Yvonne Pepin-Wakefield and Garry Estep to Host Modern Art Performance Oct. 2nd
by Cole Goodwin
Serious Theater in partnership with the Wasco County Cultural Trust Coalition will bring art and music together for a free public event happening on Sunday, October 2 at 2:00 P.M at Zion Lutheran Church in The Dalles.
The Dalles artist Yvonne Pepin-Wakefield will create a painting on glass while pianist Garry Estep provides accompaniment of modern music. Estep’s musical performance will include American Berserk by John Adams, Piano Etudes by Philip Glass, Four Piano Blues by Aaron Copland, and Chromatic Fantasy by Dave Brubeck.
The event is also an opportunity to witness modern artist Yvonne Pepin-Wakefield’s creative process.
Yvonne Pepin-Wakefield is an internationally exhibited and published artist and author with a doctorate in Human and Organizational Systems.
Her award-winning Babe in the Woods book series follows her journey as an 18 year-old woman who set out to build a log cabin in the Oregon wilderness and heal from her orphaned past. Yvonne is also the author of Babe in the Woods: Self Portrait and Suitcase Filled with Nails: Lesson Learned from Teaching Art in Kuwait, her story about working as a university professor in Kuwait, teaching art to Muslim women.
An interview with Yvonne at her log cabin is included in Irene Lusztig’s documentary Yours in Sisterhood, a portrait of feminism centering around letters written to Ms. Magazine.
Screenwriter Schuyler Evans is currently writing a movie treatment based on the first book Babe in the Woods: Building a Life One Log at a Time.
Pepin-Wakefield’s art will also available for purchase at the event.
Can’t make it to the event? Yvonne’s Art Studio is located at 3735 Klindt Drive, in The Dalles to request a visit click here. Her books are also available in print, digital and audio formats both online and at local libraries and bookstores.
The event will also provide a chance to the public to listen to talented local pianist Gary Estep and witness his fingers dance across the keys!
Estep is a pianist with a fascinating story.
Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, began teaching himself how to read music and play piano at age 10. By the time he reached 13 years old, he began studying at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. This launched a life-long passion as a pianist/accompanist.
Garry continued his studies at the Ohio State University School of Music and The Julliard School. Working in New York City, Nashville, and Louisville, he played jazz in clubs, accompanied concerts, opera, and ballet He wrote and arranged music, became lead accompanist and vocal coach at the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music, and directed music at The Heritage House Dinner Theater, not to mention playing piano and pipe organ at numerous churches.
After twenty years, he earned an advanced degree in physics and computer science and worked for NASA, The Boeing Company, and Insitu while continuing to play music in his spare time. Now retired, Garry is the organist at Zion Lutheran Church ELCA and Christian Science, he founded and is artistic director of Serious Theater, directs the Cascade Singers, and is on a mission to make sure that the five pipe organs in The Dalles are being played regularly.
