‘Ireland’s Greatest Showman’
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 4 months AGO
Irish tenor David Shannon will round out the Columbia Basin Community Concert Association’s 2023-24 season with a performance at the Wallenstien Theater in Moses Lake Sunday.
Courtesy photo/Live on Stage
Irish musician David Shannon’s performances are often accompanied by the fiddle and the bodhran, a handheld drum widely used in traditional Irish music.
David Shannon’s tenor voice has been featured in many musicals in London’s prestigious West End theater district.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | April 26, 2024 1:15 AM
MOSES LAKE — The Wallenstien Theater will ring this weekend with the voice of Irish tenor David Shannon. The concert will start at 7 p.m. Sunday evening.
Sometimes billed as “Ireland’s Greatest Showman,” Shannon has a long and varied list of credits under his belt. He’s performed leading roles in productions of “Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Misérables” and “Sweeney Todd” in London’s prestigious West End theaters, according to his biography, and he was an original cast member of the London Company production of “Come From Away.” Shannon is equally at home with traditional folk music, and laces his performance with songs accompanied by the fiddle and the bodhran, a handheld drum that’s a staple of Irish tradition.
“He's quite a showman, and he's got a wonderful, wonderful voice,” said CBCCC board member Harriet West. “All of the concerts this year have been phenomenal, and I feel this one will be no exception.”
Shannon will also perform at Wahitis Elementary School in Othello on Monday for the fourth- and fifth-grade students, according to CBCCC board member Carla McKean.
The CBCCC is celebrating its 70th birthday this year, McKean said.
“I remember attending community concerts here in Moses Lake as a child with my family's season ticket,” West said. “Of course, the Wallenstien wasn't available in those days; I believe those concerts were either held at the Assembly of God church, or in the gym at (Columbia Middle School) … My family came here in 1952, so in the ’50s and ’60s I was going to community concerts.”
Membership has other advantages as well, McKean said. CBCCC has reciprocity agreements with other organizations of the same kind in Richland and Wenatchee, besides several towns on the west side. A Central Basin Community Concert Association season ticket gets the bearer into shows sponsored by those associations also.
Tickets to individual shows are $30 for an adult or $65 for a family. Season tickets are $70 for individual adults and $145 for a family. For music students and teachers, either in school or private instruction, tickets are $5.
The next season of concerts will begin in September, according to the CBCCC website, with performances by Kate Voss & the Hot Sauce, Molly in the Mineshaft, The Hall Sisters and the Gonzaga Symphony Orchestra.
“If a membership for next season is purchased prior to or even at the David Shannon concert, on April 28, (the purchaser) will get into the David Shannon concert for free,” McKean wrote in a message to the Columbia Basin Herald.
“(It’s our) desire to always bring a variety of high-quality live music into the lives of Moses Lake and the area,” West said. “I believe music’s a gift, and it's important to our brain, heart, soul and well-being.”
Joel Martin may be reached via email at [email protected].
Irish musician David Shannon’s performances are often accompanied by the fiddle and the bodhran, a handheld drum widely used in traditional Irish music.
David Shannon’s tenor voice has been featured in many musicals in London’s prestigious West End theater district.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.