More than a dozen members of the Phinney Community Chorus held a flash mob of Christmas carols at Ken’s Market last weekend. Here’s video from the Seattle Channel’s Tom Speer.

The Phinney Ridge Gospel Choir will perform “Peace: A Soulful Christmas Celebration” from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17, at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, 7500 Greenwood Ave. N.

Admission is free, but donations are accepted for the Downtown Emergency Shelter. Cookies and eggnog will be served after the concert, and childcare will be available.

Phinney Ridge resident Kaye Gill has been playing bass guitar professionally for two years, starting at the tender age of 11. As she turns 13 this week, she was featured on last night’s KING 5′s “Evening Magazine,” recounting how she came to play with local favorite Verlee for Ransom, back when she was still a student at West Woodland Elementary.

By Mwiza Kalisa

Anika Anderson, a student at West Woodland Elementary school, was awarded a Norwegian fiddle for one year. Anika is the first recipient of the Young Student Hardanger Fiddle Loan, which was presented by the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America.

The 11-year-old from Ballard developed an interest in Scandinavian music at an early age. Growing up in a musical household Anika started taking lessons when she was 7. In 2007 she had the opportunity to play the hardanger when her violin teacher, Martha Levenson, shared the instrument.

Anika received her own hardanger in January after applying for the loan last October. Anika’s mother, Debbie Anderson, says that very few people are skilled in the hardanger and that even in Norway child-sized versions of the instrument are difficult to find. The rare child-sized instrument was made in Oregon.

The hardanger is more delicate than the violin and has four additional strings. When Anika received the instrument she started taking lessons with Peter Michaelson, one of the few Seattle musicians familiar with the hardanger. Anderson says that the unique opportunity has broadened their perspective of Norwegian music.

Hear more from Anika and listen to her play.

“If people don’t teach other people how to play this instrument it will eventually go away,” Anderson said. “I think they’ve done a great job on bringing this instrument to kids and I think Anika has done a really good job of sharing this instrument to other kids and other grownups.”

Anika has taken advantage of the opportunity, performing at local shows and in other states. In the Summer she visited Wisconsin on a tuition scholarship, where she attended the HFAA annual workshop. She also performs with the Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag, a group of young musicians who play traditional Scandinavian music.

Although Anika’s time with the small instrument is nearing an end, she hopes to own a regular hardanger one day. Anderson says she’s proud of her daughter’s accomplishments and will continue to support her in the future.

“I’m very proud of my daughter, but most of it has been her motivation,” she said. “It’s what she’s wanted to do.”

Anika’s next performance is at Yulefest, with the Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag, at 11 a.m. on Nov. 19 at the Nordic Heritage Museum. She is also performing at the Nordic Heritage Museum on Dec. 4 at 1:30 p.m. and with her mentor Peter Michaelsen at the Skandia Folklore Society’s Jullekstuga dance, at Cedar Valley Grange Hall in Lynnwood on Dec. 16.

Here’s a roundup of various neighborhood news tidbits.

CoolMom reports that members of the environmental group collected 35 child car seats for recycling at last Friday’s Phinney Farmers Market. Each person who dropped off a seat paid a $10 recycling fee, but received a $10 gift certificate to Childish Things in Greenwood.

If you’re a college student in need of apartment furniture, three Goodwill stores, including the Ballard store on 8th Avenue NW and NW 65th Street, is giving college students 30 percent off their entire purchase on Wednesday (must show your student I.D. card). And you can enter a raffle to win a Goodwill gift card worth up to $100.

Greenwood is featured in one segment of a new film about cleaning up and restoring Puget Sound. “Sound and Vision” premieres at the Northwest Film Forum at 7 p.m. Monday as part of their Local Sightings Film Fest. This short clip features West Seattle. The film was produced by local production company We Are Shouting.

Three musicians from Phinney Ridge are involved in an interesting new musical adventure called “Ragas across Space (A space physicist’s musical journey through our solar system).”

