Saratoga Orchestra presents ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, January 20, 2026

For a reflective evening of candlelit chamber music, look no further than an upcoming concert benefitting Whidbey’s own Saratoga Orchestra.

Titled “In the Bleak Midwinter,” the event is a unique combination of the orchestra and community members, featuring music from Debussy, Poulenc, Vaughan Williams, Holst, Bruckner, Schubert and others. The concert is at 7 p.m. this Friday, Jan. 23 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island in Freeland.

Larry Heidel, executive director of the Saratoga Orchestra, said the idea for the fundraiser concert was proposed by a couple of musicians as a post-December program.

“It should be a way for people to come and kind of be in a meditative space after the holidays, perhaps reflect on what’s happening in the community, what’s happening in their lives,” he said.

Heidel himself plays trombone, and there are several trombone quartet pieces within the concert, including one where the instruments represent four vocal parts – performing some interesting music that was originally written for a choir.

Some community participation is expected to be involved, so come ready to sing to the hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter,” which originated as a poem and has been arranged for congregational singing.

Spoken word poetry will be interspersed throughout the concert, giving board members of the orchestra a chance to take part in the event.

“It kind of spans many different musical genres in different combinations of musicians,” Heidel said, pointing to the amplified tam-tam as being one of the more unusual instruments featured in the concert.

Karen Heather, one of the orchestra’s board members, is staying busy throughout the evening by playing piano on several of the pieces. Her favorite is “Footsteps in the Snow” by French composer Claude Debussy.

“When I play it, I go into a different place,” she said. “It’s so haunting.”

Other Whidbey performers include Melanie Lowey, Susan Baer, Eileen Soskin, Robert Finke, Erica Montgomery, Rickey Barnett, Amber Gauthier, Jonathan Cluts and the Aureate Trombones.

There is a suggested donation of $25 at the door. The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island is located at 20103 Highway 525.

For more information, visit sowhidbey.com.