Lineup set, tickets on sale for Fall Festival at Yakima’s historic Seasons Performance Hall

Sept. 13, 2011 - PRLog -- For a week in October, a city known for its agricultural bounty and sunny climate will become a destination for aspiring composers, conductors and jazz artists, as well as for those who enjoy listening to up-and-coming virtuosos.  

During the weeklong Fall Festival at The Seasons Performance Hall in Yakima, Wash., a few dozen musicians who successfully competed for the opportunity to train with acclaimed artists and clinicians will be immersed in a series of workshops, seminars and academies.  

Between their studies, they will pause to enjoy performances featuring faculty member at five public concerts scheduled for October 8, 10, 13, 15 and 16.  At some of these events, selected workshop participants will showcase their talent and perform alongside the visiting artists.

Ticket prices for the public concerts vary and may be purchased for single concerts ($7-$25) or the five-concert series (festival pass for all performances, $45). Details are available at The Seasons Performance Hall box office http://www.theseasonsyakima.com or by phone (509) 453-1888.

This year marks the sixth Fall Festival at The Seasons Performance Hall.  Its origins date to 2006, a year after the Strosahl family of Yakima purchased what was once a church to fulfill the dream of their matriarch, Joyce Strosahl. The violinist, now 93, had long envisioned giving Yakima an auditorium that would be home to the highest quality music along with music festival, packed with chamber music, jazz and other genre of music.

Since inception, the spring and fall music festivals have evolved into both a unique, nationally-recognized teaching festival for serious professional musicians and composers, as well as a series of memorable evening performances by its internationally-known faculty and newest generation of American composers and musicians.

New this year to complement the programs for composers and conductors, are two jazz options:  a workshop for early career jazz musicians and a weekend “fantasy camp,” aimed at adult amateurs or semi-professionals who play jazz as their music of choice.  

The Fall Festival’s three educational tracks and faculty
Festival participants applied for one of three concurrent academies, with a focus on either conducting, composing or jazz.

Composer Academy:
Those who were selected for the eight composer positions will work under the guidance of accomplished musicians, including composer and Seasons Music Festival Artistic Director Daron Hagen and guest-composer-in-residence Alberto Demestres, a native of Barcelona and winner of multiple international prizes.  

During the week, the prospective composers will be immersed in the craft, the tools and the public skills required of composers of concert music. Among their experiences, candidates will have the opportunity to compose a four-minute work for the Yakima Symphony Chamber Orchestra. These works will be rehearsed and professionally premiered under the baton of the Conducting Fellows during the closing concert on Sunday, Oct. 16.

Sunday’s concert will also feature the music of Mozart and Mendelssohn led by faculty conductors Donald Thulean and Lawrence Golan.

Conductor Academy:
The eight successful applicants for the conductor program will have up to 20 minutes of podium time for one piano session and four orchestra sessions. Seminars will include score and parts preparation, analysis, opera production, and career development.  Additionally each conductor will be assigned a work written for the Festival by a Composition Fellow. Those pieces will be performed and professionally videotaped at Sunday’s final concert.

Faculty for the conductor workshop includes Donald Thulean, conductor emeritus of The Spokane Symphony Orchestra and former vice president of American Symphony Orchestra League; Lawrence Golan, music director of the Yakima Symphony and director of orchestral and opera programs at The University of Denver; and Brooke Creswell, retired music director of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra.

Adding further international flavor is Elizabeth Espejel Cruz, a conducting fellow who participates as part of the partnership between The Seasons and the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico (Morelia, the state capital of Michoacan, and Yakima have been sister cities since 1999.)  Espejel Cruz, who began her musical studies at age 10 at that conservatory, is a 2009 honors graduate in Choral Conducting. The same year she was designated conductor of the Morelia Children’s Choir, becoming the youngest conductor ever to lead the ensemble.

Jazz Awareness Academy:
Under the tutelage of a faculty of extraordinary jazz artists/clinicians, both professional and semi-professional musicians who participate in the four-day workshop will interact with ensembles as they hone communications techniques, learn to use each other’s strengths, and react to various musical situations in pursuit of making more vivid music.

Jazz Fantasy Camp: In conjunction with the workshops, The Seasons is offering a “Jazz Weekend Fantasy Camp” from Oct. 7-9, which Program Director Jeff Johnson describes as “a weekend of serious music and unlimited fun.”  

Recognizing most jazz listeners also love to participate in the music as well — trying to harness this most creative of art forms for the pure pleasure of making original music and improvisation – The Seasons is debuting a “Fantasy Camp.”  This event is an appreciation from The Seasons for all those audience members who listen and love and PLAY the music dubbed “America’s Classical Music.” The camp is open to both individuals and “combos” who want to work alongside some of the best jazz musicians in the nation. Tuition is $150 ($100 for members of The Seasons); visit http://www.theseasonsyakima.com for registration details.

The faculty for the jazz workshop and camp will perform in a gala opening concert on Saturday, Oct. 8 featuring multiple Grammy nominated singer and pianist Karrin Allyson, who recently released her 13th album.  Joining her are Marc Seales, piano, Warren Rand, saxophone, Jeff Johnson, bass and Todd Strait, drums.

Artistic director for the Festival is composer Daron Aric Hagen of New York, whose works include five highly-acclaimed, frequently-performed full-length operas and various commissions. including the 2010 premiere of Amelia by Seattle Opera.

Ensembles-in-residence will be the Finisterra Piano Trio, The Jeff Johnson Trio, featuring Karrin Allyson and Warren Rand, and The Yakima Symphony Chamber Orchestra.

The venue
Located in the central part of Washington in the heart of the state’s wine country and about two hours from Seattle, The Seasons Performance Hall is a venue known for its unparalleled natural acoustics and nurturing setting.  Originally built as a church, the 1917 Italian Renaissance-style building with its Craftsman style stained glass windows was saved from demolition when the Strosahl family (owners of United Builders of Washington) purchased it in 2005 and restored it as a venue for touring musicians.

Seating for The Seasons concerts is first-come-first-served “festival style” in the church pews preserved from the building’s prior use.  For some events, the front row of the auditorium is converted to “VIP seating” around tables.

The Seasons is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching cultural life in Yakima and sharing a love of exceptional, interesting music for all ages. Since inception, The Seasons has relied on volunteers, donors, ticket sales, grants and support from a small staff to execute, operate and administer an array of programs. Events range from weekly concerts to, artist-in-residence programs, educational outreach and semi-annual festivals.

Participants bios and photos of the directors, composing fellows, conducting fellows, guests artists or The Seasons Performance Hall