Listen Live At Lunch

08/05/2024

A few pictures and snippets from Chopin's Scherzo No. 1 from last week's recital by local and talented pianist Calder Failla. Calder is now off to New York to continue his musical studies.

08/04/2024

An announcement to our audience: Soprano Kelly Ferguson and pianist Christopher Powell will replace Rob McPherson, who was originally announced for our next concert on Aug. 7. We hope to see you there for a great concert!

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07/28/2024

Some images and a snippet from the Duo for Violin and Viola by Mozart from our concert last week with Maria Sampen and Tim Christie. Join us at First Lutheran next Wed., July 31 at noon for a performance by young pianist Calder Failla. Free admission.

07/21/2024

After a great concert with organist Wyatt Smith last week Listen Live at Lunch continues at First Lutheran in Tacoma this Wednesday, July 24 at noon with the violin/viola duo of Maria Sampen and Tim Christie. Free admission. Don't miss it!

07/16/2024

Here's an excerpt from last week's concert. Father and son team Dan Wolch, trombone; and Reid Wolch, piano perform an excerpt from Rimsky-Korsakov's trombone concerto. Join us for the next concert of the 2024 season this Wed. July 17 at noon at First Lutheran Church. Free admission!

07/10/2024

Here are some pictures from our concert last week with organists Elliot Sander and Alex Swanson. Our series continues today with trombonist Dan Wolch and pianists Reid Wolch and Benjamin Sawrey. At noon at First Lutheran Church. Free!

06/18/2024

Listen Live at Lunch is back! Join us this summer for free classical concerts with fantastic local musicians. Wednesdays at noon from July 3 to Aug. 28 at First Lutheran Church.

Join us for our annual Listen Live at Lunch concert series beginning July 3! Admission is free and donations are gladly accepted. We are excited to kick off our concert series this year with an organ concert featuring two amazingly talented organists, Elliot Sander and Alex Swanson! Come join us!!

09/02/2023

Some images and video of Trio Guadalevín's wonderful concert at Listen Live at Lunch. Thank you to First Lutheran Church Tacoma (of which Listen Live at Lunch is a ministry), and the Tacoma Arts Commission for their support of a memorable season this summer. We will see you next year. Stay tuned!

08/31/2023

Another season of Listen Live at Lunch has concluded. Thank you to our wonderful audience and the musicians who shared some special moments this summer. Photos and video of Trio Guadalevin's concert are coming up soon but first we wanted to share this message from our outgoing series coordinator, Ricardo de la Torre:
"It has been a privilege, a great learning experience, and a lot of fun to program and oversee the content and logistics for Listen Live at Lunch since 2019. My gratitude to First Lutheran Church and the many people who make this effort possible every year."
We wish Ricardo the best in his position of Curator of Art and Music at and their concert series Music from Home.
Listen Live at Lunch continues next year, stay tuned!

08/29/2023

Trio Guadalevín is the perfect close to a great season at Listen Live at Lunch. Join us tomorrow, Wed., Aug. 30 at noon at First Lutheran in Tacoma for a last concert this summer. Here's an excerpt from the Trio's concert last year. You can enjoy this as well as other equally fascinating selections.
A unique collaboration between a folklorist from Mexico City, a lute/oud/guitarist specializing in the early music of Europe and a globe-traveling percussionist and arts educator, Trío Guadalevín explores the musical dialogue between Indigenous, European and African cultures which define Latin American identity. With memorable stories and an incredible array of instruments from the Americas, Africa and Europe the trio weaves together a tapestry of music, languages, culture, history and geography. Free!!

08/28/2023

Our last concert of the 2023 season is coming up! On Wed., Aug. 30 at noon Trio Guadalevín returns to Listen Live at Lunch for a fascinating acoustic exploration of the musical roots that bind the Americas with Southern Europe, the Maghreb, the Middle East and North and West Africa. Comprised of folklorist, singer and multi-instrumentalist Abel Rocha, percussionist Antonio Gómez, and early music specialist August Denhard, Trio Guadalevín is a journey as much as a musical destination. Don't miss the chance to hear this unique, genre-bending ensemble. Free admission!

08/25/2023

What a great concert we had at Listen Live at Lunch this week! We had a full house and our series coordinator, Ricardo de la Torre, was honored to join some of the best musicians in town before he steps down from this position next week. Our stage was also graced with the presence of Miguel del Águila, the composer of the last piece on the program, Charango Capriccioso. Stunning performance! Thanks to our appreciative audience! And the musicians: Allison, Maria, Svend, Tim, Rowena, Alistair, and Lark. Here are some images and video snippets from the concert.

Please join us next Wed., Aug. 30 at noon at First Lutheran in Tacoma for one last concert this season. comes back to the series for a grand finale. Free admission!

08/22/2023

Our musicians are hard at work for Listen Live at Lunch this week. Join us tomorrow, Aug. 23 at noon at First Lutheran in Tacoma for a free concert of great chamber music with some really marvelous performers. Each piece on the program features a different combination of them: From voice and piano to string quartet to a septet with two cellos and two pianists. See you then!

