OICMF Children’s Concert: ‘Symba and the Lobster’ | Festival season artist is Sophie Parker
Published 1:30 am Sunday, August 3, 2025
Submitted by the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival.
Children and their families are invited to enjoy Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s much-anticipated free Children’s Concert featuring an interactive musical storytelling experience based on Nanki Chugh’s upcoming children’s book, “Symba and the Lobster.” Bring a picnic blanket or a lawn chair and get ready to hear the musical story of Symba the Symbion pandora, a microscopic ocean critter who lives on the whiskers of a lobster and eats his leftovers. The concert takes place on the front lawn of Orcas Center at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9.
Three young Houston-based performers – author and violinist Nanki Chugh, oboist Anne Pinkerton, and narrator and visual artist Sophie Parker – will present this musical adaptation, perfect for preschool through fifth graders, with interactive elements to engage young audiences and educational material suitable for older children and parents as well. The show includes spoken narration and costume design by Parker and live music performed by Chugh and Pinkerton. This Children’s Concert is generously sponsored by Carl de Boor.
Lopez Island will also have an opportunity to see a free OICMF Children’s Concert of “Symba and the Lobster” on Aug. 11 at noon at the Lopez Center Pavilion. The event on Lopez is sponsored by the Driftwood Fund.
Season artist Sophie Parker
Sophie Parker, the daughter of OICMF Artistic Directors Aloysia Friedmann and Jackie Parker, is this year’s season artist. She created the festival poster and her visual art is featured throughout the concerts.
“Just yesterday, someone told me how they felt the poster captured a sense of the island and community in such a different and noticeable way from the usual previous years,” Friedmann said.
Parker is an artist and illustrator based in Houston, Texas. Fascinated by dreams, intuitive imagery and the weird details of life, she explores the playful side of the natural world with her work.
“It was an extraordinary honor when Anita asked if I would consider being the season artist for OICMF’s 28th season, especially given that it is her last season as Executive Director,” Parker said. “I have grown up around this festival and participated in many ways, but I consider this to be my most meaningful contribution. I sincerely hope you all enjoy this artwork that I created specifically for this year’s Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival program. This festival has been an important and intimate part of my entire life. I am so grateful to be here.”
Parker is the Creative Director of New Heights Coffee Roasters, where she designs their coffee bags and recently completed a site-specific mural. She is the assistant to artist Natasha Bowdoin, whom she accompanied in leading a workshop at the Haystack School of Crafts in 2024. She also joined Natasha in Thailand in May of 2025 for an art installation at the US Embassy there. Parker’s illustrations have appeared on wine labels for drinkOKwines and accompanied poetry and album covers. She is currently illustrating a children’s book written by Nanki Chugh. She graduated from Rice University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art.
More of her work can be found at www.sophieparkerart.com.
