Musicians find captive but thankful audience at prison

MONROE — Unfamiliar sounds — rich, precise and uplifting — filled the remodeled chapel at the Washington State Reformatory.

Soothing strains radiated around 70 inmates in their identical prison-issued garb.

Some closed their eyes, their expressions rapt. Others leaned forward, almost out of their seats, transfixed.

On stage, musicians from the Seattle Symphony also were lost in the moment. Their bodies gently swayed as bows sailed across strings. Their passion showed, even beneath the magnifying glass of corrections officers and security cameras trained on their audience. As one violinist joked, this was not the kind of captive audience they are used to.

“I don’t know what any of these people have done to end up in jail, but when I’m performing for them, I feel a kinship,” said Steve Bryant, a violinist with the Seattle Symphony.

Bryant was at the prison performing with the Seattle Symphony’s Community Connections program through a partnership with the Washington State Library.

“It’s a powerful experience to share this music — this great music, Beethoven, Mozart and all the others — with prisoners,” said Bryant. An hour-long workshop preceded the performance, pulling the offenders out of their chairs to sing, clap rhythms and improvise melodies.

“I especially like bringing music to people who don’t get it all the time,” said Amy Rubin, the composer, pianist and educator leading the workshop.

Atop a piano bench, getting a boost from a thick book borrowed from the prison chapel, Rubin’s slight frame belied the fearlessness and zeal she brought to her performance. Whether hammering out Gershwin on the piano or moving through the room bringing prisoners to their feet to sing a round or stomp a beat, Rubin engaged the gathering with determined energy.

“We are privileged to reach out to people who don’t normally get what we have to offer, and to bring that to them, and to make a difference,” said Rubin, who on a prior visit to the prison had performed a smaller workshop in a classroom.

This time, the addition of more musicians and a high level of interest among inmates meant more space was needed.

The best option was the prison chapel, a building closed for more than a year after corrections officer Jayme Biendl was killed by an inmate Jan. 29, 2011. Byron Scherf was convicted of murder in 2013 and is on death row.

On this evening three years later, the chapel brimmed with renewal and sonorous goodwill.

At the end of the performance the musicians fielded inmate questions ranging from “Is this your first time in a prison?” — a ‘yes’ for most of the symphony members — to “What’s the difference between a violin and a fiddle?” That answer came musically in some fiery fiddling from Bryant’s violin. In short, the instrument is the same, only the execution is different.

Music is a powerful force in Bryant’s life, and he wants to use it to relate to others. “I could be in jail. I could have gotten caught doing something illegal or made a bad choice. I look at them as myself — you know, there isn’t so much difference.”

The evening was about making a connection between professional musicians and convicts serving time for many different crimes, including theft, assault and sex offenses.

“If you looked at their faces, they were illuminated, and they were entranced and delighted,” Rubin said.

He would get no argument from Lydia Katz, who has been locked up at the reformatory since January 2013 for a sex crime in King County.

“This has been a beautiful night. We don’t get a lot of solid music in here,” Katz said. “This is the first bit of live music I’ve been able to see in months. It’s the most music consecutively I’ve been able to hear in a year.”

As the quartet played a piece by Beethoven, Katz’s eyes closed as he traced the notes through the air with his hands. He knew the piece from recordings, but hearing it played live was different.

“It was truly a blessing,” he said.

Mark Mulligan: 425-339-3462, mmulligan@heraldnet.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Traffic idles while waiting for the lights to change along 33rd Avenue West on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood seeks solutions to Costco traffic boondoggle

Let’s take a look at the troublesome intersection of 33rd Avenue W and 30th Place W, as Lynnwood weighs options for better traffic flow.

A memorial with small gifts surrounded a utility pole with a photograph of Ariel Garcia at the corner of Alpine Drive and Vesper Drive ion Wednesday, April 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Death of Everett boy, 4, spurs questions over lack of Amber Alert

Local police and court authorities were reluctant to address some key questions, when asked by a Daily Herald reporter this week.

The new Amazon fulfillment center under construction along 172nd Street NE in Arlington, just south of Arlington Municipal Airport. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald) 20210708
Frito-Lay leases massive building at Marysville business park

The company will move next door to Tesla and occupy a 300,0000-square-foot building at the Marysville business park.

A closed road at the Heather Lake Trail parking lot along the Mountain Loop Highway in Snohomish County, Washington on Wednesday, July 20, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mountain Loop Highway partially reopens Friday

Closed since December, part of the route to some of the region’s best hikes remains closed due to construction.

Emma Dilemma, a makeup artist and bikini barista for the last year and a half, serves a drink to a customer while dressed as Lily Munster Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, at XO Espresso on 41st Street in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
After long legal battle, Everett rewrites bikini barista dress code

Employees now have to follow the same lewd conduct laws as everyone else, after a judge ruled the old dress code unconstitutional.

The oldest known meteor shower, Lyrid, will be falling across the skies in mid- to late April 2024. (Photo courtesy of Pixabay)
Clouds to dampen Lyrid meteor shower views in Western Washington

Forecasters expect a storm will obstruct peak viewing Sunday. Locals’ best chance at viewing could be on the coast. Or east.

AquaSox's Travis Kuhn and Emerald's Ryan Jensen an hour after the game between the two teams on Sunday continue standing in salute to the National Anthem at Funko Field on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019 in Everett, Wash. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New AquaSox stadium downtown could cost up to $120M

That’s $40 million more than an earlier estimate. Alternatively, remodeling Funko Field could cost nearly $70 million.

Downtown Everett, looking east-southeast. (Chuck Taylor / The Herald) 20191022
5 key takeaways from hearing on Everett property tax increase

Next week, City Council members will narrow down the levy rates they may put to voters on the August ballot.

Everett police officers on the scene of a single-vehicle collision on Evergreen Way and Olivia Park Road Wednesday, July 5, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Photo provided by Everett Police Department)
Everett man gets 3 years for driving high on fentanyl, killing passenger

In July, Hunter Gidney crashed into a traffic pole on Evergreen Way. A passenger, Drew Hallam, died at the scene.

FILE - Then-Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., speaks on Nov. 6, 2018, at a Republican party election night gathering in Issaquah, Wash. Reichert filed campaign paperwork with the state Public Disclosure Commission on Friday, June 30, 2023, to run as a Republican candidate. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
6 storylines to watch with Washington GOP convention this weekend

Purist or pragmatist? That may be the biggest question as Republicans decide who to endorse in the upcoming elections.

Keyshawn Whitehorse moves with the bull Tijuana Two-Step to stay on during PBR Everett at Angel of the Winds Arena on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
PBR bull riders kick up dirt in Everett Stampede headliner

Angel of the Winds Arena played host to the first night of the PBR’s two-day competition in Everett, part of a new weeklong event.

Simreet Dhaliwal speaks after winning during the 2024 Snohomish County Emerging Leaders Awards Presentation on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Simreet Dhaliwal wins The Herald’s 2024 Emerging Leaders Award

Dhaliwal, an economic development and tourism specialist, was one of 12 finalists for the award celebrating young leaders in Snohomish County.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.