Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra February Concert

Steven Woolbright

Under the direction of Maestro Tigran Arakelyan, the Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra opens its 2026 concert season with a free concert on Sunday, February 22, at 2 p.m. at Chimacum High School Auditorium. There will also be an open dress rehearsal on Friday, February 20, at 7 p.m. The Chimacum High School Auditorium is located at 91 West Valley Road, Chimacum, WA.

This concert features Young Artist Competition (YAC) winner and Chimacum High School senior, Steven Woolbright, playing Asventuras; a work for solo snare drum by German percussionist/composer Alexej Gerassimez. The work demonstrates the different sounds that a snare drum is capable of making by applying complex rhythms, technical mastery, and various sticking implements and surfaces in lieu of traditional devices used with other instruments.

Guest narrator, Stanford Thompson, will read selected Abraham Lincoln speeches from Aaron Copeland’s Lincoln Portrait, one of three works commissioned to boost morale during World War II. Mr. Thompson is a graduate of Curtis Institute and New England Conservatory. He is a leading voice in arts education and leadership and currently teaches at the Global Leaders Institute. The music is a combination of Copeland’s own music and music inspired by folk songs such as Springfield Mountain, and Camptown Races that was played at Lincoln’s campaign rallies.

Rounding out the program is Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6. This symphony is a treasure that is full of warmth, rhythmic vitality, and a distinctly Czech spirit. Commissioned but not performed by Hans Richter of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, it was premiered by the Czech National Orchestra. This is the first symphony where Dvořák fully embraces Czech folk rhythms and colors within a classical symphonic structure and is the symphony that gave Dvořák international recognition.

For more information, please visit ptsymphony.org.