Marcie Sillman

The Onlies: Seattle High School Students Make Beautiful Music

Marcie Sillman — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:51:45 +0000

When it comes to musical talent, there's no shortage in Seattle. The city boasts a thriving indie rock scene, great jazz and classical musicians, and the country's most popular hip-hop act, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

But the string trio The Onlies are little outside the norm. For one thing, Sami Braman, Ryan Calcagno and Leo Shannon play fiddle-inspired old-time and traditional tunes. And for another, despite performing together for a decade, none of the three is old enough to have a driver's license.

Chick Corea: "Darn That Dream"

Marcie Sillman — Fri, 03 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Chick Corea plays "Darn That Dream"

Pianist and composer Chick Corea has touched almost all the musical bases during a career that has spanned almost five decades. From avant garde to bebop to Latin fusion, Corea has experimented and mastered multiple jazz styles and has won a loyal following of fans and critics.

Marcie Sillman interviews Chick Corea

Seattle's Daemond Arrindell Changes Lives Through Poetry

Marcie Sillman — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:49:00 +0000

Daemond Arrindell wants to change the world. Not through the ballot box or protest marches. Arrindell’s weapon is poetry. He uses his words to touch individual lives, particularly the lives of young people.

New Seattle Art Museum Installation Mirrors The City

Marcie Sillman — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:35:09 +0000

When Seattle Art Museum opened its expanded downtown building in 2007, some people thought the main entrance on First Avenue was a little undistinguished.

One of those people was the late arts patron Bagley Wright. His wife, Virginia, says he thought the museum entrance needed to be marked in a dramatic way. "Because it looked like the entrance to an office building," she recalls.

Seattle's Waxie Moon: Burlesque Performer For A New Century

Marcie Sillman — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:22:33 +0000

When you hear the word burlesque, what comes to mind?

Some of us envision down and dirty night clubs populated by weary strippers clad in not much more than feather boas and G-strings. For most of the past century, burlesque has been synonymous with women doing a little bump and grind for mostly male audience members. Remember the musical "Gypsy?"

FAA Gives Boeing Go Ahead To Test New Battery System

Carolyn Adolph and Marcie Sillman — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:22:37 +0000

Last Updated: March 12, 2013 5:30 p.m.

In a statement, the FAA said Boeing could go ahead with its plan to test a redesigned battery system for the 787. The FAA also gave the green light to limited flights for two aircraft that will have test versions of the new systems.

Seattle's Pike-Pine Corridor Gets New Arts Space

Marcie Sillman — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:21:26 +0000

The 12th Avenue Arts project will transform a Seattle Police Department parking lot into one of Capitol Hill's newest multi-use buildings. In addition to retail and apartments, the building will include two theaters and office space for three small theater companies.

New Life For Restored Memories From Seattle’s Female Rockers

Marcie Sillman — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 01:00:00 +0000

You probably know the bands that put Seattle on the international music map in the early 1990s. Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam have become legends, but they're only part of the Seattle music story. Women rocked the scene, too. Gretta Harley came to Seattle in 1990, looking for her tribe, and she says she found it.

The Art Of Preserving Balanchine Ballets

Marcie Sillman — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:40:00 +0000

If you ask American ballet dancers to name the person with the biggest impact on their artform, chances are they'll answer: George Balanchine.

"George Balanchine changed the way we look at dance," enthuses Seattle arts writer Sandi Kurtz. "In the same way Picasso changed the way we look at visual art, the same way Mozart changed what we heard in the concert hall."

Northwest Artist Alden Mason Dies

Marcie Sillman — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:22:34 +0000

Alden Mason was a Pacific Northwest native and a lifelong resident, but his artistic influence reaches far beyond this corner of the country. Mason was born in Everett, Wash., in 1919, and he grew up enamored with the outdoor world around him.

He planned to study entomology when he enrolled in the University of Washington. By chance, he told an interviewer, he wandered over to the art building, where a nude model was posing for painting students. Mason was only half-joking when he says that encounter changed his career path.