To help us get in the mood for Bainbridge Island Grand Old Fourth celebrations, BCB is pleased to offer our local Amabile Choir's renditions of songs about America by American composers.  Here, we offer a 5-minute video podcast of excerpt's from the Amabile Choir's Spring Concert 2016: "From Sea to Shining Sea".

These excerpts include, for example:

• "Route 66"
• "42nd Street"; and
• a refreshing arrangement of "America"

In this video, Amabile Choir is seen in the dramatic space of St. Barnabas church.

Performing with the choir are local jazz musicians.

At their Spring Concert, the Amabile Choir performed songs about America, written by American composers. They took a musical journey across America, with songs celebrating our heritage and our American dream, including spirituals, patriotic songs, jazz, and old favorites. Amabile's website describes their approach to be "choral music expressed with love."

Conducting the Amabile Choir is Anne Pell.

Credits: BCB video producer John McKenzie; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-279-shakespeares-much-ado-at-bloedel/

Shakespeare returns for a third season at Bloedel this summer! Now under the inspired direction of Kate Carruthers, his classic comedy, Much Ado About Nothing,  will be airing at the Reserve July 8-24.

The Bloedel Reserve meadow and sheep shed are sure to again prove to be the perfect setting for Shakespeare's delicious insights into the human condition as Kate and her crew of gifted actors bring another stirring performance to their stage.

Listen here as Kate and her lead actors (Kylie McKenzie Soder (Beatrice), Pete Benson (Benedick), and Gary Fetterplace (Dogberry) share with us the challenges of directing and performing Shakespeare, and discuss the distinctly feminist message of this particular play.  We guarantee you'll be struck once again by Shakespeare’s genius as an observer of human nature: the social themes he portrays here are still extraordinarily current.

As in prior years, the gates will open at 6pm.  Bring your blanket, low lawn chairs, friends and a picnic to enjoy before the play begins at 7:00.  And this year there'll be an extra treat: attendees will be able to purchase wine and locally brewed beer onsite. Please note: audience members are requested NOT to bring their own alcoholic beverages into the Reserve.

More detailed information and tickets may be found at bainbridgeperformingarts.org. Get your tickets soon: audience size is limited, and these shows sell out very quickly! 

Credits: BCB host Channie Peters; audio editor Tim Bird; publisher Diane Walker.

In this 23-minute podcast, our new Superintendent of the Bainbridge Island School District, Peter Bang-Knudsen, responds to questions about his personal background -- such as his discovery of his passion for helping kids -- and his forwarding-looking goals and vision for our public schools, teachers and students.

Our elected School Board conducted a national search and chose Peter, who graduated from Bainbridge High School, has children in our schools, knows our community well, and has been serving as Assistant Superintendent since 2010. He was hired by our much-admired outgoing Superintendent Faith Chapel, who found Peter in a leadership role in the Bellevue school district.

Faith is retiring after a long career in education and about 8 years service to BISD as superintendent.

Peter officially takes on his new role on July 1st. In this conversation recorded on June 23rd, he responds to questions about:

• Experiences during this transition period
• How his interest in education arose
• Examples of early formative experiences in public education
• His professional career path
• Examples of his responsibilities as Assistant Superintendent in recent years
• His support for ongoing collaboration with our four other local government units (City, Fire, Parks and Library)
• His views on emerging policy issues and practical concerns
• His thoughts on the right balance in a small district between special options programs and more widely shared curriculum and approaches
• His views on the most important measures of success for our public schools
• What Peter's message might have been if he had spoken at the recent commencement for graduating seniors

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters

In this 12-minute podcast, two of the longest serving members and officers of the Bainbridge Kiwanis Club describe this July's upcoming events. John Jay is current president, and Fred Grimm is a past president. And the two of them describe some details of the Club's new membership drive that is now underway, looking for additional men and women to grow the ranks and sustain their community service commitments.

For July, the big annual events for the Club will be the Grand Old Fourth of July festivities, and then the All Comers Track Meet for runners of literally all ages.

