Public Concerts and Other LMC Events

Free Public Concert Series

LMC’s most visible face is its Public Concert Series that offers over 50 free classical music concerts from October through May by LMC member-musicians and guests. The classical music series is presented at a variety of venues throughout the Seattle metro area, including Seattle Art Museum, Frye Art Museum, Seattle Public Library, Central and West Seattle Branches, University House Wallingford, Mirabella, Bellevue’s Crossroads Community Center Theater, Congregational Church on Mercer Island, and the Music Center of the Northwest in North Seattle.

These intimate, one-half-hour to one-hour, music programs are free and open to the public. Many of these are now available online through our Facebook page and YouTube channel. No advance tickets are required. On the day of the performance at the Frye Museum, attendees are asked to obtain a free ticket at the front desk to monitor auditorium seating.

With generous support and partnership from:



Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Logo 4Culture logo

 

Event Calendar

Mar
20
Wed
[Virtual] Women’s Wednesdays: New Voices @ Virtual
Mar 20 @ 5:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Celebrate Women’s History Month with the LMC by tuning in to our “Women’s Wednesdays” virtual concert series during the month of March. Featuring LMC performers, this concert series celebrates the works and stories of women in classical music. Join us on YouTube each Wednesday in March at 5:30 PM!

New Voices

Everyone Sang by Natasha Senanayake
I. “Everyone suddenly burst out singing”
II. “…and the song was wordless”
III. “…and the singing will never be done”

Dhanushi Wijeyakulasuriya, soprano
Rachel Moore (guest artist), soprano
Silas Berlin, piano

Another Hand – text by Marie S. Cates, music by Janet Anderson
I. Lost Child
II. Another Hand
III. Wanderlust

Katie Hochman, soprano
Sharon Wong, piano

Marie Sanders Cates (1912–1985) is the grandmother of Katie Hochman. Marie, the youngest of five, lost her father at the age of four. Her mother was unable to keep her family together and Marie was taken in by other family members. It was in that house that her love of poetry began. She expressed the joy and sadness of her life’s events in her poems. The first two songs are about her separation from and eventual return to her mother and siblings. The third song is about her life after her husband died and her faith that she would see him again.

Artist bios

 

Mar
27
Wed
[Virtual] Women’s Wednesdays: Sounds from France, Norway, and England @ Virtual
Mar 27 @ 5:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Celebrate Women’s History Month with the LMC by tuning in to our “Women’s Wednesdays” virtual concert series during the month of March. Featuring LMC performers, this concert series celebrates the works and stories of women in classical music. Join us on YouTube each Wednesday in March at 5:30 PM!

Sounds from France, Norway, and England

Au Crépuscule by Mélanie Bonis (1858–1937)
Mazurka by Mélanie Bonis

5 Fantasistykker (5 Fantasy Pieces), Op. 45 by Agathe Backer Grøndahl (1847–1907)
I. Ungdomssang (Song of Youth)
II. Sommervise (Summer Song)

Karin McCullough, piano

Viola Sonata by Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979)
II . Vivace
III. Adagio

Mia HyeYeon Kim, piano
Flora Cummings (guest artist), viola

Artist bios

 

Mar
30
Sat
[Virtual] Schumann Saturday: Clara Schumann Piano Sonata @ Virtual
Mar 30 @ 5:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Celebrate Women’s History Month with “Saturday Schumann,” a bonus concert for our “Women’s Wednesdays” virtual concert series during the month of March. Featuring LMC performers, this concert series celebrates the works and stories of women in classical music. Join us on YouTube at 5:30 PM each Wednesday in March, as well as Saturday, March 30!

Piano Sonata in G minor by Clara Schumann (1819–1896)

Diana Gao, piano

Artist bios

 

Apr
6
Sat
LMC Presents: Ravel & Debussy – A Concert Talk (Part II) @ Woodlawn Hall
Apr 6 @ 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm

 LMC Presents: A Concert Talk on ravel & debussy(Part II)

 

In an interplay between performance and illuminating commentary, award-winning LMC pianist Diana Gao and musicologist Dr. Larry Starr explore Ravel’s Sonatine and Debussy’s Pour le piano. Q&A with both Diana and Larry will conclude the presentation. Whether you’re a lifelong Debussy and Ravel fan or just being introduced, you’ll be sure to walk away with new ways to hear these timeless pieces.

