Not your average orchestra
Astoria ukulele players form unique music group
BY KATHERINE LACAZE
D
uring a pandemic, human connection can
come in unexpected ways.
For members of the Astoria
Ukulele Orchestra, that bond comes from
music.
“Music really connects you with other
people in a way that nothing else can,”
Rachel Fitch, a member of the orchestra,
said. “To have that connection through the
pandemic was a really big deal.”
Fitch moved to Astoria about five
months before the pandemic started, and
joining the orchestra was a way for her to
integrate into the community and meet new
people. It ended up becoming one of her
main outlets for building friendships amid
the pandemic.
“I was really extra grateful I had that
through the shutdown,” she said.
Marsha Pack agreed.
“During the pandemic, it was the only
thing on our schedule that was with real
people and not just on Zoom,” she said,
adding they took numerous precautions to
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THEY ENJOY THE CHALLENGE OF FIGURING OUT
UNIQUE PIECES, SUCH AS A MASHUP OF RADIOHEAD’S
‘CREEP’ AND DAVID BOWIE’S ‘SPACE ODDITY.’
Sheila Martin’s beginner
ukulele classes
Clatsop Community College
1651 Lexington Ave., Astoria
Oct. 4 to Dec. 6
Mondays from 4 to 5 p.m.
rehearse together safely. “It was a great way
to stay connected to humans.”
Bringing community together
Fitch and Pack are two of 11 members
who make up the ukulele orchestra, estab-
lished by Sheila Martin at the start of 2020.
Martin, a third-generation, native Hawai-
ian, has played the ukulele for 12 years,
making it her sixth instrument. She founded
the Black Hills Ukulele Orchestra — a pro-
gram of the nonprofit Custer Area Arts
Council — and ran it for five years before
she moved to Astoria. The group played in
state and city parks, for art festivals, wed-
dings and special occasions.
After living in Astoria for a couple of
years, Martin wanted to provide a similar
experience for North Coast residents.
“A performing ukulele group is a great
way to get community members together
of all ages and from different backgrounds
to have fun learning or honing a new skill,”
she said. “An ukulele orchestra is differ-
ent from a strumming group that may come
together to informally read through songs of
generally one type.”
According to Martin, members must
practice before rehearsal and they enjoy
the challenge of figuring out unique pieces,
such as a mashup of Radiohead’s “Creep”
and David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”
“We continue to work on songs from
many genres and time periods, and the skill
level of the group keeps increasing,” Martin
said. “We are starting to be able to arrange
songs with performers playing different
parts, just like a traditional orchestra.”
In the future, Martin envisions holding
more outdoors pop-up rehearsals, and even-
tually concerts. She also hopes to get chil-
dren involved.
10 sessions, $60
Register online at: clatsopcc.coursestorm.
com/course/ukulele-beginning
An instrument for everyone
Martin appreciates the ukulele as the
basis for an orchestra because of its versatil-
ity and accessibility. Even individuals with
no musical background can pick it up fairly
quickly. Beginners are quickly able to play
some of the chords and strumming patterns.
Martin says there are many ways novice
musicians can learn the instrument. Some
people learn by listening and repetition,
some want the sheet music, some don’t read
music and just want the lyrics and others
like tabs or chord charts.
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