One of Seattle’s most talented and delightful baroque musicians, Henry Lebedinsky, will perform on the harpsichord. The Sunday afternoon concert will take place at 4 PM May 7, 2017 on the inn’s oceanfront piazza. Works by baroque and classical era composers include Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, Georg Böhm, Elizabeth Turner , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Dmitri Stepanovich Bortniansky. You can find the program here. The event is a benefit concert for the George Washington Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that sponsors the Northwest Colonial Festival.
Where trumpet, organ, harpsichord and piano joined with good food and great ambiance, Deux Voix was with us again on November 19, 2016 for their second event at George Washington Inn.
In the fall of 2015, George Washington Inn hosted the Houston-based organ/trumpet duo called Deux Voix to perform for our guests at a dessert tea. It was such a great experience for our guests and the musicians that Deux Voix wanted to come back!
At George Washington Inn we love music! George Washington, in fact, was born in the Baroque era and was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach. Music was an important part of life at Mount Vernon, the beloved home of George and Martha Washington. A beautiful harpsichord graced their home and often filled the mansion with its harmonious sound.
This year’s event was hosted by the George Washington Society, an educational non-profit. All proceeds from the event went towards producing the Northwest Colonial Festival. This was the debut for the recently acquired a double-manual harpsichord to provide more opportunities for our guests to enjoy beautiful music.
It was a great day for a Baroque concert on the front lawn of George Washington Inn! With so much happening on the farm, the music was heavenly as the orchestra’s beautiful sounds reached throughout the grounds. Bach, Handel and Corelli would have been proud. Maestro Dewey Ehling and many musicians from the Port Townsend Community Orchestra came out to make it all come together in perfect harmony!
This month will see the debut of a newly completed replica of a 18th Century Gottfried Silbermann Baroque Organ in nearby Port Townsend. The October Candlelight Concert at Trinity UM Church will host guest organist, Woody Bernas, on this 2,000 pipe Baroque Organ which will come alive after many years of work. Works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Dietrich Buxtehude as well as other baroque composers will be performed.
When: 7 PM – October 24, 2013
Where: Trinity United Methodist Church at 609 Taylor St., Port Townsend, Washington
Did you know that there are over 7 million people living within 100 miles of George Washington Inn & Estate? Imagine how many fans of baroque music live in greater Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria. Is there any reason why a world-class concert venue couldn’t be established on this 10 acre lavender farm with a large acoustical barn that would enhance the beauty of this unique setting? This area has so much to offer with the waterfront, mountains and the Olympic National Park. Why not add a little Bach?
This barn in Allerton, IL seats around 200 people. Listen to another video clip on this Allerton Music Barn Festival link.
Allerton Music Barn Festival
“Allerton has its own magic. After a concert, standing in the cool, moist air outside the barn, there are no city lights to wash out the night sky. Several planets shine brightly, and the Milky Way splashes a faint band from tree line to tree line above the clearing around the barn. People talk quietly about the music, and the crickets continue their concert. The spell lasts longer, and the event puts down roots in your memory.” —Brian Mackey, Heartland Magazine
If you are interested in having a part or participating in the formation of a non-profit for this purpose, contact Dan Abbott at 360-452-5207 or Dewey Ehling at 360-457-4250. If sufficient support is generated for such a project, a matching gift of property needed for its construction will be made.
What a day! Many people listened to beautiful baroque and patriotic music from George Washington’s era as they soaked in the sunshine on a gorgeous day at the George Washington Inn and Estate. Maestro Dewey and his orchestra played for the enjoyment of contented and happy attendees who also enjoyed the annual farm tour festivities.
A busy week has begun as players hold another practice on site at George Washington Inn. The French horns came early to practice.
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The piazza’s acoustics were perfect for a concentrated practice.
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Don’t miss the inaugural event this coming Saturday, July 20 at 11 AM. The host, Washington Lavender Farm, is on the grounds of the George Washington Inn and Estate and hosts its annual farm tour which is an integral part of the Sequim Lavender Farm Faire. George Washington, himself, will be there!
The inaugural Washington Music Festival is just a week away! The players are polishing up their music and there is an eager anticipation in the air. With the three great cities of Victoria, Seattle and Vancouver within 100 miles there’s an appetite for culture and good classical music, in particular the rich Baroque era that “expanded the size, range, and complexity of instrumental performance, and also established opera, cantata, oratorio, concerto, and sonata as musical genres.”
The Olympic Peninsula has many qualified musicians whose talents have been put to work. If Bach’s Mass in B Minor could be performed this past April here in Port Angeles, then these talents need to be nourished and propagated for the future.
Come out to an oceanfront oasis and enjoy the panoramic views and sweet smells of a lavender farm that takes you back in time. The Sequim Lavender Farmers Association is holding its annual “Heritage Lavender Farm Tour” which opens six beautiful farms to thousands of visitors who have made Sequim world-famous for lavender over the past two decades. Washington Lavender Farm will allow you to relax on their front lawn and take in music that George and Martha Washington would have enjoyed in a remarkably similar setting to Mount Vernon. All you need is a ticket to this farm tour event. Come and show your support for this exciting new music festival!
An evening practice session was held at the inn which gave players an opportunity to polish up their music and get familiar with their beautiful surroundings. It also allowed the director to check the sound. Maestro Dewey Ehling loved the way the music carried across the lawn.
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As the evening progressed the practice session moved inside the Great Room of George Washington Inn. It was a productive session and everyone enjoyed their time invested in preparing for the inaugural Washington Music Festival. If you had been listening you would have heard baroque music interspersed with some patriotic music that George Washington would have recognized. The inn’s walls reverberated with the incredible music of Bach and Handel and made it sound like a Stradivarius.
A recent article in the Peninsula Daily News had this to say about the upcoming Washington Music Festival.
“And then they’ve added the Washington Music Festival to their Farm Faire menu. Port Angeles conductor Dewey Ehling is putting together small ensembles to play music of the Baroque era, the kind George and Martha Washington would have heard. On July 19 and 20, these musicians will play on the inn’s patio, with its red, white and purple flowers blooming around them.”
Don’t miss all the excitement at this unique venue between Sequim and Port Angeles. Enjoy the beauty and sounds of an oceanfront farm that shares a panorama that showcases the Olympic National Park along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Washington Music Festival 