The Crowd: East meets west in Hutchins concert
On the back of the program, organizers of Song of India, a benefit dinner for the Hutchins Consort, printed an Indian proverb:
“They who give have all things. They who withhold have nothing.”
On a recent Saturday evening in March, some 100 donors came together at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach to give financially but, more importantly, to give emotionally and spiritually to nourish a remarkable cultural institution. Hutchins Consort, one of the world’s few music ensembles performing on an octet of acoustically matched violins, has been a life’s purpose for Joe McNalley, its artistic director.
The group, which finds its origins in coastal Orange County, has joined with a similar ensemble in New York known as Hutchins East. Both are named for the late Dr. Carleen Hutchins (1911-2009), who designed the acoustically matched violins. Both consorts, east and west, are part of the New Violin Family Assn., which counts among its members musicians, composers, luthiers and scientists from all over the world.
This international connection has fostered educational outreach in music, promoting children’s string programs worldwide. Here in Orange County, Hutchins Consort presents an annual series of concerts featuring guest performances and collaborations with other music institutions.
What sets this cultural organization apart from so many others is the dedication and passion of its supporters. Over the years they have created something unique and special from the ground up. It has been a labor of love for people including founder Sharon McNalley of Corona del Mar, board of directors President Barbara Woods, Song of India Chairwoman Margaret Gates and major benefactors Howard and Roberta Ahmanson, also of Corona del Mar.
It has also been a challenge met with resolve. The result of unparalleled effort year in and year out is the creation of a musical experience that surprises and inspires audiences who have never heard anything like the consort.
Song of India took the audience into new territory. McNalley on bass violin was joined by eight musicians, Tim McNalley on sitar and contrabass violin, Maksim Velichkin on baritone violin, Pete Jacobson on tenor violin, Erin Breene on alto violin, Christopher Woods on mezzo violin, Bethany Grace on soprano violin, Steve Huber on treble violin and Jesse Chamo on tabla.
While the ensemble took the crowd to the east musically, an appropriate Indian-themed dinner was served, beginning with cilantro chutney shrimp and grilled lamb tikka skewers followed by entrees of balti butter chicken with yogurt and grilled filet medallions served with naan.
Supporting the Hutchins passion were Bobbitt Williams, Jan Landstrom, Ruth Ann Burns, Sabra Bordas, Susan Beechner, Jane and Stan Grier, Carolyn Nelson Hardy, Mary Roosevelt, Sue and Nick Alexopoulos, Vahe and Armine Meghrouni, Michelle Rohe, Elizabeth and John Stahr, Ruth Bedi and Harvey Fair.
It was a unique evening on the Orange Coast, inspired by the ghosts of Rudyard Kipling and Rimsky-Korsakov at a party designed in vibrant Indian colors and fabrics, topped off with renditions of Indian music by the consort.
To learn more about Hutchins Consort, visit https://www.hutchinsconsort.org.
THE CROWD runs Fridays and Saturdays. B.W. Cook is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.
