Submitted by Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival

Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival welcomes violinist Monique Mead back to Orcas Island beginning Monday, March 16, as Musician-in-Residence for a busy three days of music education, yoga and a community concert.

Local musicians and OICMF patrons are always happy to see Mead return to Orcas. She has performed in many festival concerts and for many years brought her energetic teaching talents to Orcas music students.

Mead’s residency begins on Monday and Tuesday with music in the public schools for Pamela Wright’s strings classes and Darren Dix’s Band classes. In recent years, music students have enjoyed distance learning with Mead through interactive video, and it will be fun to have her return to their classes in person!

Following Tuesday’s school classes, she will give a free afternoon strings workshop for violin, viola and cello and classical bass players of all ages and abilities from 1-3 p.m. Her background as director of music entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as her many professional workshops and seminars on topics beyond bowing and fingering a stringed instrument bring a multifaceted approach to her masterclasses and workshops.

Mead’s son, pianist Tino Cárdenes, will join her in a concert at Orcas Island Community Church at 7 p.m. on March 17.

Several collaborations with Leonard Bernstein at music festivals in Tanglewood and Schleswig-Holstein in Germany influenced Mead’s decision to focus her career on nurturing audiences and musicians, and she now has an active teaching and performing career in the United States and Europe. She is one of the cofounders of the Center for Arts Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University, where she also teaches.

At 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 18, join Mead and Cárdenes with movement and dance instructor Tiffany Loney for a yoga class accompanied by live music at the Orcas Mandala yoga studio in Eastsound. This all-levels class is open to Orcas Mandala Class Card holders and is $20 for drop-in students.

To register for the strings workshop or for more information, contact tracy@oicmf.org or (360) 376-6636.