Aiming for a perfect 10
Mei-Ting Sun
By Leslie O’Donnell
For the TODAY
Musicians, volunteers and the greater Lincoln City community are gearing up for the 10th anniversary of the Siletz Bay Music Festival, marking pianist Mei-Ting Sun’s 10th appearance at the event.
“The community looks forward to the festival every year,” said Shellie Stuart, executive director. “The whole community comes together to put this on — they house the musicians, provide them with meals and see after everyone’s needs. It’s amazing to me how many people are involved in making this such a great festival for everyone.”
Tickets are on sale now for the multi-day festival, which features more than 50 musicians and opens on Friday, Sept. 2, at the Lincoln City Cultural Center with a gala reception and piano recital of music by Schumann and Brahms, performed by Sun, the evening’s headlining performer.
“This is the first time we’ve included a reception for opening night,” Stuart said. “To celebrate these auspicious ‘tens,’ our opening night recital will include a reception with Oregon sparkling wine and light hors d'oeuvres.”
Sun appeared on stage at the Spring of Shanghai Festival in 1986 when he was only five years old. At nine, he left Shanghai for New York and eventually received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mannes College of Music and a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Juilliard School.
He is currently on the faculty of the Royal Academy of Music and is a gold medal winner of the National Chopin Competition.
New to the festival this year is a special ticket rate.
“I’m really excited that this year we have student ticket prices,” Stuart said. “It’s an effort to make the festival more accessible to the youth of the community.”
Concerts run daily through Sept 11, culminating in the “Sounds of America” orchestra concert at the B’nai B’rith Camp on Devils Lake. The 10-day music menu ranges from “Musical Tapas,” traditionally a sell-out event put together by the chamber musicians which Stuart said provides “both a culinary feast and a treat for the ears,” to “Welcome to the Club,” an evening of contemporary jazz and clarinet.
The mission of the festival is to bring multi-genre world-class music performed by outstanding musicians to the Central Oregon Coast. The event has grown from an intimate chamber music series to encompass a broad range of musical traditions, including classical, jazz, big band and cabaret. And while it has changed through the years, the constant has been the devotion of its audiences, Stuart said.
The festival traces its roots to the mid-1980s and an informal series of salons held in the home of Sergiu Luca, a part-time Oregon Coast resident and professor of violin at Rice University, who purchased his Cascade Head home in order to bring chamber music to Lincoln City. He created the Cascade Head Music Festival in 1987 and served as its artistic director until 2008.
In 2011, current artistic director and conductor Yaacov Bergman joined with community leaders to create the Siletz Bay Music Festival, now a non-profit corporation.
And, thanks to sponsorships, some concerts are free.
So whether it’s a classical chamber concert, a substantial serving of Beethoven or Native American pow wow/hip hop music, there’s sure to be something for everyone at the Siletz Bay Music Festival.
For more information, including remaining sponsorship opportunities, go to siletzbaymusic.org or email Stuart at shellisbmf@gmail.com.
Concerts schedule
• Gala opening night and Mei-Ting Sun recital, Friday, Sept. 2, tickets $40 adults, $15 students, light bites and beverages included.
• “Saturday Soiree,” Saturday, Sept. 3, Lincoln City Cultural Center, classical chamber concert, tickets $25 adults, $10 students.
• “Musical Tapas,” Sunday, Sept. 4, Lincoln City Cultural Center. Tickets $65.
• “Sights and Sounds,” Monday, Sept. 5, Lincoln City Cultural Center, tickets $25 adults, $10 students.
• “A Musical Feast,” Tuesday, Sept. 6, Congregational Church of Lincoln City, free.
• “Music on the Bay – Siletz Comes to Yaquina,” Wednesday, Sept. 7, Doerfler Family Theater at Pacific Maritime and Heritage Center, Newport Bayfront, adult tickets $25, students $10.
• “Welcome to the Club,” Thursday, Sept. 8, Lincoln City Cultural Center, adult tickets $25, students $10, classic contemporary jazz and cabaret.
• Benefit dinner – “New York, New York, Here I Come,” Friday, Sept. 9, Lincoln City Cultural Center, tickets $125. Formal catered dinner and cabaret entertainment.
• “Beethoven, a Double Bill,” Saturday, Sept. 10, B’nai B’rith Camp, adult tickets $40, students $15.
• “Sounds of America,” Sunday, Sept. 11, B’nai B’rith Camp, adult tickets’ $49, students $15.