Luminous Waters

• Sunday, October 27 at 4 pm
• Poulsbo First Lutheran Church (map)

Descend with the luminous waters into extraordinary musical experiences in a program exploring the luminescent flow of varying combinations of strings with works by Norwegian composers Edvard Grieg, Edvard Fliflet Bræin, Lasse Thoresen, & Fartein Valen, and NWEGS Composer-in-Residence Steven Luksan. Featuring brilliant musicians from the Seattle, pianist Michelle Huang, violinist Luke Fitzpatrick, violist Erin Wight, & cellist Rose Bellini you will once again hear music you won’t hear anywhere else by some of Norway’s beloved composers.

• Michelle Huang, piano
• Luke Fitzpatrick, violin
• Erin Wight, viola
• Rose Bellini, cello

• Andante con moto & Intermezzo EG 115 by Edvard Grieg
• Norwegian Rhapsody by NWEGS Composer-in-Residence Steven Luksan
• Trio, Op. 15 by Edvard Fliflet Bræin
• Descent of Luminous Waters by Lasse Thoresen
• Variations for the Piano, Op. 23 by Fartein Valen

Concert duration: 60-75 min

More info here

A native of Taiwan, pianist Michelle Huang has performed and taught extensively throughout the U.S. as well as abroad in the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, China, and Taiwan. She has appeared as soloist and guest artist in numerous recitals and has given lectures, workshops, and master classes. As a chamber musician, Michelle Huang has collaborated frequently with vocalists and instrumentalists as well as various chamber groups, such as the Mary L’Engle Ensemble, the River City Trio, the chamber group-in-residence at Friday Musicale in Jacksonville, Florida, the Jacksonville Symphony and Richmond Symphony musicians. In 2017, she received a faculty grant to commission ten paintings by two Virginia Commonwealth University art students. These paintings were presented with the complete performances of Mussorgsky’s piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition during her concert tour in 2018 - 2019. In July 2020, she also collaborated with Richmond Symphony concertmaster and presented a Beethoven program in the Richmond Symphony Summer Series as a celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Most recently, she completed a concert tour with Polish pianist Magdalena Adamek on an eclectic two pianos program.

Michelle Huang holds a Doctor of Music in Piano Performance from Florida State University, Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Tennessee, and Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her principle teachers include Read Gainsford, David Northington, and Barbara Rowan. As an educator, Huang has held teaching positions at both Walter States Community College and Lincoln Memorial University. She served as Assistant Professor of Piano at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2012, she launched a Concert Series at Edward Waters College in which high caliber performing artists performed concerts as well as conducting master classes, workshops, and lectures for the continuing enrichment and exposure of classical music to both the school and the community.

As a strong advocate of mind and body connection and overall musicians’ health, Huang has conducted numerous performance anxiety workshops in various universities as well as music conferences to help musicians understand and cope with anxiety related to performing. She has also presented workshops on a wide variety of topics including musicians’ wellness, art of practicing, and music entrepreneurship. Most recently, she was on the piano faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. In the summer, she is on the faculty of East/West International Piano Festival in Seoul, South Korea. She is also the co-founder of the Online Young Pianist Summer Symposium, which launched in May 2020. The Symposium was conducted virtually, in which guest speakers were invited to present topics such as the art of practicing, the art of memorization, and Alexander Technique, as well as a masterclass to college and pre-college pianists.

In addition to teaching in the collegiate setting, Huang also maintains a private studio both online and in Seattle, WA, where she works with talented pre-college students. She is an active member of the Seattle Music Teachers Association and Eastside Music Teachers Association. She is also a frequent adjudicator for local and state festivals and competitions. Many of her students have won top awards and successfully pursued studies and career in music.

Luke Fitzpatrick is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and artistic director of Inverted Space, a Seattle-based new music collective. As a soloist, he has performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso with Seattle Festival Orchestra, as well as Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata with Seattle Philharmonic, all with his own added cadenzas. Since 2015, Luke has toured as an active member of the Harry Partch Ensemble, which is dedicated to performing on Partch’s original custom instruments that utilize his unique 43-tone scale, including stops at The University of Illinois, The University of Missouri-Kansas City, Beyond Microtonal Festival in Pittsburgh, PA, and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Luke teamed up with Jeff Bowen in 2019 to arrange and perform the music from the TV show Twin Peaks for the Harry Partch instruments as well as the piece 1 Star Reviews, using 1 star Yelp reviews as the text. One of his signature pieces, The Tomb, was broadcast on Radiophrenia Glasgow in 2020 during a program entitled The Cloud-Chamber of Darkness Half-Hour, and his work has been commissioned and performed by The Harry Partch Ensemble, Figmentum, the Morsel Trio and the Parnassus Project. Luke received his training from UMKC (BM), CalArts (MFA) and the University of Washington (DMA) and is currently concertmaster of Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, Seattle Festival Orchestra and Federal Way Symphony. Besides music related things, Luke is an avid dancer and enjoys biking, eating sushi and collecting shoes.

Giving performances the New York Times describes as “surehanded,” “engrossing,” and “rich,” violist Erin Wight is an enthusiastic proponent of the music of our time. She has appeared as a contemporary music soloist on four continents, and is happiest when collaboratively imagining and creating new sound worlds with her friends. Deeply committed to community engagement, Erin’s decade-plus in NYC found her in Teaching Artist roles for the New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. From her present home-base of Seattle, Erin continues to develop exploratory music curricula for preeminent arts organizations including the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and her alma mater The Juilliard School’s K-12 Programs and Initiatives. When not busy performing in stadiums, orchestra pits, or cozy venues in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest, Erin enjoys looking for tide-pool creatures on rocky beaches, reading novels while drinking coffee, and spending time with her three children and composer-turned-hospitalist partner.

Cellist Rose Bellini is an adventurous musician accomplished in traditional, experimental, and interdisciplinary performance. She regularly performs with classical music ensembles, modern dance companies, bands, and chamber and orchestral groups across the country.

Rose's career has included appearances in venues ranging from neighborhood bars to Off Broadway to Denali National Park to Carnegie Hall. She has performed with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Wordless Music Orchestra, Ensemble Signal, FLUX Quartet, Orchestra of St. Luke's, East Village Opera Company, American Opera Projects, folk singers, and rock bands.

Currently based in Seattle, Rose performs with Seattle Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Modern Orchestra, the Sound Ensemble, Inverted Space Ensemble, Candlelight Concerts, singer/songwriters, rock bands, studio musicians, and other artists across musical genres in the Pacific Northwest. Her live recording of Steve Reich's Cello Counterpoint has been regularly highlighted by NPR's Performance Today.

A graduate of Indiana University-Bloomington, her primary teachers were Emilio Colón and Janos Starker. Rose leads a dual career as a non-profit professional, and volunteers her time to local arts organizations to provide fundraising strategy and leadership.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

First Lutheran Church, 524 South I Street, Tacoma, United States