‘Ireland’s Greatest Showman’

MOSES LAKE — The Wallenstien Theater will ring this weekend with the voice of Irish tenor David Shannon. The concert will start at 7 p.m. Sunday evening.

Sometimes billed as “Ireland’s Greatest Showman,” Shannon has a long and varied list of credits under his belt. He’s performed leading roles in productions of “Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Misérables” and “Sweeney Todd” in London’s prestigious West End theaters, according to his biography, and he was an original cast member of the London Company production of “Come From Away.” Shannon is equally at home with traditional folk music, and laces his performance with songs accompanied by the fiddle and the bodhran, a handheld drum that’s a staple of Irish tradition.

“He's quite a showman, and he's got a wonderful, wonderful voice,” said CBCCC board member Harriet West. “All of the concerts this year have been phenomenal, and I feel this one will be no exception.”

Shannon will also perform at Wahitis Elementary School in Othello on Monday for the fourth- and fifth-grade students, according to CBCCC board member Carla McKean.

The CBCCC is celebrating its 70th birthday this year, McKean said.

“I remember attending community concerts here in Moses Lake as a child with my family's season ticket,” West said. “Of course, the Wallenstien wasn't available in those days; I believe those concerts were either held at the Assembly of God church, or in the gym at (Columbia Middle School) … My family came here in 1952, so in the ’50s and ’60s I was going to community concerts.”

Membership has other advantages as well, McKean said. CBCCC has reciprocity agreements with other organizations of the same kind in Richland and Wenatchee, besides several towns on the west side. A Central Basin Community Concert Association season ticket gets the bearer into shows sponsored by those associations also. 

Tickets to individual shows are $30 for an adult or $65 for a family. Season tickets are $70 for individual adults and $145 for a family. For music students and teachers, either in school or private instruction, tickets are $5.

The next season of concerts will begin in September, according to the CBCCC website, with performances by Kate Voss & the Hot Sauce, Molly in the Mineshaft, The Hall Sisters and the Gonzaga Symphony Orchestra.

“If a membership for next season is purchased prior to or even at the David Shannon concert, on April 28, (the purchaser) will get into the David Shannon concert for free,” McKean wrote in a message to the Columbia Basin Herald.

“(It’s our) desire to always bring a variety of high-quality live music into the lives of Moses Lake and the area,” West said. “I believe music’s a gift, and it's important to our brain, heart, soul and well-being.”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Irish musician David Shannon’s performances are often accompanied by the fiddle and the bodhran, a handheld drum widely used in traditional Irish music.
  

    David Shannon’s tenor voice has been featured in many musicals in London’s prestigious West End theater district.