchestra’s featured piece for the concert is “Artik Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra” by Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness.
Also on the program are string orchestra pieces: “Impromptu” by Jean Sibelius, “Nocturn” by Anton Dovorak, “Drosera” by Sonya Leonore Stahl, “The Old Boatman” by Forence Price, and “Fantasia on Greensleeves” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
The concert will also feature harpist Barbara McColgan, brass, and percussion, who will perform “Sacrae Symphony 1597” by Giovanni Gabrieli and “Celebration Fanfare” by Jeff Manookian.
Admission to the concert is free, and there will be an open dress rehearsal at
7 p.m. Friday, April 22. Currently, reservations are not required for either event.
Vaccination is required to attend and vaccination cards will be checked at the door. Depending on the status at the time, there may be a limit to the number of attendees, organizers of the event said.
COVID-19 protocols and more information about the concert and the Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra can be found at ptsymphony.org.
2022 3rd Annual Young Artist Competition Winners
1st Prize: Aliyah Cassidy Yearian, violin
2nd Prize: Magdaline Ferland, viola
3rd Prize: Cora Brinton, violin
Conductor’s Prize: Elijah Hill, piano