Music scholarship applications open

Young musicians who are taking part in their schools’ strings programs are invited to apply now for Music on the Strait’s Alice Rapasky Scholarships, to total at least $5,000 this season. The deadline is Dec. 1 for applications, and the form can be found at pmorg.net/Rapasky. More information is also at musiconthestrait.com.

The scholarships, which are for Clallam County students, are named in honor of Alice Anderson Rapasky. She was a great lover and supporter of the arts on the Olympic Peninsula, noted James Garlick and Richard O’Neill, co-founders of Music on the Strait (MOTS). The two Clallam County-born string players, now professional musicians, began the annual festival of chamber music in 2018. Rapasky was an ardent supporter of MOTS.

The scholarship committee will award a minimum of 10 scholarships of $500 each. This program is intended to assist qualified students to take private music lessons in Clallam County. Special consideration will be given to students who are otherwise unable to afford private music lessons. To qualify, students need to be a participating member of their school orchestra or similar organization.

Comedy improv slated at college

Dr. Lara Starcevich, Peninsula College’s humanities division and drama department chair, hosts an improv comedy workshop titled “Lara’s Crazy Clown Show (or Why It’s Good to Do Whatever Really Scares You at Least Once)” from 12:35-1:25 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, at the Little Theater on the college’s main campus, 1502 E.Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles.

A livestream option for this Studium Generale event is available via Zoom — at pencol-edu.zoom.us/j/82308557946 (meeting ID 823 0855 7946) — is also available for remote attendees.

Starcevich, an experienced educator in speech and drama, will share insights and excerpts from her recent “Finger Show” performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023. The workshop aims to explore the value of facing fears through the medium of comedy.

Attendees can expect an engaging session combining humor with personal experiences, drawing on Starcevich’s teaching background and perspective on life.

“I’m a recovering Canadian and codependent people-pleaser, so I like sharing pointless details about my life to make others feel better about their own,” said Starcevich, who received clown training from the same master that taught renowned comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

Get a preview of what to expect at the workshop, view a recording of Starcevich’s previous work in collaboration with Mark Schwartz at youtube.com/watch?v=5-oaRcE2DUU.

Studium Generale lectures are free and open to the public.

‘Alaska Suite’ performances set

Nelda Swiggett, a Seattle-area pianist and composer, created a multimedia jazz piece, “The Alaska Suite: a story of beauty, loss and hope,” to evoke a response from the heart. The concert features a five-piece chamber jazz ensemble performing Swiggett’s original music. The piece engages the power of artistic expression — live music, spoken words, images and poetry — to connect audience members “deeply and emotionally to the scientific realities of climate change and leave audiences inspired to take action.”

Swiggett and her quintet will be touring “The Alaska Suite: a story of beauty, loss and hope,” in Port Townsend (Friday, Dec. 1), and Sequim and Port Angeles (Saturday, Dec. 2). The events are co-hosted by two local non-profits: Olympic Climate Action and Local 20/20, and sponsored by a variety of local businesses and organizations.

Suggested donation per ticket is $10-$18; get tickets at L2020.org/concert.

Enjoy “Alaska Suite” at: 7-8:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2333 San Juan Ave., Port Townsend; 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 525 N. Fifth Ave., Sequim; and, 7-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 301 E Lopez Ave., Port Angeles.

Learn more about “The Alaska Suite” at alaskasuite.com.

PAFAC sets Makers Market, Light Art Experience events

The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center kicks off its Wintertide programming with the opening of the Makers Market and Light Art Experience on Friday, Nov. 24.

Highlighting work of more than 30 local artists and artisans, the Makers Market is set in the historic Esther Webster Gallery and features art prints, home decor, jewelry, body care, kitchenware, cards, stickers and more. The Light Art installations will be spread throughout the 5 acres of Webster’s Woods.

Shopping will be open for a members-only preview on Tuesday, Nov. 21, when PAFAC members will be able to shop from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. ahead of the public opening. The Makers Market runs Nov. 24-Dec. 17, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday-Sunday, with extended evening hours until 8 p.m. every Friday night.

During opening night visitors can shop into the evening and stroll through the forested park to see 16 new or returning Light Art installations as part of the biannual installation of outdoor exhibitions into Webster’s Woods Sculpture Park. Visitors can also enjoy warm beverages and heated seating in the courtyard with live music from Port Townsend alternative-folk singer-songwriter Jack Tierney from 5-8 p.m.

The Light Art Exhibition theme is “Nature After Dark,” and the opening marks the first time the installations will be lit for the public. The outdoor exhibition features returning artists Heather Dawn Sparks, Brock Wilmer, Dustin Fosnot, Nathan Shields, Loreen Matsushima, Tracy Beals, Kim Wennerberg, Marcell Marias and Andy Rovelstad, along with four new artists: Jennifer Kapnek, Nicole Johnson, Maya Rovelstad and Justin Kittell.

See pafac.org for more information.

Photo courtesy of Port Angeles Fine Arts Center / “Melt Down” by Andy Rovelstad, a returning artist to the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center’s Light Art Exhibition. This year’s theme is “Nature After Dark.”

Photo courtesy of Music on the Strait Ocean Sains of Port Angeles, then in fourth grade, was among the younger recipients of Music on the Strait’s 2022 Alice Rapasky Scholarship.