PORT TOWNSEND — Centrum, presenter of art, music and writing workshops at Fort Worden State Park, has won a game-changing $182,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, said Robert Birman, Centrum’s executive director.
The trust, named for Pacific Northwest entrepreneur and Tektronix cofounder Melvin J. “Jack” Murdock, awarded the grant that will not only help Centrum broadcast its workshops around the world, but also add to its venues at the fort, Birman said.
The $182,000 grant is just half the amount to be invested in technology and equipment. Centrum, host of workshops spring through fall, is in the process of raising the other half from other grantors and donors.
Centrum needs to fulfill a 1:1 match for Murdock’s $182,000, Birman noted, adding $100,000 was raised last year. For the remaining $82,000, “we have an appeal going out all over the world; our spring appeal,” he said.
Foundations provide much of the support Centrum receives, while individuals can help with the local match. For more information, phone the Centrum office at 360-385-3102 or visit Centrum.org.
The $364,000 total will go into cameras and broadcasting equipment to provide a “full immersive experience” for workshop participants come 2022, Birman said. That experience will become a permanent part of Centrum’s offerings to participants anywhere in the world.
The new system could also make it possible to stream workshop sessions from remote locations — where the musical standard bearers live, Birman noted.
With the new technology, a Fiddle Tunes or Acoustic Blues artist, for example, could connect with participants from his or her home elsewhere in the country.
The Murdock award also funds several air purifiers and large tents for Centrum’s Fort Worden spaces. These give the crew more options when it comes to hosting workshops, concerts and dances, Birman said.
He couldn’t predict how much gathering will happen this year at the fort. But next year, Centrum will be equipped to host more events outdoors and purify the atmosphere inside venues such as Building 204 and the Wheeler Theater.
As for this season, Centrum workshops will be virtual using the technology that has become commonplace — Zoom, Facebook live, YouTube live — while there’s a chance of some in-person activities.
People from across and beyond the country are registering for Centrum’s International Choro, Red Hot Strings, Fiddle Tunes, Jazz Port Townsend, Port Townsend Writers Conference and Acoustic Blues Workshops.
Voice Works, normally held in June, and September’s Port Townsend Ukulele Workshop are both slated for the fall, with updated announcements coming this spring.
“Choro has really taken off,” said registrar Hali Miller, adding this is the first time there’s been no limit on the event, titled “Choro: The Sweet Lament of Brazilian Music.”
The maximum used to be 55 participants, Miller said.
“We’re at 57 now, and still growing every week” for the online workshop to be held April 17, April 24 and May 1.
Normally at this time of year, Fiddle Tunes and Jazz Port Townsend are neck-and-neck with about 100 registrations each, Miller said. On Monday she reported the jazz week had 59 signups and Fiddle Tunes 61.
Red Hot Strings, a relatively new offering set for May 14-16, has nine participants so far; the July 19-24 Writers Conference, begun in 1974, has 82 people signed up. The Acoustic Blues Workshop, capping the summer from Aug. 3-8, has 36 so far.
With the workshops happening online, people don’t need to register early for the incentives of past years, such as a water-view dorm room, she added. There’s a chance, she believes, that income tax refunds or stimulus payments might spark registrations later in spring.
“People are waiting,” she said, “and who can blame them?”
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