For July 4th, the Kiwanis event will be the put-put miniature golf activity in Waterfront Park, accompanied by the annual Kiwanis role of serving as Marshalls of the parade, and staffing the booth next to the golf links.

For the All Comers Track meet, the events occur on six Monday evenings, from 6pm to 9pm, for the last 3 weeks of July and the first three of August. Participants span all ages from those barely old enough to run to those old enough to celebrate completing the 100 yard course.

John Jay describes the mission and motto of the Kiwanis international service organization and explains how the Bainbridge club carries out the goal of "changing the world one child and one community at a time." That leads to a focus on youth at many age levels - High School (with the Key Club), Woodward Middle School (with the Builders Club), and Head Start pre-school (with members doing voluntary readings to the children).

The Club was founded on Bainbridge in 1958, and, in this podcast, Fred and John recount several of the community leaders that have been members over the decades.

For more information, check out the local club's Kiwanis website.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

This month's podcast report of activities at BARN - Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network - tells the story of the merger of the long-standing Field's End group of writers with the BARN Writers studio. The two are coming together as one!

Telling the story of this exciting merger are Nancy Pearson, the studio lead for BARN Writers, and our BARN board member and monthly podcast correspondent Catherine Camp.

Ever since 2002, Field's End has been the go-to group for both budding and established professional writers on Bainbridge Island. That year, aspiring writer Nicole Vick asked the Bainbridge Public Library board to host a group that could offer professional quality writing classes. Acclaimed novelist David Guterson ("Snow Falling on Cedars"), then a Library board member, helped form the group.

Nancy Pearson was an early active member of Field's End. She explains in the podcast the excitement of merging these two writers' groups into one. The merger will increase the opportunities for professional training and peer-to-peer collaboration, and it will offer the advantage the dedicated BARN physical facilities, as compared with the prior shared use of the Library by Field's End.

BARN Writers -- and 10 other BARN artisan studios -- currently operate out of substantial but interim space in Rolling Bay. And, as Catherine Camp explains, a two-story, well-equipped, 25,000 square foot home for the diverse set of artisan studios is under construction in the heart of the island. It will be ready for occupancy - and for a continuation of hands-on workshops, classes, open studio sessions, and more - by spring 2017.

This podcast explains the many activities and events for writers that are currently being offered by BARN.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-276-bloedel-summer-concerts/

Bainbridge Singer/Songwriter Ethan J. Perry and his Remedy Band will kick off this summer's Bloedel Concert Series Saturday, June 25th at the Bloedel Reserve: doors open at 6pm.

The beautiful grounds of Bloedel Reserve will be the setting for three concerts this summer with offerings for a variety of musical tastes.  On June 25th Ethan J. Perry and the Remedy Band will bring their “Americana Indie Technicolor Jazz” style music to the Bloedel stage.  Ethan is a Bainbridge Island singer/songwriter, and the band includes other BI talent.  Expect high energy music with thoughtful lyrics!  

This kick-off concert will also include the Seattle-based Duke Evers Band.  They self-describe as “rip roaring, barn burning rock-n-roll sound with pop melodies that’ll make your toe shoot right out of your boot!”

Next up, the Dusty 45s, Seattle’s rockabilly, swing and jump blues band will perform on August  14. Melding styles ranging from Country Twang to Jump Blues and Surf to R&B, the Dusty 45's also use Dixieland and jazz elements -- another high energy band guaranteed to get fans on their feet.

The season will close in a more classical mode with quite a coup: on September 4th Dale Henderson, whom Yoyo Ma describes as “a very gifted musician and natural cellist” will perform Bach's gamba sonatas at Bloedel with pianist William Chapman Nyaho.  

Henderson initiated the Bach in the Subways movement in March of 2010. Since then it has become an international event, held every March to celebrate Bach’s birthday and raise appreciation for classical music.  On March 22, 2015, Bach was played in public places in 130 cities, 40 countries, 6 continents.

