I am pleased to announce that we have engaged a highly qualified and enthusiastic Artistic Director for our fall program, Steve Arrastia.
Stephen Arrastia has been teaching music to a wide range of students since 1990. Originally from La Plata, Argentina, Steve grew up in New York and Los Angeles, and went to school at California State Northridge and the University of Michigan Ann Arbor for graduate studies.
Steve is primarily an instrumentalist (woodwinds), and taught in Los Angeles as well as the Seattle area, beginning as a band instructor and then branching off into choral conducting.
After 11 years teaching in the US, Steve went overseas to teach music in international schools, with Jordan, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, South Korea, Pakistan and Nepal as home bases. Steve’s last choir position was with the Kathmandu Chorale in Nepal, which consisted of adults, young adults, expats, and locals. Steve has two adult children, Gabi and Sebastian, living in the Pacific Northwest. He loves staying active, enjoys the outdoors, and is excited, humbled, and honored to be the interim conductor for RainShadow this fall.
RainShadow Chorale’s Artistic Director, Laurie de Leonne, resigned from that role at the end of August.
Please save the date for one of our fall performances: December 4th and 5th at First Presbyterian Church in Port Townsend. We are excited to be able to continue without pause in carrying out our tradition of high musical standards and engagement with the community.
Stay tuned for more details, and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Rebecca Nerison, Board President