Real Living with Robin Rilette

A Season of Symphonies

The Portland Chamber Orchestra's 52nd season promises to be an exciting one. Music, dance and the visual arts combine for three unique performances. From Renaissance Redux to Mozart Swings innovation and collaboration are the hallmarks of this orchestra founded in 1947 by Finnish composer and conductor, Boris Sirpo.




Maestro Yaacov Bergman brings a spirit of passion, energy and creativity to everything he does and on A Season of Symphonies you can hear him speak with Northwest Public Radio's Robin Rilette about the importance of understanding and incorporating new technology into the world of classical music performance.

Sounds and Sights of the Tri-Cities

This past weekend I had the privilege of spending some time in the Tri-Cities. The weather, the people and the music were all lovely as you can see in the following photos. The Tri-Cities has this unique juxtaposition of green grass, blue sky and water and tumbleweeds.



Here are some photos I took at Howard Amon Park and the Kiwanis Lions Park in Richland. I'm always so impressed with these parks. There are plenty of picnic tables under the shade trees and assorted standing and swinging benches for all to enjoy....even our canine companions!





How appropriate that on Mother's Day I saw mothers of all kinds!







The Mid-Columbia Symphony sounded awesome on Saturday night conducted by Nicholas Wallin. We heard the full symphony in Sibelius Spring Song and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, and a much smaller group for Vivaldi's "Spring" and Summer" from The Four Seasons featuring violinist, Mary K. French.

It was gratifying to see such a long line by the season ticket counter. If you missed the chance to buy your season tickets on Saturday you can do so on the Mid-Columbia Symphony
website.

I spoke with a number of the dedicated orchestra members. Here's cellist, Bruce Walker, who is a music teacher in the Tri-Cities. We really need to express our appreciation to these hard working and talented musicians. They work hard at their "day" jobs so that they can share their passion and love of music with us.


Here's me with our Sales Manager Dave Deeney.



Sunday afternoon I headed over to the Richland High School Auditorium to enjoy the Massenkoff Russian Folk Festival. What a colorful and fun afternoon. The costumes were colorful, the dancing in turns lovely and energetic, the musicians amazing and Nikolai's range is incredible. What an amazing man! I hope that you click on the link and read more about him. He really needs to write a book someday.


Click here for the 2009-2010 schedule and seasonticket information for the Community Concerts of the Tri-Cities.