From Bach to the Beatles, the Northwoods Wind Quintet performs a decade-spanning repertoire for instruments such as the French horn, clarinet, bassoon and flute.
| A Pilchuck Chamber Music Series concert at 2 p.m. Sunday at Tazer Valley Farm.
Getting there: Tazer Valley Farm, 7314 300th St. NW, Stanwood. From I-5 exit 215 go west and turn right onto Old Highway 99, left on 300th Street NW, proceed about 3 miles to the farm; www.tazervalleyfarm.com. Tickets: $18 inside the barn, $14 outside under cover, $10 festival seating on the lawn. Tickets sold at the door (no credit cards), or call 360-387-3491; www.pilchuck.com, and at Snow Goose Bookstore and Stanwood House Gallery. Children 12 and younger are free with paying adult in the lawn area. What to bring: A picnic lunch, refreshments. Leave dogs at home. Featured visual arts artist: Renate Trapkowski. Information: www.pilchuckmusic.com. |
Their winning formula – a mix of music from the classical repertoire and a playful approach to the music – has made the ensemble a regular performer in the Pacific Northwest since the 1970s.
They have introduced thousands of children to classical music in school programs, performed at the region’s major concert halls, played works by new composers as well as the great composers of the past and performed at weddings, on cruise ships and at outdoor festivals.
Sunday they are in rural Snohomish County, turning a modern barn into a concert hall for an afternoon of music that demonstrates their musical range.
Their 2 p.m. concert is the second in the new Pilchuck Chamber Music concert series at the Tazer Valley Farm north of Stanwood.
Sunday’s program includes Bach – not that Bach but the irreverent P.D.Q. Bach – along with major works by Mozart, Anton Reicha, Josef Haydn, Edvard Grieg and William Grant Still.
They open with Gilbert &Sullivan’s overture from “Pirates of Penance” and will play new works by Roupen Shakarian, a former conductor of the Cascade Symphony Orchestra, and Nathan Eric Wasner.
The Northwoods Wind Quintet is very serious about showing that classical music can be fun, according Larey and Phyllis McDaniel, partners in music and as husband and wife.
The ensemble is happy to inject a little fun and levity into their performances while staying true to their classical roots.
The result is a deft blend of virtuoso playing and entertainment that makes their concerts accessible and enjoyable.
Like the other members of the ensemble – the current players have been together 17 years – the McDaniels’ music credentials include training at top schools (the University of Washington, Oberlin Conservatory of Music) and years of performance with the major orchestras in the region.
Larey McDaniel, a clarinetist, is a member of the Seattle Symphony. Phyllis McDaniel, who plays flute and keyboards, is a founding member of the Seattle Flute Society.
Rounding out the ensemble are three musicians who are principal players with Pacific Northwest Ballet and Auburn symphony orchestras: Ove Hanson, oboe and English horn; Rodger Burnett, French horn; and Mona Butler, bassoon.
The Northwoods Quintet’s Sunday performance is the second of three in the Pilchuck Chamber Music series. The gates open at noon Sunday, the concert is at 2 p.m. and tickets are sold at the door.
These concerts-in-a-barn in rural Snohomish County are the creation of Erich Schwige, a violinist who is also a violin maker (he’s also a firefighter) who wanted to bring a summer chamber concert series to the county.
He patterned it after the successful Olympic Music Festival concerts-in-a-barn.
Unlike the Olympic Festival’s rustic setting, Tazer Valley Farm offers the amenities of a modern barn. The music is also broadcast outside, so folks can relax at tables and chairs, or spread a blanket on the lawn while enjoying a picnic lunch.
Members of the Northwoods Wind Quintet are at ease playing in almost any situation. They entertained passengers on a cruise to Alaska, play at grand openings, weddings and summer concerts in the city.
Once, while performing on an Alaskan cruise, a wedding party requested an arrangement of the pop standard “Makin’ Whoopee.”
“We try to adapt whatever program to the anticipated audience,” Phyllis McDaniel said. “We try to be sensitive to their musical experience.”
The Northwoods Wind Quintet performs Sunday in the second Pilchuck Chamber Music concert at the Tazer Valley Farm north of Stanwood.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