This event will be held at Woodlawn Hall, in Seattle’s Greenlake neighborhood.

This is the final part of a series on Ravel and Debussy. The first concert talk was on November 18th, 2023 and will explored Ravel’s Jeux d’eau, Debussy’s “Reflets dans l’eau” from Images, Book 1, and Debussy’s Estampes.

Purchase Tickets

Tickets and more event details are found HERE. Tickets are $15 for LMC Members, $20 for General Admission, and $10 for guests 18 & Under. Light refreshments served before.

 

About the Presenters

Dr. Larry Starr
Photo: Steve Korn / UW School of Music

Larry Starr holds the title Professor Emeritus of American Music Studies at the University of Washington School of Music, where he taught for more than four decades. He retired from university teaching in 2018, but he continues to speak on music at the Seattle Symphony (pre-concert talks), the Women’s University Club (Seattle), and now the Ladies’ Musical Club. He has written books on Charles Ives’s music, Aaron Copland’s songs, George Gershwin’s Broadway musicals, and most recently Listening to Bob Dylan, and is the coauthor of a textbook on American popular music. Larry’s advisees have gone on to distinguished careers in teaching, research, and arts administration—a noteworthy recent example being Whitney Henderson, LMC’s own Executive Director.

Diana Gao began studying the piano at age 4. She received a bachelor’s degree in International Broadcasting Journalism and a Graduate Diploma in Finance and Investment from top universities in China. Then she moved to the US in 2013 and earned her MBA degree at the University of Washington (UW). She’s now a Senior Marketing Manager at Microsoft. Although she has pursued a career outside of music, the piano has remained aDiana Gao significant mainstay in her life. For years, she has consistently cultivated her passion through regular lessons and performances. She is currently studying with Dr. Robin McCabe from the UW, and she’s a prizewinner in many competitions, including Gold Medalist of the Seattle International Piano Competition, and First Prize in the “Golden Classical Music Awards” International Competition, which earned her a solo performance at the Carnegie Hall. She has also performed at the prestigious Piano Texas International Festival. Since 2020, she has presented annual fundraising recitals through the Microsoft Give campaign, raising thousands of dollars in support of local non-profit organizations. Those events reinforced her belief that music has the power to inspire change and make the world a better place.

 

 

 

Apr
8
Mon
LMC Opera – Queen for a Day: Operatic Depictions of Nobility @ University House Wallingford
Apr 8 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

LMC Opera – Queen for a Day: Operatic Depictions of Nobility

“Ah, lo veggo” – Recit and Trio from Paride ed Elena by Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787)

Susan Payne O’Brien as Elena (Helen), Queen of Sparta
Emily Riesser as Paride (Paris), son of King Priam of Troy
Lin Chen as Amore (Cupid)
Ellyn Liu, violin

“Thy Hand, Belinda… When I am laid in Earth” from Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell (1659–1695)

Katie Hochman as Dido, Queen of Carthage

“Piangero la sorte mio” from Giulio Cesare by George Frideric Handel (1685–1759)

Emily Riesser as Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt
Ellyn Liu, violin

“Nasce il sole” from Rodrigo by George Frideric Handel

Lin Chen as Esilena, Last Visigothic Queen of Spain
Ellyn Liu, violin

“Tu che le vanita” from Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)

Laurel Sprigg as Élisabeth de Valois, Queen of Spain
Ellyn Liu, violin

“Morró, ma prima in grazia” from Un Ballo in Maschera by Giuseppe Verdi

Susan Payne O’Brien as Amelia

“Nous sommes assaillis” from Cendrillon by Pauline Viardot (1821–1910)

Laurel Sprigg as Cendrillon (Cinderella)
Katie Hochman as Maguelonne, her sister
Regina Thomas as Armelinde, her sister

Joan Lundquist, piano
Regina Thomas, stage direction and commentary

 

Apr
10
Wed
Piano Works by Chopin | Songs by Schubert, Brahms, and More @ Seattle Public Library - Central Library
Apr 10 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Piano Works by Chopin

Nocturne Op. 15, No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
Nocturne Op. 27, No. 1
Nocturne Op. 27, No. 2
Ballade Op. 52, No. 4

