Gentlemen’s Quartet set to make sophistication fun March 24
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 months, 1 week AGO
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. | March 10, 2026 12:52 PM
MOSES LAKE — The Gentlemen’s Quartet – plus a lady – will take the stage March 24 at the Wallenstien Theater. The concert is sponsored by the Central Basin Community Concert Association.
“They’re excellent musicians,” said CBCCA Board Member Carla McKean. “They add their own flair to some classical, some modern, but all music that you’ve heard before, but with their own flair to it.
The Gentlemen’s Quartet turns new corners with well-known classical and popular music, as when they fuse the classic John Legend son “All of Me” music by Chopin, Elgar, Ed Sheeran and Michael Nyman.
The quartet consists of David Shenton, piano and violin; Peter Sachon, cello and mandocello; Matt Scharfglass, guitar and bass; and Benjamin Saporito, drums and percussion. Between them, the musicians have performed more than 10,000 shows, according to their promotional materials, on Broadway, in London’s West End and with musicians as varied as Vanessa Williams, Paul McCartney and Dee Snyder, as well as major symphony orchestras and at festivals around the world.
“They’ve performed at Carnegie Hall, they’ve performed on Broadway, they’ve performed in Europe … They’ve run the full gamut,” McKean said.
Joining the gents will be vocalist Erin Shields. A graduate of the Indiana University School of Music, Shields also studied voice in Vienna, Austria, according to the group’s promotional materials. She started her professional career at age 17 when she sang the National Anthem for Michael Jordan and The Chicago Bulls. Since then, she’s performed leading roles for many reputable music festivals, opera companies and orchestras.
In addition to their concert at the Wallenstien Theater, the Gentlemen’s Quartet will give a presentation at Moses Lake High School, McKean said.
“We’re always excited about (musicians) being able to generate musical enthusiasm among young people,” she said.
Tickets are available at the CBCCA website, communityconcertsml.com. The cost is $30 for adults and $10 for students, with special rates for families and music students and teachers.
“(This is) a very high level of musicianship we’re bringing to Moses Lake,” McKean said. “People who come can expect a really tight, professional show.”
Gentlemen’s Quartet
7 p.m. March 24
Big Bend Community College
Wallenstien Theater
6989 College Parkway NE
Joining the Gentlemen’s Quartet March 24 will be guest vocalist Erin Shields.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”