Classical Tuesdays in Old Town ends season with Latin and Japanese duo

Photo Courtesy of artists

MIHO & DIEGO DUO

Classical Tuesdays in Old Town chamber music series, presented by Old Town Business & Professionals Association (OTBPA), will be having its final concert of the season Feb. 9 featuring the unique music stylings of Miho & Diego Duo.

Miho & Diego Duo has been boldly blending Latin and Japanese musical traditions since 2006. Both accomplished musicians in their own right, Miho Takekawa and Diego Coy came together after years of admiring each other’s work and discovering that their sounds could be combined to make something genuinely new and unique.

Miho & Diego Duo makes it a primary goal to encourage cultural understanding through music. To achieve this goal they have developed a program that has been presented in Japan and the King County Library System that introduces youth to Japanese and South American folk music using involvement and participation. They also hold lecture recitals that combine both the educational and musical aspects of South American and Japanese music, as well as the history of marimba.

Takekawa is a percussion lecturer at Pacific Lutheran University where she directs percussion and steel pan ensembles. She is also a doctoral candidate in percussion performance at the University of Washington, and is the Japan Tour Coordinator and Activities Liaison for the University of Washington School of Music.

Coy is from Santiago de Cali, Colombia. He is the former musical director of “Fundacion Viva La Musica” and “Fundacion Funmusica” in Cali, Colombia where he taught Colombian folk music and mastered the quena and the zampoña, and learned to hand make his own instruments. To learn more about Miho & Diego Duo, visit http://www.mihodiego.com.

For their Classical Tuesdays concert, besides performing their unique Japanese-South American duo selections, each performer will solo on his/her own instrument. This event also allows the performers to talk to the audience and mingle with them during the intermission (a.k.a. “coffee break”).

Classical Tuesdays in Old Town is a series of free monthly chamber music concerts held on the second Tuesday of each month, from October through February. “We’re delighted and honored to be presenting our fifth season, with steady support and a growing audience,” says Artistic Director Pamela Ryker. “The financial support of members of OTBPA has been augmented by an annual Arts Project award from the Tacoma Arts Commission for these five years and we are pleased to announce that this support has been renewed for the sixth season, which will start up Oct. 12.”

The series was created to draw people to the Old Town district on a week day evening, and to complement the musical offerings of the well-established Old Town Bluesfest and the Jazz & Wine Festival. The audience has grown tremendously over the last five years, according to Ryker. She said many people are drawn to the Old Town district on these Tuesday evenings, and a strong sense of community has developed. The concerts have proven to be as much a community gathering as a chance to hear some of Tacoma’s finest musicians.

Another feature of the series is to present an evening of student performers. Last season the event had the amazing student brass ensembles from Stadium High School, joined by their band directors on several numbers. The series has established a pattern of hiring a World Music ensemble for each season and this has necessitated reaching out into the Puget Sound region, beyond Tacoma’s borders. Miho & Diego were hired because, in addition to being fantastic musicians, “Miho was well received when she joined the ‘Celebrate Tacoma Composers’ ensemble event (for Classical Tuesdays0 on Jan. 12,” says Ryker.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. at Slavonian Hall in Old Town, (2306 N. 30th St.). Old Town Starbucks will provide coffee and hot tea water. OTBPA board members and North End neighbors will supply cookies. Audience members might also want to enjoy a meal or a beverage at one of the Old Town neighborhood eateries and coffee shops before or after the chamber music event.

Guests of all ages are welcome to this performance. There is no admission charge. Guests need not reserve a seat prior to the evening. Slavonian Hall has handicap access at the rear entrance approached from the alley.

Classical Tuesdays in Old Town will be held at Slavonian Hall in Old Town, located at This event is sponsored by Old Town Business Association, Tacoma Arts Commission and many neighborhood supporters. For more information, call (253) 752-2135, send e-mail to Ryker at or or visit http://classicaltuesdays.blogspot.com.

Classical Tuesdays in Old Town chamber music series will start up its sixth season on Oct. 12. Gary Stroutsos will perform on Native American flutes. His music was showcased in the Ken Burns PBS documentary “Lewis and Clark: Journey of the Corps of Discovery” which led to a command performance at the White House for President Bill Clinton.

Commenting rules