Invitational Choral Fest
Continuing this Thursday through Sunday, Northwest’s finest and most diverse choral ensembles will grace the stage of Vashon Center for the Arts.
The inaugural Katherine L. White Invitational Choral Fest is a non-competitive event that aims to showcase, support and celebrate the musical excellence and distinctive sound and mission of each invited ensemble.
Both the Choral Fest and the VCA hall where the groups will perform are named for the philanthropist and Vashon Island Chorale stalwart whose support became the cornerstone behind the construction of Vashon Center for the Arts building.
The fest began earlier this week, with Emerald Ensemble performing on April 23 and Seattle Trans and Nonbinary Choral Ensemble performing on April 24.
Still to come are the blended voices of Ancora Choir, performing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 25; the African American Cultural Ensemble, performing at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 26; The Sound of the Northwest, performing at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 27; and Vashon Island Chorale, performing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27 and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 28.
Performances are free for those 18 and younger, with a ticket reservation. Buy tickets to individual performances ($35) at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Kat Eggleston and friends
Vashon playwright, singer, songwriter and composer Kat Eggleston will peform with Tracy Spring and Janis Carper at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 5, at the Vashon Havurah, at 15401 Westside Hwy SW.
The evening will be a round-robin of song sharing between the friends and collaborators.
Eggleston is well known to islanders, peforming most recently in Vashon Repertory Theatre’s “Kissing the Joy as it Flies, The Wit and Wisdom of Brian Doyle” at Vashon Center for the Arts, where she wrote and performed the music for the play.
Spring, a Northwest performing songwriter, is known for her rich vocals and versatile guitar playing in a style that combines folk, blues and jazz influences, yet remains completely her own.
“She writes full spectrum four-minute novels, poetry and music all rolled into one,” said Eggleston.
Carper crafts lyrics and melodies that reach into the heart and mind, Eggleston said. Her style reflects influences including Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash, and Lucinda Williams. Carper’s album, “No Place to Land,” was chosen as one of the top twelve independent recordings by Nashville’s The Performing Songwriter magazine.
Kat, Tracy, and Janis have known each other for decades, and their lives and careers have often spun together over the years.
For more information or to reserve seats, contact kat@kateggleston.com. There is a suggested donation of $20.
Studio Art Tour
Get ready, get set and plan to go to Vashon Island Visual Artists’ Spring Studio Art Tour, set to take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, on May 4-5 and 11-12.
The tour boasts 37 stops, including studios tucked away all over Vashon, as well as other art venues and retail spots including VALISE Gallery, Vashon Center for the Arts, Outstanding in its Field Gallery, Swiftwater, Dig Deep Gardens, Anu Ranu’s, and Handmade on Vashon.
On the tour, find visual art forms galore in two and three dimensions — paintings, prints, photography, textiles, ceramics, pottery, sculpture, mixed media, basketry, jewelry, and more.
Find out more about the artists and plan your tour at vivartists.com.
Tony McManus in concert
The master Scottish guitar player, Tony McManus, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11, at the Vashon Havurah, at at 15401 Westside Hwy SW.
A donation of $20-$25 is suggested, and reservations are encouraged — call or email Jan Strolle at 206-228-0730 or janstrolle@comcast.net.
Hailed by John Renbourn as “the best Celtic guitarist in the world,” Tony McManus has also been listed as one of the 50 most transcendent guitarists of all time by Guitar Player Magazine. Ranked by peers and predecessors alike alongside the guitar world’s all-time greats, his dexterous and dazzling playing draws on traditions from the entire Celtic world, along with still further-ranging flavors such as jazz and eastern European music.
He has come to represent Celtic music in the guitar world, making regular appearances at festivals such as the Chet Atkins Festival in Nashville; the Ellnora Festival in Illinois, as well as festivals throughout the world. He performed at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in the “All Star Guitar Night,” featuring Steve Morse, Bryan Sutton, Muriel Anderson, Béla Fleck and Victor Wooten and headlined by the legendary Les Paul.
To learn more, visit tonymcmanus.com.
