Harbor Winds: Community Symphony with an Education Focus

Our concerts are more than just coming to listen to music. We want to expose the community to something they might not otherwise hear.”

The Gig Harbor community orchestra, Harbor Winds, received an unexpected boost last April thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Larry and Carla Seaquist Renaissance Fund. The grant from the former state representative and his late wife, Carla, both lifelong music aficionados, ensured the group can provide a charter bus to bring concertgoers from the Key Peninsula to its performances at Gig Harbor and Peninsula High Schools this season.

“We have been interested in helping underserved young people discover the richness of culture in the wider world,” Seaquist said. “I hope this grant will help lower the transportation barrier and allow more people to attend the concerts.” Although Seaquist’s focus is on students, the bus will be available at no cost to all ages, with pick-up locations at the Longbranch Improvement Club and the Mustard Seed Project in Key Center.

Harbor Winds, formed 13 years ago, has 40 to 50 players and is the largest of several performing groups working as part of the Narrows Music Society. “We are a wind orchestra, so if you blow through it, we probably have it,” said Jason Ball, NMS board president and a member of the orchestra. “We have flutes, clarinets, oboes, bassoons; all the brass, saxophones, and percussion.”

Ball, who has a degree in composition, played extensively in high school and college. “Clarinet was my geek instrument, and drums were the cool one,” he said. He moved to the Key Peninsula in 2016 with his wife and daughter and discovered Harbor Winds when a fellow swim team parent invited him to a rehearsal. “I was blown away by how good they were. I was hooked and I’ve been playing with them ever since.”

“Our primary mission is music, education, and enrichment,” Ball said. “Our concerts are more than just coming to listen to music. We want to expose the community to something they might not otherwise hear. It goes from classical to contemporary, and we provide detailed music notes.”

The musicians range from professionals to educators to experienced amateurs. Auditions are required to join. “We want to make sure people are comfortable with the level of music we play,” Ball said. “We want to be open and inviting, but we don’t want members to be overwhelmed.”

All concerts are free. A membership fee paid by the musicians and donations support the costs, which include a conductor stipend and auditorium rental expenses. Every other year, they bring a professional clinician in to play as a soloist and to offer a free clinic to high school students.

The group has concerts scheduled for fall, Christmas, early spring, and at the end of the school year.

“Our highlight is the final concert, the young artist program,” Ball said. “All of the middle school honor band is invited to perform two of their pieces on stage. High school players join by invitation, and one or two soloists from the high schools perform. It nearly doubles the number of musicians on the stage.”

“The program exposes students to what it is like to play music with people who continue to make music after high school or college,” Ball said. “Many students have spent so much time to essentially learn a second language. This shows them there is a way to use that skill set even if they don’t go on to perform professionally. Art is for everyone.”

The holiday concert will be 3 p.m., Dec. 14, at Gig Harbor High School.

For more information, go to narrowsmusicsociety.org.