Gig Harbor Vocalist Jordan Bowles to Perform at Ten Grands Seattle Benefit Concert on May 11

A vocalist from Gig Harbor will be part of a select group of musicians and singers who will perform May 11 in Seattle.

Jordan Bowles, 17, will perform as part of the Ten Grands Seattle benefit concert at Benaroya Hall.

Bowles, a junior at Tacoma's Life Christian Academy, was one of 41 medal-winning musicans and singers at last month's Washington State Solo & Ensemble Contest, an annual statewide competition for high school students that took place in Ellensburg.

A sellout crowd is expected for the 6th annual musical variety show, whose proceeds support the Seattle Symphony’s education programs and other select nonprofit music education organizations. 

Congratulations to Jordan and his family.

Here is the full press release, including ticket information:

Ticketholders for the Ten Grands Seattle benefit concert on May 11 at Benaroya Hall will be treated to additional performances by 88 talented young artists. Selected musicians will appear onstage with the featured professional artists, and others will perform in the Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby starting at 5 p.m. (two hours before the Ten Grands performance begins). 

The added performers include 41 medalists from a statewide high school contest, three dozen members of an internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble, and other specially invited guests. 

The 41 medal-winning musicians are from nine Western Washington schools and include soloists, a string quartet and a men’s vocal ensemble (roster follows). Student participation has always been an integral part of the Ten Grands Seattle event. Many performers are students of statewide music educators and Ten Grands pianist performers. 

The award-winning students are from this year’s Washington State Solo & Ensemble Contest, an annual statewide competition for high school students held in Ellensburg, Washington on April 26-27.The State Solo and Ensemble Contest is a program of WIAA/WMEA (Washington Interscholastic Activities Association/Washington Music Educators Association). Students compete in 29 solo categories, including seven woodwind categories, five brass, four percussion, four strings, six vocal, piano, guitar and harp. A complete list of winners is published on the WMEA website. 

A sellout crowd is expected for the 6th annual musical variety show, whose proceeds support the Seattle Symphony’s education programs and other select nonprofit music education organizations.  

Limited Ticket Availability 

Only limited tickets remain for the popular one-night-only concert. Tickets, starting at $42, may be purchased at www.seattlesymphony.org, through the Seattle Symphony’s new iPhone and Android apps, by calling the Seattle Symphony Ticket Office at (206) 215-4747, or by visiting the Ticket Office in Benaroya Hall, located on the corner of Union Street and Third Avenue. Ticket Office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., and Saturday, 1–6 p.m. 

About Ten Grands 

The Ten Grands concert program features multi-genre music from classical, jazz, boogie woogie, R&B and pop to original compositions and more. Pianists perform as soloists as well as in various combinations, including all 10 playing simultaneously on a multi-level, flower-bedecked stage at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall. Ten Grands concerts, held in Seattle and Portland, were conceived in response to budget cuts affecting K-12 and community-based music programs. Individual patrons and local non-profit organizations underwrite concert tickets for underserved youth and families. RBC Wealth Management has been the presenting sponsor for the Ten Grands concerts in Seattle since 2008, its inaugural year.