From the darkly comic minds of composer Nathaniel Stookey (not dead) and writer Lemony Snicket (also, not dead) comes this murder mystery for narrator and orchestra. As our guest inspector will tell you, "Just about any place you find an orchestra playing, there's a dead composer somewhere on hand." 

Our low-cost Family Concert is held on the Sunday afternoon following our School Concert series, and welcomes families and others who prefer a shorter, afternoon concert. Starting at 1pm, the McIntyre Hall lobby is buzzing with our Children's Music Fair, which features “Meet the Musicians”, an opportunity for families to chat with our musicians and see their instruments up close.  Also at the Fair, the Children’s Museum will offer hands-on musical activities and crafts, and Bellingham Wind Works will share a “petting zoo” of stringed instruments for kids to try out!

Music by Nathaniel Stookey, text by Lemony Snicket
The Composer is Dead

Total Runtime: 30 minutes

CONDUCTOR BIO

Sebastian Serrano-Ayala

An advocate for the music of our time, Colombian-born conductor Sebastian Serrano-Ayala blends inclusive collaboration, and effortless conducting technique with fresh and timely musical interpretations.

Sebastian is actively involved with symphonic music and educational programs in the United States, and has been named Assistant Conductor with the Skagit Symphony for the 23/24 season. He also serves as Assistant Conductor with the Saratoga Orchestra, and has held Conducting Fellowships at the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and the Mostly Modern Festival in NY, where he premiered works with the American Modern Ensemble.

Other recent engagements have included the SJMEA Honor Orchestra, the Whatcom Wind Ensemble, and acting as cover conductor for Yakima Symphony.

Past performance highlights include a premiere and recording session with Symphony Tacoma, leading the Royal Military Chapel "Johan Willem Friso'' during the Dutch International Festival ‘BLOW’, and conducting The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, DC.

Sebastian was recently recognized for his leadership when he was a semi-finalist at the World Music Contest (WMC) - Conductor’s Competition. There, he worked with the Marinierskapel der Koninklijke Marine, the premier ensemble of the Netherlands military, and Blazerensemble Helicon, as well as the Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Air Force. He was also a finalist at the International Conducting Competition hosted by the Denver Philharmonic.

Through his research and programming, Sebastian advocates for the importance of contemporary music influenced by Latin America and his native Colombia. In Summer ‘22, he presented on these topics at a world conference of symphonic music in Prague, Check Republic.

Serrano-Ayala holds a DMA in Wind - Orchestral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), and a MM in Conducting from Andrews University, both he was awarded full scholarship and teaching assistantships. He also holds degrees in music education from the Adventist University of Colombia (UNAC) and the Adventist University of the Philippines (AUP).

Additionally, Sebastian has taken part in masterclasses with conductors JoAnn Falletta, Dianne Wittry, Sarah Ioannides, Ankush Kumar Bahl, Lawrence Golan, Aram Demirjian, Mark Heron, Jan Cober, Mallory Thompson, Michael Haithcock, and John E. Williamson. Mentors include Anna Edwards, Terence Milligan, Kevin Holzman, Aik Khai Pung, Alan Mitchell, and Hugo Riaño.

Visit his website at www.sebastianserrano.co.

NARRATOR

Damond Morris

Damond Morris serves as the Executive Director for the Lincoln Theatre Center Foundation in Mount Vernon, WA. He is the founder and former Artistic Director of Shakespeare Northwest from 2000-2008. He served as a tenured faculty member and Chair, prior to the elimination of the Drama Department at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon.

Damond obtained his PhD from the University of Oregon in 2013, with studies in directing, acting, environmental sustainability, eco-criticism, post-colonial theatre and theatre history. His dissertation “Presenting Oregon: Formative Forces of the Oregon Unit of the Federal Theatre Project” explores the formative forces of the Oregon Unit of the Federal Theatre Project, under the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression, including the Little Theatre Movement, West Coast vaudeville and the Oregon State mythos.

He holds a Master's degree from Western Washington University and a Masters in Sustainability Leadership (Oregon Leadership in Sustainability) through the Planning Public Policy & Management Department at the University of Oregon. Damond’s Master’s thesis, "Towards a Recycled Theatre: Industrial Ecology Applications in the Theatre Industry," is an analysis of real world answers to the problem of waste in the theatre industry. Following this passion, his development efforts to preserve the Lincoln Theatre, center on lowering the buildings carbon footprint and preserving the structure for the next 100 years!