Transcript

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Geoff Bennett: A former military base on the shores of Puget Sound is home to artists, from amateur to professional, who have come together for 50 years to celebrate their craft and learn together.

Special correspondent Cat Wise visited our arts and culture series Canvas.

Cat Wise: On a sunny summer afternoon, lines began to form on the grounds of Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend, Washington.

Check-in began promptly at 4 p.m. for Fiddle Tunes, a week-long program celebrating various fiddle music styles, with workshops, band labs, dances and more. Many of this year’s 600 participants, from locals to those who traveled from across the country and overseas, have been returning every year since the program began in the late 1970s.

On opening day, old friends reunited and started jamming. Fiddle Tunes is one of more than 250 arts events organized each year by the nonprofit Centrum Foundation.

Robert Birman, Executive Director of the Centrum Foundation: “What we are saying here is that we are really about immersive experiences in the arts.”

Cat Wise: Robert Birman is the organization’s executive director. Founded in 1973 by the state of Washington and partner agencies, Birman said the organization’s goal was to create a thriving center for the arts and lifelong learning.

The former World War I military fort at the entrance to Puget Sound, which was largely empty at the time, offered an ideal home.

Robert Birman: The students who come here range in age from 4 to 98, but it’s a residential experience. They’re in a community for a whole week, living, learning and eating together. It’s about personal growth and learning, and we try to share skills and pass on culture and tradition from one generation to the next.

Cat Wise: This year, Centrum celebrates its 50th anniversary with its year-round programs, which include exhibitions, concerts, artist residencies, and educational programs for migrant youth and others.

Robert Birman: When they come here, they learn to take risks and they discover that they are capable of things they would never have attempted otherwise.

Cat Wise: Over the years, renowned artists have served on the faculty, including author Margaret Atwood and singer and musician Rhiannon Giddens. Others, such as jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall, began their careers at the Center.

(Sing)

Cat Wise: Tuition is about $600. Optional meals and housing cost another $600. Last year, 224 scholarships were awarded.

Gary Copeland Lilley, Artistic Director, Centrum Writers Conference: “I think there are a lot of writers out there today that I would really like to find grants for.”

Cat Wise: Poet Gary Copeland Lilley is artistic director of the Centrum Writers Conference. We spoke at one of the other Fort Worden-based nonprofits, Copper Canyon Press, which has published over 400 books of poetry.

Is this one of your favorites?

Gary Copeland Lilley: Yes.

Cat knowledge: Including one by Copeland Lilley.

He says what sets the writing workshop apart from other programs is its focus on craft and community.

Gary Copeland Lilley: It’s all about writing. We just love what we do and stuff. And we love being together. I mean, it’s the least competitive writing group I’ve ever known.

Cat Wise: A similar mood prevails during Fiddle Tunes Week, where the love for this stirring art form that has brought people together for hundreds of years spreads to younger generations.

Sami Braman, Riley Calcagno, Leo Shannon and Vivian Leva are close friends who perform together in a band called The Onlies.

Sami, Riley and Leo, who grew up in Seattle, have been coming to Fiddle Tunes since they were children. Last year, the four were tapped by Centrum for a big role: artistic director.

I met with Sami during a break in her busy schedule and helped her coordinate the week’s events.

Sami Braman, Co-Artistic Director, Centrum Fiddle Tunes: At first I was totally shocked. I thought there was no way they would give us this job. We are just…

Cat Wise: Why?

Sami Braman: Well, because we’re young. We’re in our 20s. We’ve never had a job like this before. We’ve made a lot of music. We’ve toured a lot. And through that we’ve met a lot of people.

We try to carry on the artistic leaders of the past by bringing people to Fiddle Tunes who maintain the tradition and have a lot of wisdom, life experience and musical experience.

Cat Wise: One of those soaking up the tradition of fiddle tunes is 9-year-old Lydia Brown. She lives in Port Townsend and came with her mother, sisters and a neighbor who also enjoys playing.

Lydia Brown, Fiddle Tunes participant: When I play fast fiddle music, I feel happy. It makes me happy in some way.

Cat Wise: Lydia’s mother, Starla Crowell, agrees.

Starla Crowell, Fiddle Tunes participant: I felt like I was going to camp, and I haven’t had that feeling since I was a kid. And that’s why it’s really fun as an adult to have like-minded people who, even though you have different views on all sorts of topics, can come together and make music together and have fun.

Cat Wise: Robert Birman says these connections are a big reason why people keep coming back.

Robert Birman: The best part is that this intergenerational program teaches young and old to respect and listen to each other in ways that are not often seen in their normal world.

Cat Wise: Centrum is closing out its 50th year with an eye toward the future. A fundraising campaign is underway to renovate the old Fort Worden buildings.

For the PBS News Hour, I’m Cat Wise in Port Townsend, Washington.