The three concerts will be in different locations around the Bloedel gardens, where families are invited to bring a picnic and enjoy the music.  Wine and beer from Bainbridge Island Brewing will be sold on the grounds; guests may only consume liquor purchased on site.

For more information about all three concerts go to bloedelreserve.org. To purchase tickets for the June 25th concert click here.

Credits: BCB host Channie Peters; audio editor Tim Bird; publisher Diane Walker.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-022-joe-pulicicchio-on-fruit/

This week T&C Produce and Floral Director Joe Pulicicchio  talks about this year's berry, peach, and apricot crops and shares a few favorite recipes.

In this, our third interview of a 6 part series, Joe, the knowledgeable and dynamic Director of Produce and Floral for Town and Country Markets, talks with with BCB host Bob Ross about the intricacies and challenges of growing and delivering top quality strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.

Joe also touches on the upcoming apricot and peach season and explains the important role weather plays in the whole growth and delivery process -- and don't miss what he has to say about favorite recipes!

This series of BCB interviews is designed to explore the many types of fresh produce one finds at T&C Markets, including behind the scenes stories about how and where they are grown and how arrivals must be scheduled to meet customer expectations.

For more about the challenges of delivering fresh produce, visit Joe’s popular blog ‘FRESH TALKER’ on the Town and Country website:  www.central-market.com.

Credits: BCB host Bob Ross; audio editor Chris Walker; publisher Diane Walker.

Some traditions define a community. For our island, the combination of the Rotary Club's annual Auction and Rummage Sale, and the Grand Old Fourth of July parade and celebration, are two unique and defining events. And this year they coincide in the same long weekend -- on Saturday July 2nd and Monday July 4th.

In this podcast, we learn about the remarkable uniqueness of our island's Rotary Club Auction and Rummage Sale from Tom McCloskey, who is in his third year of chairing the annual auction and loves what this charitable event does for the community.

In this 15-minute conversation, Tom takes us behind the scenes and explains the many ways this remarkably large and much-loved event benefits the community and charitable causes.

Tom points out that all of the net revenues from the annual Rotary auction and sale benefits the community -- through the Rotary's annual community grants to local nonprofits, the funding of large community projects, more than a dozen scholarships for local graduates, and multiple international projects. None of the proceeds are used for the Rotary Club's own operating budget.

In the podcast, Tom gives us the run-down on this year's dates:

• Friday June 24 to Wednesday June 29th (8am-8pm): drop-off your donated household or business that are underutilized with the curb-line volunteers at Woodward School;
• Friday July 1st (5pm-8pm): scout out the items you need on Preview Night at Woodward
• Saturday July 2nd (8am-2pm): Auction and Rummage Sale, at Woodward School.

Hear from Tom all about the makings of an event that attracts over 5,000 shoppers and is staffed by 120 Rotary members and 1,400 community-wide volunteers.

And learn additional details - including what can and can't be accepted for donation, and the availability of pickup at home for those with special needs - on the Rotary Auction web site.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-274-claudia-mckinstry-at-bac/

Come learn about egg tempera from Bainbridge artist Claudia McKinstry, who will be giving a demo at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Saturday, July 2 at 12:30 pm.

In this podcast Georgia Browne, Bainbridge Arts & Crafts publicist, introduces us to long-time Bainbridge artist Claudia McKinstry. Claudia will be the featured artist in the BAC gallery for the month of July.  

Claudia has been a Bainbridge Island artist for over 40 years, painting in oil, watercolor and egg tempera.  Listen here as she tells us why she likes using egg tempera, what its characteristics are, and about her demo on July 2nd.  

Egg tempera has a very long history, and there are many recipes for the medium.  Claudia's recipe starts with eggs from her own chickens. Her demo promises to be fascinating, for artists and non-artists alike.

