'Off the Hill' chamber music series raising money for music scholarships

Members of the Western Washington University Music Department faculty have organized a series of five chamber music concerts in the Rotunda Room of the Old City Hall at 121 Prospect Ave. in Bellingham.

With two concerts down and three more to go, the "Off the Hill" music series has already raised more than $3,000 for music scholarships at Western.

Featuring professional musicians from the WWU faculty and guest artists, the series focuses on concert-quality musicianship in an easy-to-get-to and unique setting. Each concert is curated by a different musician on the faculty. Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” headlined the first concert last November. The concert on Jan. 25 featured a line-up of living female composers, including Valerie Coleman’s “Portraits of Josephine” about blues vocalist Josephine Baker. Upcoming concerts feature Mozart and Milhaud (Feb. 29), Beethoven and Brahms (April 29) and Dominick Argento’s “A Water Bird Talk” (May 16). All performances are at 7:30 p.m.

Performers include members of 5^th Inversion (Erika Block, Gustavo Camacho, Lisa McCarthy, Pat Nelson, Jennifer Weeks); faculty musicians Ryan Dudenbostel, Heather Dudenbostel, Milica Jelača Jovanović, Jeffrey Gilliam, Eric Kean, Grant Donnellan; and visiting guests artists Hal Grossman (violin) and Meredith Blecha-Wells (cello), among others.

Seating is limited, and attendance has been high. Admission is by suggested donation at the door: $25 for adults, $5 for students. All proceeds fund music scholarships. Learn more about the concerts and musicians at cfpa.wwu.edu/off-the-hill.