About the series

Jack Straw Productions and WCF present a series of talks and performances of new music. The series is free to the public. Refreshments are served. Events are wheelchair and special needs accessible. Contact Jack Straw for arrangements at (206) 634-0919.

Begun in 1999, the series has offered over 120 free presentations of visiting and local composers and performers to the public.

2008 presenters

January 9 - Gust Burns

February 13 - Hope Wechkin

March 12 - Dennis Rea

April 9 - Anna Homler

May 14 - Bill Smith

June 11 - Tom Baker

July 9 - Tom Varner

August 13 - Bruce Hamilton

September 10 - Joshua Kohl

October 8 - Michael Owcharuk

November 12 - Sean Osborn

December 10 - Richard Johnson

2009 presenters

January 14 - Emily Doolittle

February 11 - Randal Bays

March 11 - Christopher Roberts

April 8 - Marcus Oldham

May 13 - Michael Nicolella

June 10 - Donald Craig

July 8 - Srivani Jade

August 12 - Christopher DeLaurenti

September 9 - Munir Beken & Gus Denhard

October 14 - Susie Kozawa & Esther Sugai with Serge Gregory

November 11 - Aono Jikken Ensemble

December 9 - Lesley Sommer

2010 presenters

January 13 - Garret Fisher

February 10 - Curtis Taylor

March 10 - Samantha Boshnack and Reptet

past presenters

Composer Spotlight

Rachel Matthews

Where did this come from?

Wed., April 14 @ 7:30pm
Jack Straw Productions
4261 Roosevelt Way NE Seattle

map FREE

2008 Jack Straw Artist Rachel Matthews will discuss her unexpected transition from classically trained pianist to composer, and what it has meant for her life in music overall. She will present and discuss selected works from her Jack Straw Productions Artist Support Program residency, as well as other works, including the premiere performance of her House of Bedlam and the Seattle premiere of Circles for flute and piano. Performers include both of the composer’s sisters, violinist Ingrid Matthews and soprano Julia Matthews, and flutist Merrie Siegel, with Rachel Matthews at the piano.

Rachel Matthews is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and holds a doctorate in piano performance from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where she was recipient of the Irving Lowens Memorial Prize and the Peabody Career Development Grant. She maintains an active teaching studio in Seattle. Increasingly active in recent years as a composer, her works have been heard recently at the Iowa Arts Festival, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, the Cottonwood Music Festival in Kansas and Pendulum New Music in Boulder, CO, as well as on radio stations around the country. Rachel is recent recipient of grants and commissions including the American Composers Forum and 4Culture, and holds a residency this season with Jack Straw Productions’ Artist Support Program. Her Voices of Trees for clarinet and piano was released in 2008 on the Origin Classical label.

Supporters

Jack Straw Productions gratefully acknowledges The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, 4Culture King County Lodging Tax Fund, Washington State Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, PONCHO, ArtsFund, Seattle Foundation, and individual contributors for their support of Jack Straw Artist Programs.