It’s a music-filled week in Bellingham with some of the city’s finest jazz artists, as well as acclaimed touring musicians. Historic Fairhaven stars in a couple of leading roles, when you can learn about two icons of the neighborhood — “Dirty” Dan Harris and the Fairhaven Hotel. Western’s Opera Theatre presents a duet of thought-provoking productions, and the hills come alive at Skagit Valley College!
Legacy Jazz
Julian MacDonough and Legacy Jazz present a new series aimed at promoting the best young jazz talent in our area, framed by some of the Pacific Northwest’s top jazz musicians. Performances are from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month (coming up next on April 21), at the FireHouse Arts and Events Center, 1314 Harris Ave.
MacDonough said the first two musicians to be featured for this series are “also two of the greatest young talents I’ve ever seen come through Bellingham.”
Matthew Chen is a saxophonist and senior at Sehome High School who will be heading to the East Coast in the fall and trumpet player Duncan Lang is a graduate of Western Washington University. MacDonough joins the group on drums, with Mark Hunter on stand-up bass. Entry is by donation.
WWU Opera Theatre
Western Washington University’s Opera Theatre presents two one-act operas: Carlisle Floyd’s gritty American operatic play “Slow Dusk,” followed by Giacomo Puccini’s sublime “Suor Angelica” at 7:30 p.m. April 21 through 23 and 2 p.m. April 24 at the Performing Arts Center Choir Room 16.
Floyd’s rarely performed “Slow Dusk” takes place at a farmhouse in the Carolinas, where innocent infatuation is stifled by a family’s deep prejudices.
Though traditionally set in a late 17th-century convent in Italy, this production of “Suor Angelica” places its characters at an American Catholic boarding house for unwed pregnant women. The opera centers around Angelica, a young woman seeking solace after being forced to give up her child and facing banishment by her guardian aunt.
Both pieces are set in the late 1950s and speak to the oppression of women hidden under the guise of religious righteousness.
The performance includes themes of trauma and suicide. Audience members should be able to ascend several steps to the seating area. A streaming performance will be made available for patrons who cannot access the seating area. Tickets are $10 to $16. Details are at cfpa.wwu.edu.
‘The Sound of Music’
Skagit Valley College Music Department presents the inspirational story based on the memoir of Maria Augusta Trapp about an ebullient postulate who serves as governess to the seven children of the imperious Captain Von Trapp, bringing music and joy to the broken household. But as the forces of Nazism take hold of Austria, Maria and the entire Von Trapp family must make a moral decision.
The final collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein III, “The Sound of Music” features a trove of cherished songs, including “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do Re Mi,” and “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.” The title number won the hearts of audiences worldwide, earning five Tony Awards and five Oscars.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 22, 23, 29, and 30; 2 p.m. April 24 and May 1 at McIntyre Hall on the Skagit Valley College campus, 2501 E. College Way in Mount Vernon. Each patron must provide proof of a negative COVID test or vaccination and wear a mask regardless of vaccination status. Tickets are $25 to $75 and can be procured at mcintyrehall.org.
Whodunnit?
The second annual Dirty Dan Mystery Weekend puts forth The Case of the Crushed Clown from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 23 in the historic Fairhaven district.
“It is with grievance beyond words that I must announce today, April 23, that we found the missing clown underneath a bale of hay on Harris Avenue,” announced Mayor Wilson in a press release from the Historic Fairhaven Association.
Thus begins the quest to find the murderer, their motive and their method. Read the newspaper (not this one, but The Fairhaven Observer) from front to back. You’ll also be given a map with locations where you can pick up printed clues to help you solve the mystery.
All of the clue locations and the scene of the crime are within a half-mile of the Fairhaven Village Green, and the suspect photos will be in the newspaper (not this one). As you walk around the village collecting clues, you will encounter some of the suspects.
When you think you have figured out who and how, enter your solution on the official ballot. Place your completed form in one of the designated ballot boxes. Correct ballot solutions will be placed in a drawing for grand prizes ranging from weekend getaways and merchant gift certificates to Dirty Dan Mystery memorabilia. All the other “incorrect ballots” will be placed in a drawing for other prizes. Registration is $20 per person or $35 per family or group. Online registration ends at 6 p.m. April 22. Registration is available at 1106 Harris Avenue during the weekend. Info: enjoyfairhaven.com.
The late Bill Sterling, a longtime musician in Whatcom County, will be celebrated by some of the musicians he performed with on Sunday, April 24 at the Wild Buffalo. (Photo courtesy of Ranger Kidwell-Ross)
A historic Fairhaven icon
“The Fairhaven Hotel” exhibit at Whatcom Museum’s Old City Hall, 121 Prospect St., has been extended through May 8.
In 1890, the Fairhaven Hotel embodied the posh sophistication that the booming City of Fairhaven eagerly wished to project. This was what the rising metropolis would look like! Yet, with the collapse of the economy in 1893, the hotel soon symbolized Fairhaven’s failed dreams, and worse, false promises.
Modernization efforts eventually stripped away its whimsical charm, rendering it a no-nonsense “business block.” The photographs on display follow the hotel from a glorious beginning to a smoldering ruin, along with surviving hotel treasures curated from the museum’s collection.
Join photo archivist and curator Jeff Jewell for “Fairhaven Hotel: Anecdotes from the Archivist,” a discussion and tour of the exhibit, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. April 21 or 28. Each tour is limited to 10 people; pre-registration is encouraged. Find out more at whatcommuseum.org.
Jazz Project’s Art of Jazz Series
Christopher Woitach brings his solid guitar skills into harmony with John Moak’s trombone chops, with Josh Cook on tenor saxophone, Jeff Johnson on bass, and Jud Sherwood’s drums to round out the quintet from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 24 at the FireHouse Arts and Events Center, 1314 Harris Ave. Masks and proof of vaccination are required. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $20. For more details, visit jazzproject.org.
Celebrating Bill Sterling
An event celebrating the life of Whatcom County musician Bill Sterling, who died November 29, takes place from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, April 24, at the Wild Buffalo, 208 W. Holly St.
As his obituary states, “Bill contributed to the music community within Whatcom County and beyond, with some of his most notable projects including Brasscadia, Critical Mass Marching Band, What the Chelm, The Clay People, Patriots of Tomorrow and K-Kats Raucous Ragtime Revue.”
Bill excelled in playing the stand-up bass, electric bass guitar, tuba and Sousaphone, although he could pick up nearly any instrument and seamlessly join in a jam session. The event features music from many of the bands he played with, including Brasscadia, the K-Kats, and Andy Koch and the Rubber Band. Donations will go toward a memorial planned for June.
New York touring artist Ben Rosenblum performs April 27 at the Sylvia Center for the Arts. (Photo by Kazuo Goshima)
Rosenblum returns
Hosted by the Jazz Center of Bellingham, Ben Rosenblum, an internationally touring jazz pianist, accordionist and composer based in New York City, returns to the Sylvia Center for the Arts, 207 Prospect St., at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 27. He’ll be joined by Eduardo Belo on bass and Ben Zweig on drums.
Rosenbum’s repertoire includes selections from the jazz and popular music traditions, as well as global music influences from South America, Eastern Europe, Ireland and the Caribbean. Tickets are $10 for students, $20 general. Find out more at jazzcenterofbellingham.org.
Before attending an in-person event, check with individual venues to make sure it is taking place as scheduled.
Margaret Bikman’s column runs every Wednesday. Reach her at margaret.bikman@gmail.com.