08/21/2023

08/19/2023

We have a great lineup of fabulous local musicians for our next Listen Live at Lunch concert. Their program takes us to the south of Spain for a visit with the muses (Turina's Las musas de Andalucía), and moves to South America for a bit of autumn in Buenos Aires (Elizondo's Otoño en Buenos Aires), ending in the Andes with the spectacular Charango Capriccioso, for the unique combination of string quintet (with two cellos) and piano four-hands, by Seattle-based, Uruguayan-born composer Miguel del Águila. Wed., Aug. 23 at noon at First Lutheran in Tacoma. Free Admission! Don't miss it!

Listen Live at Lunch is a free, noon-time classical music summer concert series held on Wednesdays.

08/18/2023

Fabio Menchetti offered a fantastic performance of a very thoughtfully crafted program. Our attentive audience made for a great crowd, despite the heat. Thank you, all! Here are some pictures and a video snippet from the concert. Listen Live at Lunch continues for two more Wednesdays in August. We have a great concert next week, stay tuned!

08/14/2023

On Wed., Aug. 16 at noon Italian pianist Fabio Menchetti presents a recital with music by Beethoven, Alexina Louie, Joanna Kenyon, and Liszt. First Lutheran Church in Tacoma. Free admission!

Fabio Menchetti, pianoKimbrough Concert Hall Washington State University

08/12/2023

On Wednesday, Aug. 16, Dr. Fabio Menchetti, Professor of Piano at Washington State University, is coming all the way to Tacoma to perform a recital on the Listen Live at Lunch series. His program includes Beethoven's only sonata featuring a set of variations as a first movement (and a funeral march!), a Transcendental Etude by Liszt, and works by Alexina Louie and Joanna Kenyon. At noon at First Lutheran. Free! 🎹

08/10/2023

Tracy and James Doyle offered a fabulous concert for the Listen Live at Lunch audience yesterday. Here are some pictures and a video from their performance. The series continues for three more Wednesdays at noon in August at First Lutheran in Tacoma. Free!

08/07/2023

Flutist and Director of the School of Music at the University of Puget Sound, Tracy Doyle, joins forces with percussionist, educator, composer, and entrepreneur James Doyle for a unique program of flute and percussion music. They bring together a collection of works from different traditions from around the world, alongside some pieces from the classical canon. Free admission! Wed., Aug. 9 at noon at First Lutheran in Tacoma. Don't miss it!

08/04/2023

Here are some pictures and a video snippet of the Ellinor String Quartet's splendid performance. They offered a program of a Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges' quartet, in addition to introducing our audience to repertoire from Costa Rica, Cuba, Venezuela, and Spain. Next Wednesday, Aug. 9 at noon at First Lutheran in Tacoma, Tracy and James Doyle present another fantastic program of music for flute and percussion. Not a usual combination to hear live in concert. Free admission! We hope to see you then.

08/04/2023

07/30/2023

Join us on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at noon at First Lutheran Church in Tacoma for a concert with the Ellinor String Quartet. Now in its fourth season, the quartet brings professional chamber music to diverse communities throughout the Puget Sound. For this performance they offer a fascinating mix of Spanish and Latin American music, alongside the Quartet in C major by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Don't miss it. Free admission! 🎻

07/30/2023

We had a great piano recital this week with Nicole Kim. Dr. Kim offered magnificent renditions containing both passion and delicacy. Our audience enjoyed it! Join us next week on Wednesday at noon for another great performance with the Seattle-based Ellinor String Quartet. Free admission!

07/25/2023

Join us tomorrow at noon at First Lutheran in Tacoma for a free piano recital with Dr. Nicole Kim. Works by Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, and Chopin's magnificent Polonaise-Fantasie.

Crescendo! welcomes Dr. Nicole Kim - Concert Pianist, playing at the Asian Art Museum in Seattle.This program originally aired on WISF TV in Oneonta, NY, and...

07/24/2023

Join us for a piano recital of time-honored masterpieces by Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, and Chopin with Bellevue-based pianist and pedagogue Dr. Nicole Kim this Wednesday, July 26 at noon at First Lutheran in Tacoma. Free admission!

07/23/2023

Thank you to pianist Jensina Oliver for sharing her artistry with our audience! Next week we have another piano recital at Listen Live at Lunch with Dr. Nicole Kim. July 26 at noon at First Lutheran in Tacoma. Free admission!

07/18/2023

This week and next are piano weeks at Listen Live at Lunch! Join us tomorrow, July 18 at noon at First Lutheran in Tacoma for a recital with Seattle-based pianist Jensina Oliver. Works by Scarlatti, Mozart, Debussy, Gershwin (including the first of his Preludes-in the video), Joplin, Price, and Barber. Free admission!

Jensina Oliver presents Masters of the Americas, playing on the piano compositions written by American composers at Daniels Recital Hall.This program origina...

07/17/2023

This coming Wednesday, July 19 at noon join us at First Lutheran in Tacoma for a piano recital with Jensina Oliver. Jensina will be making her debut on our series with a program of perennial favorites by Scarlatti, Mozart, and Debussy, and an American set of Joplin, Gershwin, Barber, and Florence Price. Free admission!🎹

07/14/2023

We had a marvelous concert this week with Wyatt Smith at First Lutheran's Möller organ. Wyatt got some fantastic sounds out of the instrument to deliver great renditions of the wonderful scores by Margaret Sandresky, Kris Rizzotto, Connor Chee, Godwin Sadoh, and Florence Price. Thanks, Wyatt! Join us next Wednesday at noon for a piano recital by Jensina Oliver. Some all-time favorites on the program. Free admission! We hope to see you there.