Centrum announces summer schedule

PORT TOWNSEND — Centrum will celebrate its 45th anniversary with some 25 concerts this summer.

Audiences may attend more than half the performances for $16 or less or, if one is 18 or younger, all events are free with an advance reservation.

Centrum donors may reserve event seating beginning at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. The public may donate online at http://centrum.org/ to gain access to the presale.

Tickets go on sale to the general public May 1.

Centrum, an arts nonprofit, draws high-level writers, vocalists, fiddlers, and jazz and blues players who spend a week at Centrum entrusting new generations with the traditions and knowledge they steward.

Centrum hosts thousands of workshop participants each year, many of them on scholarship, who come to Port Townsend to live and learn with their artistic idols.

Summer concerts and free literary readings are an invitation for the public to get a taste of the sustenance that feeds the creative spirits of Centrum participants, organizers said in a news release.

“An event at Centrum is always going to be different than any other one can experience any place else in the world,” said Robert Birman, Centrum’s executive director.

“The musicians, teachers and writers, who are at the height of their professional careers, come here because they believe in what we do. Their passion is to share culture and tradition with all of us, audience and participant alike.

“For local audiences, coming to Centrum is like traveling the world without leaving home.”

This summer, Centrum will hold all concerts on stages across Fort Worden State Park. This represents a change from previous summers, as “club-style” concerts for jazz and blues will be presented at the Fort, instead of downtown.

“Many factors played into this decision,” Birman said. “But two were decisive. Of 27 venues Centrum has used in town since 2000, only eight remain available today, and of those, nearly all have limited capacity and only one offers food service.”

“As important, there’s a growing concern about accommodating the large number of young people who enroll in our workshops and the fact that they’ve been shut out of many venues unless they are over the age of 21,” Birman added.

“By hosting clubs at Fort Worden, we can allow every venue to be open to students while providing food for all, and bar service for adults at 100 percent of the venues.”

To help offset the potential economic impact of the venue change, Centrum staff members are collaborating with Main Street, Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, the city of Port Townsend and the Public Development Authority on cross-promotional strategies.

Here is what’s coming up:

• Chamber Music — June 15-17.

Grammy-award winning musicians of the Pacifica String Quartet will coach pre-professional pianists and string quartets live on stage at 7:30 p.m. June 13, then return June 15 and 16, to witness the transformation from rehearsal to performance of major works in the strong quartet and quintet literature.

The Pacifica Quartet will perform solely at 2 p.m. June 17.

Audiences are invited to meet musicians after each event. All events are at the Wheeler Theater.

• Voice Works — June 28-30.

This year, the size of the Voice Works artist faculty has doubled, thanks to brand-new artistic director Pharis Romero. Singers and musicians will present Appalachian, Irish, cowboy country, Quebecois and Mississippi Delta blues tunes selections.

A Honky Tonk dance at 8 p.m. June 28 and two public concerts at 7:30 p.m. June 27 and 29 at the Wheeler Theater are planned.

• Fiddle Tunes — July 4-7.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) bestows just nine prestigious Heritage Fellowships each year. Three of this year’s recipients will teach and perform at Centrum.

Thomas Maupin is an “elegant master of flatfoot buck dancing,” according to the NEA.

Dwight “Red” Lamb is a fourth-generation fiddler and button accordion player who has “mentored generations of … musicians.”

(The third NEA Fellow, Phil Wiggins, will teach and perform during a long-weekend workshop in October.)

There are three mainstage concerts at the McCurdy Pavilion. They will be at 1:30 p.m. July 4, 7:30 p.m. July 6 and 1:30 p.m. July 7.

In addition, a Swing and Country Dance is set for 7:30 p.m. the Fourth of July on the Littlefield Green at the McCurdy Pavilion.

• Writers’ Conference — July 15-21

Free readings from writers and poets will be presented each evening at 7 p.m.

Featured authors include Luis Urrea, Melissa Febos, Ilya Kaminsky, Gary Copeland Lilly, Debra Gwartney, Sam Ligon and Bill Ransom.

• Jazz Port Townsend — July 26-28

Stefon Harris, vibraphone player and crowd favorite, will return to the lineup this year along with some of the most heralded jazz artists of the nation, organizers said.

New to the faculty will be 2017 Grammy-award nominated artists vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, vocalist Jean Baylor and drummer Marcus Baylor.

This year’s concert series will include a tribute to trumpeter Lee Morgan, with performances by Terrell Stafford, Tim Warfield and others.

Mainstage concerts will be at 7:30 p.m. July 27 and 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. July 28. Jazz-in-the-Clubs start July 26 and run nightly through July 28 from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

• Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival — Aug. 1-4

Young, up-and-coming country blues musicians Andrew Alli and Jontavious Willis join the artist faculty this summer, performing alongside elders who are many of the last remaining disciples of the original blues masters, organizers said.

A gospel choir performance will be led by the Rev. John Wilkins at 11 a.m. Aug. 4. It will be free and open to the public.

The single mainstage concert will be at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at the McCurdy Pavilion. A Blues Dance will be held at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1.

• Free Fridays at the Fort — Noon to 1 p.m. June 29 to Aug. 3

Centrum annually presents an outdoor lunchtime concert series on the Fort Worden Commons lawn. All will begin at noon and are free to the public. Centrum lawn chairs will be available for purchase.

The schedule is June 29, Voice Works Showcase; July 6, Fiddle Tunes Showcase; July 13, artists to be announced; July 20, Jack Dwyer Band; July 27, Jazz Port Townsend Participant Band; Aug. 3, Acoustic Blues Showcase.