Next weekend will bring two major annual fundraising concerts for local music scholarship programs — but they’re taking place simultaneously at two Aberdeen venues.
Musicale, the long-running annual gala staged by the Grays Harbor Music Teachers Association, will begin at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Aberdeen. It traditionally takes place the third Saturday of January. Christine Hill chairs this year’s event, which will feature mostly classical music.
On the same evening, Play It Forward will host its third annual fundraiser at the Bishop Center, spotlighting original acoustic music following this year’s theme: Harbor Influences. Last time around, the event took place in December; but there’s no set date from year to year.
“The Bishop Center was kind enough to give us a date, and there’s not much we can do to change it,” says Wil Russoul, who co-founded Play It Forward and organizes the event with his wife, Kristi Daniels.
The scheduling conflict certainly was not intended.
“We totally, absolutely want to support everything Christine Hill and her people are doing,” says Russoul. “This is not a competition.”
Hill agrees wholeheartedly.
“It will be a great night for scholarships for music students,” she says.
Musicale
Each year, the Grays Harbor Music Teachers Association awards scholarships to deserving music students from Grays Harbor and Pacific counties. That money comes largely from the proceeds of the annual Musicale.
“In the last 18 years, we’ve given over $48,000 to local music students,” Hill said in a press release. “Those scholarships have allowed a number of our recipients to go on to careers in music.”
The association invites Grays Harbor musicians to donate performances for Musicale each year. Here are this year’s scheduled performers:
• KPCP Duo: Ray Kahler, clarinet; and Ellen Pickell, piano
• Trio: Wendy Koski, French horn; Karen Meikle, violin; and Merry Jo Zimmer, piano
• String quartet: Debra Akerlund, violin; Karen Meikle, violin; Leslie O’Brien, viola; and John O’Brien, cello
• Vocal ensemble: Grays Harbor College Opera Workshop, directed by Ian and Joy Dorsch
• Vocal soloist: Ben Fagerstedt, baritone
There’s no charge to attend; donations to the scholarship program will be accepted during intermission. A gourmet dessert reception will follow the performance.
The church is located at the corner of Fourth and Broadway streets in Aberdeen. The address is 420 N. Broadway.
For more information, or to inquire about making a donation, contact Hill at hillstop@comcast.net.
To apply for the next round of GHMTA scholarships, visit www.ghmta.weebly.com.
Harbor Influences
Play It Forward’s third annual benefit concert, which funds scholarships specifically for Grays Harbor College students, will start at 7 p.m. at the Bishop Center for the Performing Arts.
Russoul and Daniels will act as hosts for the evening.
Nine musical performers are scheduled to take the stage, mostly playing original songs about life on the Harbor:
• Donna and Ken Albert of Outta Monte: keyboard, guitar, percussion and vocals
• Tyler MarK-z, GHC student: grand piano and vocals
• Isaac Olson and Milo Mullins of the Olson Band: guitar and vocals
• CD Scofield and Gladys Whitney: guitar and vocals
• Mike Kachman, a Westport EMT: guitar and vocals
• Alex Lebbert: percussive guitar (“He actually plays the guitar like a piano,” says Russoul)
In addition, Russoul says he’ll perform “Think of Me Hill,” a song he wrote last summer and later dedicated to the Aberdeen Museum of History.
And, giving new meaning to “performance art,” 17-year-old Ashlee Devlin — a musician and artist studying at South Puget Sound Community College — will create a painting on stage during the course of the evening. Her finished piece will be auctioned off later, with the proceeds going toward Play It Forward’s scholarship program.
In the background during the event, the work of photographer Craig Nichols will be showcased. Nichols, a regular Play It Forward volunteer, is locally known for his landscape and downtown images.
Tickets are $10, which will go toward production costs as well as the scholarship fund. Direct donations also will be accepted during the event.
Russoul says the nonprofit group has been able to disburse a total of $6,000 in scholarships to six GHC students to date, and he hopes to be able to expand the program year by year.
The Bishop Center is located on the GHC campus, at the bottom of the hill. The address is 1620 Edward P. Smith Drive, Aberdeen.
For more information, visit the Play It Forward Facebook page. If you can’t make it to the event and wish to make a donation, just walk into any Timberland Bank branch and make a deposit into the Play It Forward account.
For more information about Play It Forward scholarships, or to apply for one, visit www.ghc.edu/ news/now-accepting-scholarship- applications-2019-2020.
