2020: The Most Spectacular Lemonade Vintage In History

2020 was a damn good year for lemons. The long growing season resulted in concentrated flavors, high acidity and not a few bitter notes. The pandemic gravely wounded the music industry, and we faced a choice: 1. Go completely dark for an indeterminate amount of time, or 2. Figure out a way to keep playing concerts for listeners. We chose option 2.

The Rules of Option 2, or how to make lemonade:

1. Embrace the internet for its intended purpose, to bring that which is far apart close together.

2. Play great music.

3. Play in cool venues.

4. Capture the performances.

5. Use technology as gently as possible. For example, only use whole takes and never use autotune! Like great wine, great lemonade should be made with minimal intervention.

6. Invite the audience in— WW audiences have been inviting WWCMF musicians in since the very first festival performance back in 2007. Now, we musicians have a chance to return the favor.

7. Keep everyone safe and virus-free.

If WWCMF has proved anything in its 13 seasons to date, it’s that you can put on a concert just about anywhere. We’ve played in the terminal of the Walla Walla Regional Airport, various barns, under a willow tree somewhere between Walla Walla and Waitsburg and in barrel rooms, production facilities and crush pads the valley over.

Walla Walla is not an option for the moment. But, what if we were to find a stunning architectural masterpiece by Frank Lloyd Wright, go inside and play a concert to entertain everyone stuck at home around the world? That would be some mighty tasty lemonade. And so it happens that virtuoso piano/violin duo, Winston Choi and MingHuan Xu, who have played on the festival since 2009, live down the block from the Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most beautiful buildings. Problem solved. Time for Rule 6. Come on in. Be our guest for a change.

Visit wwcmf.org to find out all the details, and please join us for a glass of lemonade. Program includes music by Bach, Bernstein, Beethoven and true to the season, some holiday favorites. See you soon!

Yours,

Timothy Christie

Founder & Artistic Director

Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival