Concerts in the Barn Showcases Local History in Grand Finale This Weekend

On a particular farm in Quilcene, there’s much more than what meets the eye. One day last fall, writer Leigh Hearon decided to tell the story of this place, in words, visuals and music. 

“Amy’s Journey,” a special performance this Friday, is a tale about a young girl, a flock of farm and wild animals, and the treasure hunt that takes them inside local history. Hearon is the writer of the libretto, while an ensemble of chamber musicians from around the country provide the live soundtrack. This family-friendly event—with free admission—is part of the closing weekend of the Concerts in the Barn series at the Quilcene Lantern, on the farm at 7360 Center Road in Quilcene. 

This weekend’s finale also includes concerts on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. An ensemble of noted musicians will play music by Beethoven and Brahms—with a flourish of Scottish fiddling to top them off. 

“It’s just a blockbuster program with great, stirring piano music,” said Hearon, who is the series’ volunteer director. She added that pianist Xiaohui Yang, who is new to the Concerts in the Barn, will join the ensemble that also features the Barston sisters, Amy and Elisa, and violist Kayleigh Miller.  

For all three concerts, farm gates open at 1 p.m. for show time at 2 p.m. Free tickets are available at https://www.concertsinthebarn.org/, and since seats inside the barn book up fast, Hearon urges concert-goers to make reservations in advance. Attendees also have the option of sitting outside on the grass, where there’s plenty of room and the music is broadcast on speakers. Everyone is invited to bring picnics and walk around the farm before concert time; they can also buy snacks and drinks on site.

On Friday, “Amy’s Journey” begins when she visits her aunt on her Olympic Peninsula farm. It’s summertime, and as Amy explores, she finds hidden objects that hint at this place’s past. 

Our girl communes with the animals, both on the farm and in the nearby woods. It is they who help Amy sort out the history beneath what she’s found. “Amy’s Journey” unfolds visually, with illustrations by Tim Girvin up on a big screen, and aurally. Adam Silverman, a Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, composer and a longtime friend of Hearon, created the musical score, replete with instruments imitating the sounds of goats, sheep, owls, a donkey and an eagle in flight. 

To begin, Silverman studied the sounds of Pacific Northwest creatures, and arranged them in the soundtrack with violin, cello, clarinet and flute. He also worked with young consultants who will be performing in the “Amy’s Journey” ensemble: his daughters, violinist Marka, 14, and cellist Zoey, 12.  

Getting a tween and a teen to do something their father composed was a challenge, Silverman said. Fortunately both girls adore the farm as well as performing up there on stage. 

Yet “Amy’s Journey” is not just about a kid, a farm and summer. Real-life history undergirds this story; we discover the lives of the original owners of the farm. 

The Iseri family, Japanese Americans who built the farmhouse, barn and milking parlor, raised dairy cattle and provided fresh produce for the surrounding community. They did this for decades. 

Then came Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, the United States’ entry into World War II, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 two months later. The order sent 120,000 U.S. residents of Japanese descent to concentration camps across the West. 

According to the history page at concertsinthebarn.org, the Iseris were unable to regain ownership of the farm after the war ended and they were released. The property passed through a series of owners, and never returned to its original state. 

The late Alan Iglitzin purchased the farm in the late 1970s. He later began the Olympic Music Festival, which would become Concerts in the Barn. 

Around 1992, Iglitzin got a phone call from Isamu “Sam” Iseri, who’d helped his father build the barn. He asked if he could see his childhood home, and Iglitzin welcomed Iseri and his family for a visit. They became good friends, Hearon recalled. Iseri worked at Boeing and raised his own family in Seattle. 

“The nice thing is, we stayed in touch. They were very fond of Alan, and Alan was very fond of the family,” said Hearon. 

She emphasized that “Amy’s Journey” is not meant to be a political piece. 

“I just want people to be aware of what happened [at the farm],” Hearon said. 

“It’s part of our history.”