RESTORATION WORK – Father Herman Belt keeps an eye on Lincoln Street traffic this morning as workers use a Snorkel Lift to pull rotten pieces of trim from the facade of St. Michael’s Cathedral. Several pieces recently had fallen off the cathedral, which dates to 1976, causing concerns about other pieces possibly falling off and hitting pedestrians. Belt says the plan is to fabricate new wooden trim and properly flash it. East bound traffic was diverted up American Street during today’s work. Contractors may close the street again Wednesday morning. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The threat of major cutbacks to the subsistence socke [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
With the first vote on the city budget for fiscal yea [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
In the final day of play in the recreational division City League volleyball [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Three amateur athletes from Sitka were among tens of [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
A proposal to require Alaska schools to keep opioid-overdose-r [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
Alaska’s Kobuk River, which flows out of the Brooks Range above [ ... ]
Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 16
At 8:07 a.m. a woman [ ... ]
Presentation On
Medicare, SS
SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium and Cynthia Gibson, CFP®, an [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Musicians from Sitka High and Mt. Edgecumbe High scho [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Whether you enjoy scaling mountains, walking in the p [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Two-time Alpine Adventure Run winner Chris Brenk cont [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee expanded a [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS and
CLAIRE STREMPLE
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is [ ... ]
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 15
A protective order was issued at 1 [ ... ]
Chamber Speaker
Event Wednesday
The Chamber of Commerce speaker series will continue noon Wednesday at [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
From high costs and low availability to challenges sur [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A number of participants at Thursday’s community me [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE Alaska Beacon TJ Beers stood across the street from the Capitol in a nav [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
When it rains hard enough in the Prince of Wales Island town of C [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
A designated wilderness area in Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Fo [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
Julie Kitka, the longtime president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, [ ... ]
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 12
At 5:18 p.m. a caller asked for a [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka Tourism Task Force reviewed a number of recomme [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Almost exactly a century ago, the engines of four modi [ ... ]
Daily Sitka Sentinel
Musicians Renew Ties To Sitka Festival
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Two of the Sitka Summer Music Festival’s first musicians say it’s been great to be home.
Sitka Summer Music Festival musicians Doris Stevenson and Jeffrey Solow relax on the SJ lawn. (Sentinel Photo)
Cellist Jeffrey Solow and pianist Doris Stevenson drew standing ovations at concerts Friday and Saturday at the Performing Arts Center, visited with old friends and made new ones during their week in Sitka.
“It’s been great,” said Stevenson, who joined Solow for an interview Saturday on the sunny SJ campus outside Stevenson Hall, the festival’s headquarters.
“It’s been wonderful to see old friends,” agreed Solow. Both of the acclaimed musicians played at most of the festivals from its founding in 1972 through its 40th anniversary in 2012.
They said they enjoyed seeing the changes in Sitka, including the rejuvenation and renovation of the SJ campus and Fine Arts Camp. They noted that Allen Auditorium was where they had their rehearsals back in the 1970s.
“The biggest change is that Centennial Hall is being renovated, so we’re not in the Centennial Building,” Solow said.
The Sitka Performing Arts Center is the festival’s primary concert venue until it returns to Centennial Hall next year.
“Every piece we played got a standing ovation,” Solow said. “I’m wondering if that was always the case.”
Solow teaches at Temple University in Philadelphia, and also has a performance career that includes regular appearances at festivals like the Sitka one. He also teaches at the Lake Placid Institute Chamber Music Seminar for Adults, and judged the youth division at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians last Christmas.
Stevenson lives in New York City, plays concerts throughout the year, and teaches at Williams College where she has been the Lyell B. Clay Artist in Residence since 1987.
“It’s a good class of students ... I love them,” Stevenson said.
Both said they were happy to have been invited back to Sitka for this year’s festival, and enjoyed talking to familiar Sitka friends after the concerts.
Both Stevenson and Solow were musical colleagues of Paul Rosenthal at the University of Southern California, and were regulars while Rosenthal, who founded the festival, was the artistic director. Rosenthal retired five years ago, and Zuill Bailey took over as artistic director.
“You have to turn it over to the next generation at some point,” Solow said. “It’s like Zuill said the other day, you play with your friends, different people have different friends.”
Stevenson, who is a festival founding member, added, “We had 40 great years of coming here, we’re so glad he invited us back.”
“I’m grateful a lot of Paul’s friends are my friends as well,” Bailey said today.
The festival enters its final week with evening concerts 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi; and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Performing Arts Center. On the program are pieces by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Prokofiev and Brahms.
In addition, special events are planned:
– 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, week in preview, Stevenson Hall.
– 7 p.m. Tuesday special concert, St. Peter’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church.
– 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Cafe Concert, Sitka Hotel.
– noon Thursday, Bach’s Lunch, a free lunchtime concert at Odess Theater, on the SJ campus.
– 7:30 p.m. Thursday, musical movie, “The Competition” (Rated PG), Sitka Public Library
– 11 a.m. Sunday concert brunch, in a private Sitka home.
Login Form
20 YEARS AGO
April 2004
Photo caption: Sitka High students in the guitar music class gather in the hall before the school’s spring concert. The concert was dedicated to music instructor Brad Howey, who taught more than 1,000 Sitka High students from 1993 to 2004. From left are Kristina Bidwell, Rachel Ulrich, Mitch Rusk, Nicholas Mitchell, Eris Weis and Joey Metz.
50 YEARS AGO
April 1974
The Fair Deal Association of Sealaska shareholders selected Nelson Frank as their candidate for the Sealaska Board of Directors at the ANB Hall Thursday.
Calendar
