Our 2023-24 Season!

It’s here! Our 2023-2024 season of music inspired by places is posted.

Save the dates and join us on our travels – no passport required!

All concerts are at 1:00pm. Locations are indicated for each performance.

  • November 11, 2023 – Musical Visions – Lake Washington High School PAC
  • March 16, 2024 – French Connection – Lake Washington High School PAC
  • June 1, 2024 – Sibelius! – Juanita High School PAC
  • June/July 2024 TBA – Summer Concert at the Ballard Locks

Tickets are available for our full season or for individual concerts at https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/2023-2024-season-2543479.


We are all volunteers in this organization. There are many volunteer roles in support of our organization, and we are grateful when folks step up. High school students can also get volunteer credit towards their graduation goals. Please see our Volunteer page if you are interested in getting involved!

Behind the Curtain of our Virtual Concerts

We stopped rehearsing in February of 2019 and have yet to meet in person as a result of the COVID19 pandemic. 

But we found a way to make music.

We succeeded through the combined efforts of certain members of the orchestra to conquer the technological hurdles. Everyone contributed but three particular members took on the tasks for logistics, recording, video editing, and audio editing.

We are proud of the results: Kirkland Civic Orchestra

This also provided an opportunity to get to know the people behind the virtual curtain who made it possible. I interviewed each of them like I interview our guest soloists. The interviews will be released in three installments.

  • Doug Gallatin – flute, piccolo: Doug starts us off with the one-on-one help he provided to our members with recording their separate parts. Doug was able to create a safe environment and work one-on-one with players who did not have studio at home, or players who  were happy to have someone else tackle some of the technological challenges.
  • Ken Adamson – French horn: Ken has been helping the KCO with recording for years. Ken was able to take the audio tracks and mix and master them for a great result. This helped spread the load out and bring Ken’s recording expertise to bear on a this type of project.
  • David Spangler – trumpet: David created much of the initial guidance and coordination around getting the individual parts played and uploaded. Then, when the audio and video tracks were uploaded, David created the video with audio. Ken did his part and then David combined the whole thing into videos we have on YouTube.

It was a pleasure to talk with these gentlemen. And it was astonishing to learn what went into the project. Each person has had a hand in each role in other groups with other projects. The combined talents and efforts are not to be trifled with. This was some hard work.

Thanks to Doug, Ken, and David for the efforts and also personal thanks for sharing with Kirkland Civic Orchestra.


by Francis X. Langlois – tuba player in the KCO

Community is our Heart

In these uncertain times, Kirkland Civic Orchestra’s desire to make music is not diminished, nor is our desire to bring that music to our community. With physical distancing measures in place that make rehearsing together a logistical nightmare (imagine 70 players separated by 6 feet–that’s a big space!), we’ve looked at using click tracks and other technologies, and have found them impractical for our group.

So we’re taking a leaf from the scores of other performing arts groups, and are digging into our archives. We’ve been recording concerts for years, but have never had the impetus to actually do the post-production work and rendering. With ample time on our hands, we’re planning a “virtual season” of four special broadcasts of past recordings using Facebook Live. Simply go to our Facebook page to view them!

  • April 26, 2020, 3 pm (PST) – Reprise of Frenemies, Part I: Brahm’s Symphony No. 2. [watch now]
  • May 31, 2020, 3 pm (PST) – Reprise of Russian Masters, Part I: Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op. 36 (Rimsky-Korsakov); Andante cantabile from String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11 (Tchaikovsky); Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61 (Saint-Saëns),which features local favorite and award-winning violinist Charlotte Marckx of the Sempre Sisters. [watch now]
  • June 28, 2020, 3 pm (PST) – Reprise of Frenemies, Part II:  Tchaikovsky’s Violin concerto, featuring again local favorite and award-winning violinist Charlotte Marckx of the Sempre Sisters. [watch now]
  • July 26, 2020, 3 pm (PST) – Reprise of Russian Masters, Part II: Symphony No. 12 in D Minor, Op. 112 (Shostakovich). [watch now]

We hope that these few hours of classical music help soothe your souls and bring you a little bit of the joy we had in performing them. Recordings will be posted afterward on our YouTube channel so you can continue to enjoy them.

P.S. Depending on how physical distancing measures change between now and summer, we’re hoping to perform at the Ballard Locks on August 30–watch our social media channels for the most up-to-date information!

Concerts cancelled

Good news and bad news:

The bad news, which should come as no surprise, is that we are also cancelling our May 31 Concert. Given the ongoing physical distancing needed to combat the pandemic, we would not have enough rehearsals to present a concert that we could be proud of.

The good news is that we are working towards another rebroadcast on Facebook Live! If we can get that working, we’re hoping to put on several “virtual flashbacks.”

Stay tuned for more updates!

In the meantime, please enjoy a recording of one of our concerts from March 19, 2017. Tuba Concert in F minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams, with soloist J.c. Sherman on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0mhQheGURw&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1v-7MQDIMNK6Xvp8CeeTX4AHmHOsERDx8QkhAS0Dt-enpZlHSf34izFoY

We are looking forward to the time when we can again play for you in person!

Wishing you the best to stay healthy and safe from our Kirkland Civic Orchestra family to yours!

Kirkland Civic Orchestra 2018-2019 Season

Kirkland Civic Orchestra is pleased to announce its fifth season bringing great classical music to greater Eastside and Seattle audiences.

The 2018-2019 season kicks off November 11, 2018 with a concert entitled “Frenemies,” a play on the legendary rivalry between Brahms and Tchaikovsky. KCO will perform Brahms’ second symphony, and Tchaikovsky’s Violin concerto, which will feature local favorite and award-winning violinist Charlotte Marxx of the Sempre Sisters.

KCO will once again join the Northwest University Choirs at Benaroya Hall for a celebration of Christmas music. Tickets for the December 4, 2018 concert are available through the Benaroya Hall box office.

The new year kicks off with “By Dedication,” on March 17, 2019, featuring pieces dedicated to one composer from another: Busoni’s Overture and Vaughan Williams’ 5th Symphony, both dedicated to Sibelius, and Sibelius’ 7th Symphony, his final symphonic work.

As we emerge from the darkness of winter, our May 19, 2019 spring concert explores “Shadows and Light,” with Whitacre’s richly harmonic Lux Aurumque, in an orchestral adaptation, Debussy’s symphonic poem Afternoon of a faun, and two Vaughan Williams’ pieces: A Road All Paved with Stars and Lark Ascending.

The season ends at the beginning of summer with a free pops concert in the English Garden at the Ballard (Chittenden) Locks, where we invite the audience to bring their lawn chairs and picnics, and enjoy movie and patriotic favorites and our spectacular Seattle summer weather.

Regular season concerts take place at Butterfield Chapel on the Northwest University campus in Kirkland, and are free to the public, though tickets are advised as seating is limited. Tickets are available from our website, Facebook page (www.facebook.com/KirkOrch), and via Eventbrite (kirklandorchestra.eventbrite.com).

Kirkland Civic Orchestra is an all-volunteer symphony orchestra that relies on the generosity of our players, our audience and institutions like 4Culture and corporate matching programs to fulfill our mission of enriching the lives of all members of our community through unique and high quality musical experiences.