Valentina Rodov, piano

Songs by Schubert, Brahms, and More

Frühlingsglaube by Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Nacht und Träume

Bei dir sind meine Gedanken by Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Wir wandelten

Ging heut Morgen über‘s Feld by Gustav Mahler (1860–1911)

Le papillon et la fleur by Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)

Phidylé by Henri Duparc (1848–1933)

Susan Strick, soprano
Asta Vaičekonis, piano

 

Apr
16
Tue
Piano Solos and Spanish Love Songs @ Crossroads Community Center
Apr 16 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Piano Solos by Mozart and Bach-Busoni

Sonata K. 310 in A minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
– Allegro maestoso

Chaconne from Violin Partita in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750),
arr. for piano by Ferrucio Busoni (1866–1924)

Emiko Hori, piano

Spanish Love Songs

Marinela, Marinela by José Serrano (1873–1941)
Elegia eterna by Enrique Granados (1867–1916)
Del cabello más sutil by F. J. Obradors (1897–1945)
Nana by Manuel de Falla (1876–1946)
Cançó de Grumet by Eduard Toldrà (1895–1962)

¿Con qué la lavaré? by Joaquín Rodrigo (1901–1999)
Jo et pressentia com la mar by Federico Mompou (1893–1987)
Paño murciano by Joaquin Nin (1879–1949)
La rosa y el sauce by Carlos Guastavino (1912–2000)
Las locas por amor by Joaquín Turina (1882–1949)

Diane Althaus, soprano
Joan Lundquist, piano

 

Apr
20
Sat
Scandinavian Songs | Works for Oboe and Piano @ Mirabella Seattle
Apr 20 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Scandinavian Songs

Songs of Finland

Rakastunut by Yrjö Kilpinen (1892–1959)
Suvilaula

Nymphs and Fairies

Purjein kuutamolla by Toivo Kuula (1883–1918)
Sinipiika

Kaiutar by Jean Sibelius (1865–1957)
Paimenet by Toivo Kuula

Kun Paivä Paistaa by Oskar Merikanto (1868–1924)
Pai, pai, paitaressu
Ma elän

Tiina Ritalahti, soprano
Joan Lundquist, piano

Works for Oboe and Piano

Concerto for Oboe (with Piano reduction), Op7 by Marie Félicie Clémence de Reiset, Vicomtesse de Grandval (1828–1907)
(A Monsier Georges Gillet, 1st Hautbois-Solo de la Sociéte des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris et de l’Opéra Italien)
I. Allegro Moderato
II. Andantino con moto
III. Final (Moderato maestoso)

French Suite for Oboe and Piano by Alan Richardson (1904–1978)
(To Léon Goossens)
1. Rendezvous
2. Les Peupliers
3. Passepied
4. Causerie
5. Les Moulins

Gail Perstein, oboe
Asta Vaicekonis, piano

 

May
8
Wed
Gottschalk Birthday @ Seattle Public Library - Central Library
May 8 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Gottschalk Birthday

The Last Hope, opus 16
Le Mancenillier opus 11
Grand Scherzo opus 57

Diana Gao, piano

The Mountaineers Song
The Canadian Song

Colin Ward, baritone
Karin McCullough, piano

My Only Love, Goodbye!
My Charmer
I Don’t See It, Mama

Dora Barnes, soprano
Karin McCullough, piano

O Loving Heart

Dora Barnes, soprano
Lin Chen, violin
Katie Hollenbach, clarinet
Karin McCullough, piano

Viens, o ma belle
La fior que ella envie

Colin Ward, baritone
Karin McCullough, piano

Ave Maria
Pensez à moi
Serenade (Oh, Listen to the Music Swelling)

Dora Barnes, soprano
Karin McCullough, piano

Souvenir de Puerto Rico

Lin Chen, violin
Katie Hollenbach clarinet
Karin McCullough, piano

 

May
10
Fri
The Trouble with Two Sopranos – Duets and Duels @ Music Center of the Northwest
May 10 @ 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm

The Trouble with Two Sopranos – Duets and Duels
Duets by Faure, Mozart, Bellini, Rossini, and Bach

Program TBA

Susan Payne O’Brien, soprano
Clarice Alfonso, soprano