This demo is part of a series of artist demos at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts; Georgia will be speaking with BCB regularly to introduce us to each month's educational programs. It might be a demo, it might be a workshop or just an introduction to the artists featured for the coming month. For more information about programs at BAC, check their website (bacart.org) early and often to learn what's coming up.

Credits: BCB host Channie Peters; audio editor Barry Peters; publisher Diane Walker.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-021-chef-judith-weinstock/

On the scene at Bainbridge Island's May 28 Farmers Market, BCB Host Bob Ross talks with chef and author Judith Weinstock  about her history with the Streamliner Diner, her cookbooks, and her tasty baked goods.

In this podcast, self-described Food Muse Judith Weinstock discusses her philosophy about food and why she made a commitment early to make this her life’s work. 

Listen here as Jude describes her early involvement with the very popular Streamliner Diner, her eventual move to developing the Kingston Hotel Cafe and the two cookbooks that came from those ventures.

She is currently working on a book about kids and food and cooking and is committed to the concept of teaching children about food and where it comes from early in their development. 

Judith is well known for the occasional but sumptuous Sunday morning brunches she serves at her residence on the back patio (also known as The Underground Cafe).  For more about those Sunday morning adventures, visit her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FoodMuseInspirations/ .

Credits: BCB host Bob Ross; Audio editor Chris Walker; publisher Diane Walker.

In this 12-minute podcast, learn what's special and spiritually uplifting about the increasingly popular musical form from India called kirtan chanting.

Also, hear about the remarkable upcoming musical performance at 7pm on Sunday June 12th at the Dayaalu Center in Winslow, when the husband and wife kirtan chanters called "Shantala" will be joined by three top instrumentalists.

Benjy and Heather Wertheimer have been leading kirtan (sacred chanting) worldwide since 2001 as the duo "Shantala". As is said on the Dayaalu Center website: "They are known for their special gift of bringing the audience into a vast and loving experience through their unique blend of exquisite voices with instruments of India and the West. Together they create music with beauty, passion, and reverence."

BCB's interview guests include Tyler Ryan, the production and creative director for Shantala, and Jeny Vidal, a program director at Dayaalu Center, who describes the remarkably varied activities and services that are available at the Center.

Tyler describes each of the five musicians who will perform on June 12th. For example, in addition to the Shantala duo, Steve Gorn is a Grammy Award winning Indian classical music performer on the bansuri. Bibi McGill is a powerful guitarist who also serves as musical director on tour with Beyoncé. And Sean Frenette is an instrumentalist who has performed three times at Carnegie Hall.

Kirtan chanting is typically a call and response participation, but you are welcome to come and enjoy and listen, whether or not you choose to participate in the chants.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this podcast, we meet Pam Galvani, a calligraphy artist with 39 years of experience who is offering an introductory 4-hour workshop to give you a taste of the joys of calligraphy. No prior experience is necessary to enjoy creating in this ancient art form.

This learning opportunity is part of our Art Museum's series of twice monthly Saturday workshops -- in this case, a 4-hour class that starts at 1pm on Saturday June 18th. You can register and pay online here.

As explained on this podcast by Art Museum Education Director Kristin Tollefson, this is the latest in the series of Art Museum workshops and classes that introduce methods and practices of art forms that often reflect what's being exhibited in the museum.

For this introductory class, Pam Galvani will supply the pens and materials and show you the basics of italic letterform. That lettering technique was first used in 15th century Italy and now underlies a very elegant form of our contemporary cursive handwriting style. For those of you who have recently invested in an Apple Pencil and iPad Pro screen for lettering and drawing, here's an opportunity to shift gears, slow down, and experience pen and ink on fine paper.

In this interview, Pam shares the humorous story of her discovery of calligraphy as a passion, 39 years ago. She was a new mom and needed an away-from-home activity during the hours her babysitter was available. The answer, to her great delight, was a calligraphy class. And the rest is history.

Have a listen to Pam's gentle and insightful description of the experience of pen and ink calligraphy that she finds such a satisfying experience.

Also meet Heather Griffin, the Museum's new Education Associate.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.