The first Saratoga Chamber Orchestra Concert of the season is this coming Monday, Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m., at the Coupeville High School Performing Arts Center.

If you didn’t know it already, we have our own orchestra! And we need to support it by attending next Monday’s concert.

Randolph Kelly, principal violist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and brother of Coupeville resident Roxallanne Medley, will be the special guest soloist performing the West Coast premiere of J.S Bach’s “Viola Concerto.”

The “Traveling to Scotland” concert will also feature Mendelssohn’s “Hebridean Overture, Op. 26 – Fingal’s Cave”, and “Four Scottish Dances” of Malcolm Arnold.

What a fantastic group of musicians! Under the direction of Legh Burns, a recent retiree to the island from the music faculty of the University of Oklahoma, Legh is the perfect choice to conduct this group.

Members of the orchestra living up north are Oak Harbor teacher Siri Bardarson, Coupeville teacher Jessica Barker, and Roxallanne Medley, Bev Heising and Dr. Ann Dannhauer, all three from Coupeville.

I personally do not want to drive to Langley to attend a concert. Having been a former board member of both Concerts on the Cove in Coupeville and Oak Harbor’s Community Concert Series, I KNOW we can support this group.

Now we just have to show them we can.

Tickets for the Coupeville concert may be purchased at Bayleaf in both Oak Harbor and Coupeville. For more information, email orchestra@whidbey.net or call the conductor at 360-221-2353 or me (Vern Olsen) at 678-5019.

Vern Olsen

Coupeville