It was with sadness and shock that residents of Whatcom County who love music, value music education and promote local cultural endeavors learned that The Amadeus Project will lose its lease at the end of February. All of us will be diminished by the loss of a remarkable venue for live unamplified music.
Not all the world's great music was created to be performed in large halls like the Mount Baker Theater and WWU's Performing Arts Center. The Amadeus Project's space at 1209 Cornwall Ave. has near-perfect acoustics for solo piano and small ensembles. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to find a comparable place to hear such intimate concerts as those of the Keyboard Friends and Community Concert series, and the fledgling Amadeus Chamber Festival.
Fortunately, the unique music education program associated with the project will not be lost to the community, but closing the storefront space will sever its students and teachers from a place to perform publicly and a supportive body of professional musicians scattered from Portland to Vancouver, BC.
We urge everyone to join in the challenging search for a suitable new home for one of the county's cultural treasures, even as the administrative staff, students, local musicians and supporters collect the splinters of their shattered hopes and dreams for future performances.
Kirk and Ann Smith
Bellingham
