Peterson Conservatory of Music and Arts presents the Starry Night Duo.
Bask in the joy of music with love songs, classical favorites, gypsy jazz, and Latin jazz, with Sharyn Peterson on violin and Richard Rorex on guitar.
Sharyn Peterson (violin, vocals, and Artistic Director and conductor for Starry Night concerts) is a versatile performer and instructor for instrumental and choral groups of all ages. A Master’s graduate of UW Music Department, she directs Mount Baker and Fidalgo Youth Symphonies, adjudicates students, and maintains an active career as a conductor, violin soloist, concertmaster, music arranger, soprano vocalist, and recording artist.
In 2004, she helped found Skagit Opera, for which she conducted Amahl and the Night Visitors by Menotti, and played several seasons as concertmaster and orchestra agent. Mrs. Peterson has served on the faculties of Seattle Pacific and Western Washington Universities, and directs Starry Night Chamber Orchestra and Peterson Conservatory of Music and Arts. She is a frequent violin soloist/concertmaster with Northwest choral, dance, and symphonic ensembles (many years with the Lynden Choral Society’s Messiah). She has also directed / conducted Sounds of Summer Music Festival since 1995 -- an orchestra / jazz / choral camp for students ages 10 to 21. For six years she led PCMA’s Chamber Music Intensive Youth Camp in Stanwood WA. As the former concertmaster for Grace Experimental Orchestra in Seattle, she conducted several successful musicals, recently Into the Woods at the Lincoln Theatre.
Conducting highlights include 2015 Meydenbauer Hall Bellevue Concerts, featuring showpieces by the Starry Night Orchestra. In 2019 she conducted and performed on violin for the first live orchestra performance in the new National Nordic Museum, Seattle, plus another large concert performance there in 2023.
As a last-minute substitute for an ailing soprano, last December Mrs. Peterson performed the soprano solos with the Lynden Choral Society’s Messiah. For 7 years she performed in the first violin section of the Federal Way Symphony. She has led Youth Concert tours to China, Portugal, Eastern Europe, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Spain, France, and Vienna. In China, she gave a Violin Master Class in Bei Hua University, and taught at Summer Music Institute in Shanghai. She and her husband, Malcolm, have three times been guest artists at the Monte Verde Music Festival in Costa Rica.
A highlight of her solo career was performing Fang Li’s Violin Concerto in Benaroya Hall, Seattle. Three times a soloist with local orchestras in the Sibelius Violin Concerto, her most recent large scale solo appearance was with the Rainier Symphony in the Brahms Violin Concerto. She often performs out of county and state on violin and voice at various Concerts and Conventions (recently with Trio Seattle, Salish Sea Concerts for New Music, and Rorex Jazz Trio). When Judy Collins came to Mount Vernon, she sang at the Lincoln Theatre, with Sharyn and members of the Starry Night String Quartet!
Richard Rorex (guitar) is an experienced soloist and ensemble performer, with strong music improvisational skills. He has directed and organized countless performances in the Northwest, in small and large venues, private events, public concerts and shows. Rich is well-versed in many styles of music including Bossa Nova/Jazz standards as well as popular music. His performance degree is from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, with a Master's Degree in Education. Some of his recent shows include West Side Story pit orchestra (Meta Performing Arts), Little Shop of Horrors, Andrew Lloyd Weber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Vivaldi's Concerto for Guitar with the Saratoga Chamber Orchestra.
Venues he has performed at include the Princess Cruise line, Snoqualmie Casino, and many others. He has recorded three original albums, titled Music for the Whole Day, Mood for Richelle, and Rich Rorex Solo Guitar. Rich worked for 25 years as a lounge musician including lead guitar and vocals with one of the Northwest's well-known bands, The Sonics, as well as playing in numerous venues with ensembles from trios to 8-piece bands, including a Starry Night Concert at the Lincoln Theatre in 2018.. He has opened for The Impressions, The Kingston Trio, and Confunction, and took master Classes from George Benson, Howard Roberts, Steve Morse, and Don Mock.
Advance General Seating Tickets: $20 All Seats + applicable fees. A Peterson Conservatory of Music and Arts production; Member Discounts do not apply.
All prices include a $2.00 Preservation Fee that goes directly into our capital account for the preservation of the Lincoln Theatre and its programs.