Early Music at Church of the Holy Spirit

Two of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most profound orchestral works will be offered in the Salish Sea Early Music Festival’s final 2022 program, entitled “Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg and Triple Concerti,” with harpsichord soloist Jonathan Oddie, flute soloist Jeffrey Cohan, violin soloist Carrie Krause and string orchestra. Included in the concert are a violin concerto by Antonio Vivaldi and a flute concerto by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

Jonathan Oddie, a newly named professor of harpsichord at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, will perform two of the most moving and difficult works by Johann Sebastian Bach for harpsichord and orchestra, with soloists baroque violinist Carrie Krause and baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan fronting a baroque string orchestra comprised of Elizabeth Phelps and Courtney Kuroda, violins, Lindsey Strand-Polyak, viola and cellist Martin Bonham.

Krause will perform Antonio Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto “La Stravaganza” No. 3 in G, and Cohan will perform Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Flute Concerto in D Major, in addition to Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg Concerto and his Triple Concerto for harpsichord, flute and violin with orchestra.

The concert will take place at 12 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, at the Church of the Holy Spirit, located at 15420 Vashon Hwy. SW. A suggested donation of $15, $20 or $25 (a free-will offering) is requested, with admission for those 18 and younger free. Masks and vaccination are required.

For additional information, visit salishseafestival.org/vashon.

Community Giant Puppet Pageant planned

Workshops will start on May 20, at Open Space for Arts & Community, to begin planning and construction for the island’s first-ever Vashon Pride Giant Puppet Pageant. Veteran community arts organizer Adam Ende will be one of the artists on hand to help islanders manifest their puppet dreams.

In the lead-up to the pageant — a co-production of Jawbone Puppet Theater, Open Space for Arts & Community, and Vashon Center for the Art — skilled artists will lead workshops, offered free to all participants, to create the pageant’s giant puppets, story, music, and dance.

“It’s time to wake up the island with a rainbow of energy and joy, exploring the life and times of Vashon’s diverse LGBTQAI+ community with a performance of-and-for our Vashon community,” said Karen Chackes, communication director of Open Space. “Whether you’ve called Vashon home for decades or found your way to this magical island recently, The Vashon Pride Giant Puppet Pageant marks a moment in Vashon Pride history we can all share.”

For more information, visit openspacevashon.org.

Devotchka and Whim W’Him return to VCA

Devotchka, the indie-rock pride of Denver, Colorado, will play two shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, and Saturday, May 21, at Vashon Center for the Arts.

With their earliest days spent backing burlesque performers, the band has since created a sound that blends Latin and European folk influences with a flair for the dramatic. The band is made up of four multi-instrumentalists Nick Urata, Tom Hagerman, Jeanie Schroder, and Shawn King, who, in addition to the usual rock instruments, also use accordions, trumpets, theremin, bouzoukis, sousaphones, and complex percussion.

The acclaimed Seattle dance troupe, Whim W’Him, will premiere new dance creations by Maurya Kerr and Micaela Taylor at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, at VCA.

Kerr is the artistic director of “tinypistol,” a San Francisco dance group, and Taylor is the artistic director of THE TL Collective in Los Angeles.

Whim W’Him is recognized as one of our region’s finest and most innovative contemporary dance ensembles. A favorite of VCA audiences, this is the fourth show they have brought to the Kay White Hall.

Buy tickets for both Devotchka and Whim W’Him shows at vashoncenterforthearts.org.