Ragas across Space is a unique album in which sounds from the Earth, Jupiter and Saturn, gathered by NASA’s Polar, Voyager and Cassini spacecrafts are harmonized with Indian Classical Music. The project was spearheaded by Dr. Chanchal Uberoi, retired Professor from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and features many wonderful artists from the Seattle, WA area. The album can be purchased from CDBaby, iTunes and several other music sites.

Of the seven artists in the album, 3 (Vibhavaree Gargeya, Daniel Shurman and Chaz Hastings, live on Phinney Ridge.

If you’ve got an old computer or television to get rid of, over in Fremont, InterConnection.org is having its Grand Opening Donation Drive and Laptop Sale at its new Computer Reuse Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Anyone who donates a computer gets 20% off selected items at InterConnection’s retail store. The nonprofit will also have a clearance sale on laptops, many starting at $99.

The successful nonprofit relies entirely on computer donations to support its cause. Therefore, any proceeds from the retail store provide direct support to InterConnection’s mission.

InterConnection.Org accepts all computers, monitors and TVs, but especially laptops less than five years old are valuable technology resources that can be refurbished and given new life as vital tools for people and humanitarian organizations around the world. Reusing a laptop is 20 times more effective in reducing greenhouse gases than recycling.

InterConnection.org’s Computer Reuse Center is at 3415 Stone Way.

And PAWS (Progressive Animal Welfare Society) wants to remind folks about safety around raccoons. You can take their six-question quiz here, which gives you the answers to questions such as: How can you keep raccoons out of your pet’s food?; How can you keep raccoons from entering your home through a pet door?; and, When is the best time to raccoon-proof your home?

The answer to that last question is now, in the fall or winter when babies are grown up and have dispersed from dens.

Fall/winter is the best time to repair access points to attics, crawlspaces and sheds and to install chimney caps in order to prevent conflicts the following spring/summer. If Raccoons still reside around your home, use humane deterrents to evict them such as bright lights, a loud radio set to a talk station, and unpleasant smells (such as placing ammonia soaked rags in a closed container, with holes punched in the lid, in the impacted area – only do this if you are sure no babies are present).

Need proof of how prevalent the raccoon problem is? Gregg sent us this photo recently of five raccoons trying to eat the fish out of his pond.

The 7th annual neighborhood music fest known as Greenwoodstock happens once again in conjunction with the annual Night Out, on Aug. 2.

Sixth Avenue NW will be closed between NW 76th and NW 77th streets, adjacent to the 6th Avenue NW Pocket Park (more commonly known as “Our Park”), for music and dancing in the streets.

Everyone is invited to bring their entire block party to the fest. Three bands will perform Americana and Alt Country (bands to be announced later). And Chef Tiberio Simone will be grilling his famous pizza (we’re told that last year he made 500 individual pizzas).

The crowd listens to one of the three bands at last year’s Greenwoodstock.

Local composer Nat Evans is presenting a unique musical event at Carkeek Park on July 30. Called “Sunset and Music,” participants are invited to download his music onto their iPods or other portable device beforehand, show up at the beach at Carkeek Park at 8:30 p.m., then everyone presses play at 8:37, which is 10 minutes before sunset. Then everyone observes the sunset and listens to the music together.

The music, a piece entitled Assemblage, is a mix of new and pre-existing compositions that have been arranged to best compliment the changing of light at the pivotal moment of Sunset, and will be available to download from the composer’s website (natevansmusic.com) a week before the event.

Seattle composer Nat Evans writes concert music for various mixed chamber ensembles as well as distinctive electro-acoustic music. His music is regularly performed across the United States and has been performed in Europe, South America, Australia and China.

The Phinney Community Chorus raised $9,675 from about 175 people who attended last Sunday’s concert at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church. Chorus member Mike Veitenhans tells us that the concert included songs from around the world — France, Italy, Georgia, Croatia, South Africa, Haiti and the United States.

