PORT ANGELES — Harpist Megan Bledsoe Ward will be the featured performer during two Port Angeles Chamber Orchestra concerts this weekend.
The first concert is at 7 tonight at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 301 E. Lopez Ave. in Port Angeles.
The second concert is at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sequim Worship Center, 640 N. Sequim Ave.
General admission to each concert is $12 for those 17 and older. Youths 16 and younger are admitted free with an adult.
For more information, call 360-457-5579, email PASymphony@olypen.com or visit portangeles symphony.org.
The chamber orchestra is an ensemble within the larger Port Angeles Symphony under the baton of Director Jonathan Pasternack.
The ensemble gives three pairs of concerts every year, with this weekend’s concerts kicking off the start of the new season.
Ward and the 22-member chamber orchestra will perform Maurice Ravel’s “Introduction and Allegro,” Claude Debussy’s “Sacred and Profane Dances,” Henryk Gorecki’s “Three Pieces in Old Style” and Joseph Haydn’s 49th Symphony, “La Passione.”
“These are really beautiful pieces,” Ward said in a news release.
“When I’m playing this music, I’m listening to it and I’m reveling in it.”
“I’m just really grateful for the opportunity to come and play,” Ward added.
Ward began taking piano lessons at the age of 3, according to the release, and picked up the harp at the age of 10.
She later studied at the Eastman School of Music in Upstate New York, where she earned degrees in harp performance and music theory.
She also holds a doctorate in harp performance from the University of Washington where she played in the University Symphony and Contemporary Group.
The harp is “a really unique instrument,” Ward said, adding that in an orchestra, she’s both a singular player and a member of the ensemble.
“I like that blend: being part of a group … but having the pressure of being a soloist. It keeps you on your toes,” she said.
