MUSIC ON THE STRAIT

Music on the Strait aims to share chamber music, both its traditions and emerging voices, through community programming and educational outreach. Founded by Olympic Peninsula-raised musicians Richard O’Neill and James Garlick, Music on the Strait strives to:

- Enrich the arts community of the Olympic Peninsula through wide-ranging collaborations and diverse programming;

- Educate our community, and especially young people, about artists and composers from diverse backgrounds around the world;

- Inspire our community through world-class chamber-music programming at the highest level;

- Contribute to the local arts economy; and

- Celebrate and promote the arts across the Olympic Peninsula and Pacific Northwest.

In 2025, Music on the Strait held its annual summer music festival, featuring musicians like MacArthur "Genius" Jeremy Denk, violinist Kristin Lee, cellist Efe Baltacıgil, and composer-in-residence Gabriella Lena Frank, who was named by the Washington Post as one of the 30 most influential women composers in music history.  Outside of the summer season, Music on the Strait also presented Bach's complete Goldberg Variations, recorded for commercial release Lembit Beecher's The Happiness of Two Salmon Returning Home, collaborated with Port Angeles City Ballet and the Port Angeles Symphony, and performed at Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts. 

Through our Fiddleheads educational outreach programs, Music on the Strait works in local public schools to encourage and foster a love of the arts in our young people. Music on the Strait hosted  workshops at Port Angeles High School and invited students to perform at Field Hall before mainstage programming. 

In 2025, the annual Dick and Alice Rapasky Community Music Scholarship Program awarded $20,000 in scholarships to 40 local students. These $500 grants are paid directly to the student's teachers who are working music professionals in the community. With its focus on education and mentorship, the program supports students-in-need as well as music teachers and the local arts economy.