P
assionate
erformances
Th e Water Music Festival presents marvelous music on the
Long Beach Peninsula Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10
T
Take note — no, make that,
take many notes. No pencil, pens
or paper needed; listening is the
only pleasurable requirement.
Well, maybe a couple of toe taps
and approving nods, swoons and
sways. Friday and Saturday, Oct.
9 and 10 on the Long Beach Pen-
insula, the Water Music Festival
will ¿ ll the autumn air with an
abundance of musical notes and
styles aplenty.
“I know, I know, I know. Ev-
ery year I say this is the best year
ever,” says Water Music Festival
Chairwoman Diane Marshall.
“But what a great thing to be able
to say.”
At 7 p.m. Friday, this year’s
lineup kicks off at the Inn at Har-
bour Village in Ilwaco, Washing-
ton. University of Oregon a cap-
pella group On the Rocks blends
a dozen male voices in close
and clever harmony. In case “a
cappella” sounds familiar but
you can’t quite remember why,
the Italian musical term means
“without instrumental accompa-
niment.” There’s de¿ nitely no
need, as this vocal group mixes
energy, zeal, high notes, low
notes and in-the-middle notes.
Oh, there’s dancing too: chore-
ography ¿ lled with sly antics and
some way-smooth moves. This
performance has something for
everybody and a wide appeal to
all ages.
Formed in 1999, OTR mem-
bers are students at the Universi-
ty of Oregon. The original group
graduated, but each new year
brings on new recruits. In 2010
the group went viral with two
YouTube videos. First “Subway
Rick Roll,” reached over one
million viewers. Next came their
interpretation of Lady Gaga’s
“Bad Romance.” To date (at
last check anyway), that perfor-
mance had 5,765,549 hits. Five
albums later plus a runner up’s
spot on NBC’s a cappella reality
competition “The Sing Off,” the
group’s tagline remains “Talent
never graduates.”
A nonpro¿ t, the Water Music
Festival Society aims to provide
high-quality, affordable music
programs for residents and vis-
itors. It seeks to expand cultural
opportunities for the community,
increase awareness of diverse
types of music, and support mu-
sic education in the local schools.
That last goal is easily in ev-
idence with this year’s festival.
“Friday morning will ¿ nd
On the Rocks doing our in-
school outreach,” Marshall says.
“Rachel Lake is our upper and
lower schools’ music teacher.
She is somewhat of a legend
herself for her musical talents
and dedication to our schools’
healthy and burgeoning music
programs. I’ve never seen her
more excited than she is about
the students and this year’s out-
reach.”
The festival concerts con-
tinue noon Saturday in the
historic Oysterville, Washing-
ton, church, world-renowned
classical Spanish guitarist
Paul Galbraith performs on
his eight-string Brahms guitar,
which he literally played a role
in developing. Classical guitars
the arts
VISUAL ARTS • LITERATURE • THEATER • MUSIC & MORE
Story by MARILYN GILBAUGH
normally have six strings. Gal-
braith’s eight-string guitar has
an additional high string plus
its additional low string. His
guitar is also supported by a
metal endpin, similar to a cel-
lo, and rests on a wooden reso-
nance box when he plays.
In 1998, this skilled guitarist
was a Grammy Award nominee
and named one of Billboard’s
“Top Ten” artists of the year
for his critically acclaimed re-
cordings. Works from classical
masters along with folk tunes
showcase his musical person-
ality. At 17, Galbraith took part
in the ¿ rst Segovia Internation-
al Guitar Competition held in
Kent, England. The youngest
competitor from 14 countries,
he won the silver medal. An-
dres Segovia, regarded as one
of the greatest guitarists of all
time, said to the press follow-
ing the competition, “Paul is
magni¿ cent. He will be a great
artist.” Segovia was spot on.
The Water Music Festival
continues Saturday evening at
the north end of the peninsula.
The private Leadbetter Farms
estate will open its gates to
ticket holders at 6 p.m. At 7
p.m., professional concert sax-
ophonist Ashu will perform for
100 guests in a theater.
Defying convention, Ashu
made his recital debut at Carn-
egie Hall at age 16. He contin-
ues to win major international
awards and competitions that
are traditionally awarded to
pianists and violinists. Ashu
will be accompanied by pianist
Alexandre Moutouzkine, who,
Submitted photo
University of Oregon’s male a cappella group On the Rocks will perform at 7 p.m. Friday,
Oct. 9 at the Inn at Harbour Village in Ilwaco, Washington.
Submitted photo
Concert saxophonist Ashu will perform a
sold-out Water Music Festival concert at 6
p.m. Oct. 10 at the Leadbetter Farms Light-
house.
like Ashu, claims top prizes in
competition both nationally
and internationally.
The only downside to
Ashu’s appearance is that un-
less you already have tickets
for his performance, you’re out
of luck; that ¿ nal Water Music
Festival concert has been sold
out for months.
The upside, though, is all the
other aspects of the 31-year-old
music festival. Performers, past
and present, line up, vying each
year to perform. And an army of
seasoned volunteers gladly offer
assistance wherever and when-
ever needed to get the shows to
where they need to be.
Area locals lodge and feed
the musicians, and they don’t
hesitate to provide transporta-
tion. “Our volunteers do just
about anything they can to help
out. Then the musicians put the
icing on the cake so to speak,”
says Marshall.
All in all, everyone involved
comes together to create yet an-
other year of magical music.
Submitted photo
World-renowned classical and Spanish
guitarist Paul Galbraith will perform at
noon Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Oysterville
Church as part of the Water Music Festival.
Water Music
Festival
concerts
On the Rocks
7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9
Inn at Harbour Village
120 Williams Ave. N.E., Ilwaco,
Washington
www.watermusicfestival.com
$35
Paul Galbraith
Noon Saturday, Oct. 10
Oysterville Church
33590 Territory Road, Oyster-
ville, Washington
$25
October 8, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 9