Previous events

Holding / Movement album release concert! Come celebrate the release of my fifth album as I am joined by dancers and poets for a fully immersive artistic experience. Arrive early to purchase a CD, which includes a booklet of poetry from Seattle poets whose work I paired with my compositions. (The album is entirely instrumental cello--the poetry is in the print booklet.)
Pay-what-you-can at the door.

PROGRAM:
Through Chenoa's Eyes
Bisoux
"Such Things Require Tenderness" (poetry of Luther Hughes)--with dance by Anastasia & Willow
Poetry reading by Abi Pollokoff
"& when we unmake the making" (poetry of Abi Pollokoff)
"in your wings, querido" (poetry of Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs)
"Shhh. We are walking on Lushootseed words" (poetry of Jourdan Imani Keith)
"the coinciding" (poetry of Karin de Weille)
Poetry reading by Ally Ang
Ara (with dance by Anastasia & Willow)
Taken From Us (part one)
Taken From Us (part two)
"to solve for heart" (poetry of Shin Yu Pai)
"this four-walled pasture" (poetry of Luther Hughes)
"At the end of reason, I am locked in place" (poetry of Quenton Baker)
"i have spread my roots across borders/and i am growing still" (poetry of Ally Ang)
Poetry reading by Raúl Sánchez
"If brown angels could fly" (poetry of Raúl Sánchez)

"Cellist Gretchen Yanover performs layered, evocative compositions on electric cello with a looping pedal. She is joined by video designer Ahren Buhmann, who has created visual meditations that pair with each piece. Yanover will perform from her body of repertoire, including works from her 2024 release, Holding / Movement."

Performances at 7:00 and 9:00pm. Individual tickets are $40

$40

Jan21

NW Sinfonietta--Sky & Sea

Pioneer Park Pavilion, 330 S Meridian, Puyallup, WA

SKY & SEA Mei-Ann Chen, Conductor Matt Drumm, Jeffery Lund, Mark Goodenberger, Bonnie Whiting, Percussion Quartet

Marjan Mozetich, Postcards from the Sky

Viet Cuong, Re(new)al, Percussion Quartet Concerto

Debussy, La Mer (arr. Helder)

One of our favorite things? Taking care of the Earth and this beautiful Puget Sound region we call home. Canadian composer Marjan Mozetich’s expansive and moving Postcards from the Sky opens this program, which then features four outstanding local percussionists in Viet Cuong’s concerto for percussion quartet, Re(new)al, inspired by the renewable power of hydro, wind and solar energy. Debussy’s iconic La Mer, arranged by Marlijn Helder for chamber orchestra closes the program. We are delighted to collaborate with local organizations doing great work in our communities to combat the effects of pollution and climate change. Stay tuned for opportunities to connect with Tacoma Tree Foundation and Communities for a Healthy Bay around this concert.

$10-$45

Jan20

NW Sinfonietta--Sky & Sea

Scheebeck Hall, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA

SKY & SEA Mei-Ann Chen, Conductor Matt Drumm, Jeffery Lund, Mark Goodenberger, Bonnie Whiting, Percussion Quartet

Marjan Mozetich, Postcards from the Sky

Viet Cuong, Re(new)al, Percussion Quartet Concerto

Debussy, La Mer (arr. Helder)

One of our favorite things? Taking care of the Earth and this beautiful Puget Sound region we call home. Canadian composer Marjan Mozetich’s expansive and moving Postcards from the Sky opens this program, which then features four outstanding local percussionists in Viet Cuong’s concerto for percussion quartet, Re(new)al, inspired by the renewable power of hydro, wind and solar energy. Debussy’s iconic La Mer, arranged by Marlijn Helder for chamber orchestra closes the program. We are delighted to collaborate with local organizations doing great work in our communities to combat the effects of pollution and climate change. Stay tuned for opportunities to connect with Tacoma Tree Foundation and Communities for a Healthy Bay around this concert.

*The Saturday concert is held at University of Puget Sound’s Scheebeck Hall.

$10-$35

Oct7

NW Sinfonietta--Wine & Dine

Foss Waterway Seaport, 705 Dock St., Tacoma, WA

Jeffery Meyer, Conductor Dan Williams, Oboe Jennifer Krikawa, Soprano · Ivy Zhou, Soprano · Andrew Etherington, Tenor PLU Opera Chorus, James Brown, Director

Juan Pablo Contreras, Mariachitlán

Roupen Shakarian, Oboe Concerto (World Premiere) - with flight of wines

  1. Strauss II, selections from Die Fledermaus

Come party with us! We're opening this season of favorites with Juan Pablo Contreras's joyful homage to the birthplace of mariachi music, the Mexican state of Jalisco, where mariachis play their songs on every corner, vying for the love and attention of the crowds. We are thrilled to be premiering Roupen Shakarian's Oboe Concerto written for oboist and wine aficionado Dan Williams. We’ll serve a complimentary flight of wines and munchies with this light, delightful work. The second half is an opera extravaganza. We are collaborating with the PLU Opera Chorus and soloists Andrew Etherington, Ivy Zhou and Vashon Opera diva Jennifer Krikawa to bring our favorite Die Fledermaus selections to the party, including the famous champagne song.

