The Olga Symphony Releases a New CD

The Olga Symphony has recorded a new CD and, for the first time ever, special guests join the band on some of the selections. Appearing in stores on Oct. 24, the CD’s release will be celebrated at Darvill’s Bookstore the same day around 5 p.m. The group will be on hand to sign CDs and sing a few songs.

The Olga Symphony, a locally renowned group whose music has been aired on national radio programs in the both the U. S. and Canada, is comprised of Lesley Liddle, Melinda Milligan, Anita Orne, Gordon Koenig, Dave Zoeller, and Dave Parish. While the Olga Symphony has existed for over twenty years, it has been in this configuration for about the last ten. Over the years they’ve been getting together most weeks to share music, laughs, wine, and dessert. According to Parish, “When you mix together good music, good people, and good food, a good time is bound to be had.”

This CD, their fourth, includes songs and tunes from diverse musical styles including original songs by Liddle and Parish. Entitled “Better with Age,” the CD begins with Thomas Kirkland’s blues song, “My Man’s an Undertaker.”

Peter Vinson on harmonica and Martin Lund on clarinet have a raucous musical conversation which, combined with Milligan’s sultry vocal, makes the song sizzle and mandates that you do not want to mess with her “Mr. Ice.” Piano man, Jim Bredouw, who also engineered the album, and fiddle champion J. P. Wittman join the band on Lesley Foley’s most elegant, “Natalia’s Waltz.” “You think women swoon? You should see Gordon after J. P. plays that one,” laughs Orne.

Other selections include: “Da Guizer’s March,” a tune that is somehow connected to 1,000 Scots in Shetland getting revenge on the invading Vikings by hurling burning torches into a Viking ship; a nostalgic Nanci Griffith song about hard workers on the Gulf; the perfect borscht recipe; and the first of Liddle’s tunes that the band has recorded. “I can’t wait for her next ones,” says Parish.

All proceeds made from the CD will be donated to Orcas Island charities. Some of the organizations to which the band has donated in the past include The Funhouse, Children’s House, The Orcas Island Recreational Program, OIEF, Wolf’s Hollow, and the Orcas Center.

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