This harp concert is worth the journey to Everett

This harp concert is worth the journey to Everett

Annual holiday show by Bronn and Katherine Journey is Wednesday at Everett Performing Arts Center.

Jingle all the way to this concert.

Then be prepared to laugh and sing to that thing with the big strings — the harp.

Bronn Journey performs all year, but this is the season of the harp.

“I am certainly not a trendy guy, nor is the harp a relevant instrument in today’s pop culture,” he said. “But at Christmastime? The harp speaks loudly in the mainstream.”

His ensemble will do two shows at the Everett Performing Arts Center on Dec. 20.

This will be the 36th year for the holiday concert that generations of families have made a tradition.

“The concerts are always different, but they’re always the same,” Journey said. “They are always full of spontaneity, but it’s still me. People in the audience have grown up with me.”

He is known for engaging his audience with jokes and casual banter.

“Everybody can relate to humor, but not everybody can relate to a harp,” he said. “We don’t advertise it as a comedy show.”

It will be his wife Katherine’s final year of singing at the holiday concert.

“She wants to leave while she’s at the top of her game,” he said. “But it’s not as though she is going to disappear from our concerts. She plays the piano. She’s also playing the harp. So she is still going to be involved.”

Journey said the program features many familiar songs.

“In addition to Christmas songs, I’ll play ‘Malaguena,’ which is a traditional piece for the guitar. Katherine will sing a classical piece. We are even going to play a song from Creedence Clearwater to let people know that I’m a normal guy; I just happen to play the harp,” he said.

“I do not play music composed for the harp because no one knows the repertoire except a harp player. If we depended on harpists to buy tickets, we’d sell 25. That’s about how many people come to harp concerts.”

Robert Puff, the show’s arranger, has played clarinet, flute and recorder for more than 15 years with the group. Diane Tremaine will play cello. New this year is Kaitlyn Rappuhn on flute.

This will be Ryan Fox’s third year on percussion, mostly the vibraphone and marimba. Fox is in a master’s program at San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

“I like to feature young talent because people gave me a chance, and I like to give other people a chance,” Journey said.

He has a degree in harp performance from the University of Washington. His wife has a master’s degree in vocal performance and a teaching degree with piano as her primary instrument.

The show will fill your heart and your stomach.

At intermission, there are brownies — called “Bronn-ies” for the occasion — served with a donation to Adopt-A-Family in Monroe.

Soup is included in the price of admission. “Everyone who comes gets a free cup of clam chowder,” Journey said. Not at the show, but in the form of a coupon to Andy’s Fish House in Snohomish, of which the couple are part owners.

A tradition during this Christmas concert is that people bring jingle bells, then go on stage to shake their bells for exactly the song you’d imagine.

Don’t have any bells?

No worries.

It’s OK to use a jingle bell app or car keys.

Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com.

If you go

The Bronn and Katherine Journey Christmas Concert is at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20 at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave. Call the EPAC ticket office at 425-257-8600. Order tickets online at www.villagetheatre.org/epac.php.

The Journeys are also performing at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21 at McIntyre Hall, Skagit Valley College, Mount Vernon. More at https://ticketing.mcintyrehall.org/TheatreManager/1/online?performance=1604.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

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.