*The Saturday performance is held at the Foss Waterway Seaport Museum in Tacoma, with assigned table seating.

$25-$55

Aug9

Electric Cello for Live Music Project Birthday Bash

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Saint Bread, 1421 NE Boat St, Seattle, WA

Join us for the belated 9th (!!) Live Music Project birthday on the outdoor back patio at Saint Bread from 4:00-7:00pm

This celebration features solo sets by three stellar music-making humans: Peter Nelson-King (piano), Mark Hilliard Wilson (guitar), and (me!) Gretchen Nicole Yanover (cello)--my set is 6:00-7:00pm.

Drop by, settle in at a picnic table, and revel in the music and community that surround us.

Food and drink are available for purchase. Your eyes can feast on the delectable Saint bread menu at this very moment.

Admission is free, and all ages are welcome!

Jul7

Electric Cello at Finnriver Farm & Cidery

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Finnriver Farm & Cidery, 124 Center Road, Chimacum, WA 98325

Time for a field trip to Finnriver, on Washington's lovely Olympic Peninsula! The menu is amazing... Visit the Finnriver on Facebook and/or their website to check out the open air Cider Garden where I'll be playing. ($3 or $5 cover at the door starting 30 minutes before the music begins.)

Jun17

Pacific NW Ballet School Performance

McCaw Hall , 321 Mercer St, Seattle, WA

Pacific NW Ballet soloist Amanda Morgan has choreographed a collection of my pieces for the PNB Professional Division students, and I will be performing one of the pieces onstage with the dancers!

Students in Levels I-IV, DanceChance, and Intermediate and Advanced C classes perform original works by PNB School faculty; followed by Professional Division students in the premiere of a new work by PNB Company dancer Amanda Morgan, and George Balanchine’s classic work, Serenade.

There are performances at 12:30pm and 6:00pm

$37-80

May21

NW Sinfonietta--This Land

Pioneer Park Pavilion, 330 S Meridian, Puyallup, WA

THIS LAND Yaniv Attar, Conductor T.U.P.A.C., Dance Collaboration

W.A. Mozart, Divertimento No. 11

Copland, Appalachian Spring for 13 instruments

Jessie Montgomery, Banner

Ginastera, Variaciones Concertantes

With this program Artistic Partner Yaniv Attar and Northwest Sinfonietta join with our partner in the arts—Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center—to focus the lens on Tacoma icon Nettie Asberry, bringing her story to life with a new ballet ‘Nettie’ choreographed and performed to Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring for 13 instruments. The second half broadens the lens to include Jessie Montgomery’s Banner, a rhapsody on the theme of ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ and concludes with Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera’s magnificent concerto for orchestra and ode to his homeland, the Variaciones Concertantes

$40-$45 (student discounts available)

Apr29

Icicle Creek Center for the Arts Benefit Bash

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Icicle Creek Center for the Arts, 7409 Icicle Road , Leavenworth, WA

Explore “pop-up” performances across campus while enjoying a gourmet progressive dinner from Chefs Carlos Bernal and Isabel Tapia. Then join emcees Lisa Bergman and Jamie Howell in Snowy Owl Theater for the showcase event: more of your favorite performers, a impressive silent auction, and a raise-the-paddle in support of our new Endowment Fund. And finally, finish off the evening with dessert and a glass of bubbly, toasting a vibrant future for Icicle Creek and the thousands of kids and adults we impact and inspire each year!

I'll be part of the 7:00pm showcase in Snowy Owl Theater, with performances by: Beth Whitney, Danzas Multiculturales, (me:) Gretchen Yanover, The Chumlilies, Lisa Bergman, Josh Scribner, The Rhia Foster Jazz Quartet, and many more!

ALL INCLUSIVE TICKETS $75/ Person $35/Youth (18 & under)

Dec18

NW Sinfonietta--Baroque to Blue Ridge

Pioneer Park Pavilion, 330 S Meridian, Puyallup, WA

NW Sinfonietta’s violinist (and my Different Drummer bandmate:) Brandon Vance is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning Scottish fiddler. Brandon and Concertmaster Denise Dillenbeck lead NW Sinfonietta strings in this program that traces the violin/fiddle from Scandinavia to the British Isles, across the Atlantic and down into the Appalachian range. Each year this December concert creates magical moments and memories during the holiday season. Bring the whole family!

$40-$45