Thank you for making MAG’s school music benefit a success! | Letter
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 14, 2026
We are grateful to the Orcas Island community for joining us on Sunday, March 29, at our benefit concert for school music, and for sharing in a standing ovation for the OISD music teacher and Strings Director, Mrs. Pamela Wright, in tribute to her 24 years of teaching in the public school. During her tenure, Mrs. Wright taught many classes of K-3 General Music and built an award-winning strings program for middle and high school musicians from scratch. She plans to retire at the end of this year.
Music Advocacy Group (MAG) has presented a school music benefit concert for almost three decades. It was heartening to see some of MAG’s founding members and long-time supporters in the crowd, encouraging a new generation of student musicians with exuberant applause. An audience member observed that MAG’s annual benefit stood out for being one where student musicians and community music groups perform together—a heartwarming intergenerational collaboration that reinforces MAG’s belief that music education is a lifelong gift.
It was a treat to watch members of the Orcas High School strings and wind ensemble perform with seasoned guest musicians like Oliver Groenewald, Bruce Harvie and Kate Wlaysewski in the Mariachi set that had the audience spontaneously clapping to a popular Mexican folk tune. The performance showcased beautiful mariachi instruments that Orcas Island Rotary generously donated to kickstart the public school’s mariachi program.
The Kids’ Chorus, led by Mary Wachter, brought their infectious joy to the finale of the afternoon’s musical program when they joined Orcas Choral Society in a moving rendition of “We Are The World,” the 1985 hit charity single. In partnership with MAG, Funhouse Commons provides financial support and practice space for the Kids’ Chorus to grow.
We appreciate the time and energy of Orcas Choral Society, Kids’ Chorus, Oliver Groenewald, Bruce Harvie, Kate Wlaysewski, music teachers Pamela Wright and Darren Dix, the student musicians, and all the many volunteer bakers for our delicious post-concert reception! Thank YOU to the school music supporters over the years for your steadfast support that continues to provide sustained access to music education at Orcas Island Public School for all K-12 students. You showed up and demonstrated that School Music Matters!
Music Advocacy Group
Annette van Dongen, Sarah Murphy, Doug McTavish, Elena Battles, Miriam Ziegler, Paul Andersson, Laura Jean Miller and Sharon Ho