Doors open one hour before the performance.

From Carnegie Hall to Coachella, the GRAMMY-nominated Westerlies have upended presumptions of the brass tradition to create music that is “folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” (NPR Music). Comprising Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet and Andy Clausen and Addison Maye-Saxon on trombone, the ensemble has relentlessly composed, arranged, adapted, recorded, and toured over the past fifteen years with the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band, and the charm of a family sing-along.

The Westerlies are making their second WWCMF appearance. The first was the 2017 Winter Festival. Many of you were there. More than a foot of snow fell on the day of their travel to Walla Walla from New York City. Flight after flight of the ALW leg from Seattle was canceled that day until a miracle, the 10 PM flight managed to land at about 1 AM. Your author picked up the group at the airport and accompanied them to their digs, a wonderful ranch on the outskirts of town. The wonderful ranch proved as distant as New York City itself, located at the end of a half-mile driveway that at 1:15 AM remained undisturbed, unplowed, invisible, and impassible in the sensible sedan rented by WWCMF for The Westerlies. In true Walla Walla fashion, a phone tree and a neighbor with a truck later, the driveway was plowed and the four exhausted musicians were soundly asleep by 2 AM, ready to astound the Festival audience with their gorgeous and generous musicianship.

Here we are about a decade later, The Westerlies poised to take Walla Walla by storm in warmer times. Here’s hoping for easier travel! We return to The Walls Winery for a special performance that will leave you awestruck.

Artists: Andy Clausen, trombone; Addison Maye-Saxon, trombone; Riley Mulherkar, trumpet; Chloe Rowlands, trumpet

All works will be announced from the stage.

Grounds open at 5:30 PM. Concert seating is general admission. Doors open at 7 PM. Performance begins at 8 PM, with an intermission. There is no late seating for either half of the performance.

WWCMF returns to Abeja for our annual tradition, Collage. If you’ve never attended, you’re in for a treat. If you’ve attended every one since the very first out at jimgermanbar in 2010, you’re still in for a treat. A Pierrot ensemble, the prevailing winds and some Metallica. There are Easter Eggs galore and once you think you have it figured out, the person seated next to you starts playing a violin you didn’t notice when you sat down. You’re literally IN the performance. Collage is an immersive musical roller coaster. Enjoy the ride!

Pre-concert Dinner is available for purchase from Abeja. Click here to let them know how many in your party will be dining. Reservations are deeply appreciated.

Lighting Design: Connie Yun and Jay McAleer

Artists: Winston Choi, piano; Andy Clausen, trombone; Timothy Christie, viola; Tracy Doyle, flute; Katri Ervamaa, cello; Jennifer Goltz-Taylor; Norbert Lewandowski, cello; Addison Maye-Saxon, trombone; Rane Moore, clarinet; Riley Mulherkar, trumpet; Philip Payton, violin; Chloe Rowlands, trumpet; Maria Sampen, violin; [James Shields, clarinet, unconfirmed]; The Westerlies; MingHuan Xu, violin; Andrea Yun, cello

Doors open one hour before the performance.

We are overjoyed to welcome international concert violinist Rachel Lee Priday, making her WWCMF debut in a profound solo program of her own design called Fluid Dynamics. Tonight, oceanography and music meet in the land of Many Waters.

Though we are about 300 miles from the Pacific Ocean, there is precedent for this kind of briny experience. One need only belly up to the bar at Brasserie Four in downtown Walla Walla for a plate of perfectly chilled raw Pacific oysters to get in the mood… the mood for an immersive musical and aquatic experience.

Rachel was moved by the work of her colleague at the University of Washington Dr. Georgy Manucharyan, Associate Professor of Oceanography. In response to imagery from his work such as rainbow-refracting surface tension patterns on underwater bubbles, she curated a one-hour program of extraordinary works for violin by living composers and paired them with visual effects generated from Dr. Manucharyan’s research. The result is Fluid Dynamics. Echolocate your way to the Gesa Power House Theatre and prepare for a deep dive. Come on in, the water’s just fine!

Fluid Dynamics

Leilehua Lanzilotti  (b. 1983)

ko'u inoa (2017)

Timo Andres (b. 1985)

Three Suns (2018)

Gabriella Smith (b. 1991)

Entangled on a Rotating Planet (2022)

Cristina Spinei (b. 1984)

Convection Loops for Violin and Loop Pedal (2022)

Leilehua Lanzilotti  (b. 1983)

to speak in a forgotten language (2022)

i.

ii.

iii.

Paul Wiancko (b. 1983)

Waterworks (2023)

Christopher Cerrone (b. 1984)

Sonata for Violin and Piano (2015)

i. Fast and focued

ii. Still and spacious

iii. Dramatic, violent, rhythmic, very precise

Artists: Rachel Lee Priday, violin; Xiaohui Yang, piano