Northwest Sinfonietta comes to Pioneer Park Pavilion

By 1:30 p.m. on a Northwest Sinfonietta performance Sunday, Puyallup’s Pioneer Park Pavilion is filled with a happy buzz with people greeting friends as they select just the right table where they can enjoy a snack and perhaps a glass of wine as they listen to the afternoon’s 2 p.m. concert.

“One of the best things about this location is that so many people know each other and enjoy seeing each other,” concert subscriber Beth Thomas said. “Puyallup is so lucky to have the opportunity to experience such an outstanding orchestra.”

Now in its 25th year, the Northwest Sinfonietta recently received the 2015 Governor’s Arts and Heritage Award in recognition of being a vital part of the Pacific Northwest cultural scene. As the region’s only professional chamber orchestra, NWS is nationally recognized and has the distinction of being the only Washington orchestra performing regularly in multiple venues.

After touring Cuba in 2012, only the third U.S. orchestra since the 1959 revolution to do so, then-Gov. Chris Gregoire called the NWS “Washington State’s international cultural ambassador.”

When Neil Birnbaum, the Sinfonietta’s chief executive officer, was recruited in 2008, the chamber orchestra performed only in Seattle and Tacoma. The Pioneer Park Pavilion became the third venue after the city gave its enthusiastic support to a supporter’s suggestion to consider Puyallup as a performance location.

“The space shouldn’t work on paper,” Birnbaum admitted, “but it does when filled with people. The atmosphere is so warm and there is such a feeling of connection between the musicians and the audience, that it is their favorite place to play.”

In partnership with Pierce College, Music Off the Record, a free, pre-concert lecture series scheduled at 7 p.m. on the Monday evening preceding the performance, is held in the school’s Arts and Allied Health Building auditorium, which is also the Sinfonietta’s Puyallup rehearsal site. Rehearsals are held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on the Tuesday prior to a concert.

Both are free and open to the public.

Dr. Ken Owen, professor of music and choir director of the Arts and Humanities Division, gives a pre-concert talk designed to give audiences a better understanding of the music they will hear.

“I cover the composer’s background and what is going on in the world to give a social context to the music,” he said.

This year, the talks are being videotaped and placed online for greater access.

With the 2015-2016 season, the NWS became only the fifth professional chamber orchestra in the world to adopt an innovative Artistic Partner model similar to the leadership models of Vienna, Philharmonic Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, according to Birnbaum.

This model makes collaboration with internationally recognized conductors more feasible, notes Birnbaum.

“In addition, it offers significant artistic decision-making authority to our musicians, which means that they control their artistic future and can take much more responsibility for continuing to improve the Sinfonietta’s artistic quality,” he said.

World-renowned conductor/cellist Eric Jacobsen, conductor/cellist David Lockington and conductor/solo violinist Joseph Swensen will lead 3 to 4 concert cycles over the course of the next two seasons. A complete schedule and information about the artistic partners is available at www.northwestsinfonietta.org.

First introduced at the Sinfonietta’s May 2014 program, Jacobsen returned to conduct the Nov. 15 concert featuring music of Verdi and Schubert. Known for engaging audiences in innovative and collaborative projects, he is enthusiastic about the artistic partnership model and describes the collaboration with the NWS as ideal. Having a relationship for more than one performance allows a conductor to learn what inspires others, their goals and what they want to do, he believes.

“And it permits musicians to gain different points of view,” he said.

When Jacobsen selects the music for a project, he does so with a vision of how well it will connect the orchestra and encourage musicians to do their best. “Sometimes, that may be better than they thought.”

Jacobsen believes that the pavilion is an ideal location for an afternoon concert.

“I love how people can sit at tables enjoying a glass of wine. And the sound is incredible — it’s a gem.”

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 9:14 AM with the headline "Northwest Sinfonietta comes to Pioneer Park Pavilion."