I have learned so much about the valley since launching Living Snoqualmie almost two years ago. One such thing is just how much music fills our small part of the Northwest. It seems every turn I make I am hearing the accolades of local valley music groups.
The newest group I had the pleasure to learn about is Snoqualmie Strings – the valley’s youth orchestra. Snoqualmie Strings, directed by Sheila Bateman, began in 2009 with about 10 participants. Today it’s more than doubled in size to 24, including retaining five of the original ten members.
Snoqualmie String members are all ages and all skill levels. The youngest member is 5 and the oldest is 15. Some of the kids have been playing for one year and others for eight years. The orchestra has three performing groups where kids are placed based on skill level. Snoqualmie Strings even runs an after school class called, Seedlings, at several SVSD schools. Seedlings is a beginning strings music program.
The group rehearses each Friday afternoon at Mount Si High School and performs in informal settings like the North Bend Block Party and the Mt Si Transitional Health Center. The advanced group provides background music for formal events like the Snoqualmie Schools Foundation Luncheon. They were praised by attendees of this year’s event, myself included.
Tomorrow night, May 15th, Snoqualmie Strings performs in the Mount Si Auditorium at 7PM. They will be presenting Camille Saint-Saens, Carnival of the Animals, featuring pianist Sam Abramson. Admission is free, but an individual donation of $2 and/or a family donation of $5 is suggested.
If you have a young musician in the family, you can see a live youth orchestra performance tomorrow evening and can then learn more about Snoqualmie Strings on their Facebook page or website.
