Just two years after financial problems silenced the Everett Symphony, the state of orchestral music in the Everett area is remarkably strong — and growing.
The Everett Philharmonic Orchestra, led by longtime Everett Symphony Conductor Paul-Elliott Cobbs, is being cheered at sellout performances.
The Pacifica Chamber Orchestra, which also formed after the Everett Symphony’s demise, is playing to appreciative audiences at the First Presbyterian Church in Everett.
And two weeks ago, the 40-piece Sound Edge Pops Orchestra, part of the still-new Snohomish County Music Project, backed the Seattle cover band the Weatherheads for an exhilarating evening of Beatles music at a packed Edward D. Hansen Conference Center, helping to raise more than $100,000 for Senior Services of Snohomish County.
The Snohomish County Music Project is essentially the re-imagined organizational arm of the Everett Symphony, born last year out of a community planning process led by former County Executive Bob Drewel. Its mission, besides creating larger-scale appeal by offering more than traditional classical-only performances, includes using the inspirational power of music to help local nonprofits raise money to do good works.
It’s also serving as a much-needed catalyst for music education, spearheading a number of efforts to offer hands-on musical opportunities to young people. One, a partnership with Carnegie Hall called LinkUp!, aims to have every child in grade 3-5 learn to play a flute-like recorder, and have a chance to play with a live orchestra.
Partnerships are under way with the Everett, Edmonds and Marysville school districts. It’s particularly welcome at a time when public school music programs have suffered from a lack of funding and a focus on other priorities.
The idea is that by giving more students the chance to express themselves through music, demand for a return to robust school music programs will grow. That, in turn, will boost students’ creativity, reaping a lifetime of personal and community benefits.
Besides youth programs and partnerships with community nonprofits, SCMP offers performance space to artists and arts organizations at its Music Hall, a former movie theater near Macy’s at the Everett Mall. The space, donated by the mall, includes a 300-seat performance hall, an auditorium for community theater, and rehearsal space.
It all fits neatly into SCMP’s long-range plan to build “artistic citizenship” — using the creative, emotional and healing power of music to inspire people to make a positive change in the world.
It’s already working.
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