All the money raised will go to pay teacher salaries at Lekol Pa Nou (“Our School”) in Pichon, Haiti, which the chorus has been supporting for several years. If anyone still wants to contribute, they can make a tax deductible donation through Education for Prosperity.

The Northwest Chamber Chorus will perform two concerts at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, 7500 Greenwood Ave. N. this weekend. Saturday’s concert is at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday’s concert is at 3 p.m.

The highly regarded 40-voice Northwest Chamber Chorus under Music Director Mark Kloepper, continues its 43rd Concert Season with two performances of its “The Birds and the Bees” concert. This fun program features songs that celebrate the return of sunshine and spring.

Songs about nature and the garden include Spring by Edvard Grieg, Waldesnacht by Johannes Brahms, A Rose Touched by the Sun’s Warm Rays by Jean Berger, God’s Bottles by Randall Thompson, and The Waking by Giselle Wyers.

Songs about spring love are Under the Willow Tree and The Coolin by Samuel Barber, Faire Phyllis by John Farmer, and The Little Green Lane by S.E. Lovatt.

Songs of birds and bugs feature Woodpecker by Stephen Chapman, Die Nachtigall by Mendelssohn, Of Crows and Clusters by Norman Dello Joio, The Blue Bird by Charles V. Stanford, The Silver Swan by Orlando Gibbons, El Grillo by Josquin des Pres.  Also in the program are Jabberwocky by Sam Pottle, Mata del Anima Sola  (Tree of the Lonely Soul) by Antonio Estévez.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for seniors and students, and $12 for any active singer from a school or community/church choir. Children ages 6-12 are admitted free with an accompanying adult. Tickets are available at www.northwestchamberchorus.org or by calling 206-523-1196.

Tickets for this season of ZooTunes at Woodland Park Zoo go on sale for zoo members on Thursday. Online sales to the general public begin Friday.

Here’s the schedule:

• Wed., June 22 – Taj Mahal / Joan Osborne ($26)
• Sun., June 26 – Marc Cohn / Mary Chapin Carpenter ($24)
• Wed., June 29 – Lucinda Williams ($22)
• Thurs., June 30 - The Robert Cray Band ($24)
• Wed., July 6 - AfroCubism ($22)
• Wed. – Thurs., July 20 & 21 - Indigo Girls with Mount Moriah ($26)
• Fri., July 29 – Brandi Carlile ($36)
• Wed., Aug 10 – k.d. lang and The Siss Boom Bang ($35)
• Sun., Aug 14 – The Go-Go’s Ladies Gone Wild Tour ($24)
• Wed., Aug 17 - Carolina Chocolate Drops with special guests ($19)
• Sun., Aug 21 – Aimee Mann with The Weepies ($19)

The Go-Gos perform Aug. 14.

Zoo gates open at 5 p.m.; concerts begin at 6 p.m. and are held rain or shine (no ticket refunds).

Tickets go on sale beginning May 6 at 8:00 a.m. online at www.zoo.org/zootunes. A $2 processing fee is added to all online ticket purchases. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase at Woodland Park Zoo gates during zoo hours: 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. daily. Ticket prices at all outlets will include a $1 facility fee to fund maintenance of the zoo’s concert facilities. One child 12 and under per paid ticket is admitted free. Tickets sell out fast, so purchase early!

For the first time, Woodland Park Zoo members will have the opportunity to purchase ZooTunes tickets before the general public. The ZooTunes member pre-sale begins online only on May 5 at 8:00 a.m. Members will receive an exclusive pre-sale link by email and can purchase up to eight pre-sale tickets per show. Pre-sale is available to active members and to new members who have registered online or at zoo entrances by midnight on Saturday, April 30. To become a zoo member, visit www.zoo.org/join.

The Ballard High School music program presents a night of jazz on Saturday, April 30, with the first ever “Ballard Jazz Gala.”

The event will be held at the Blue Ridge Community Clubhouse (10040 15th Ave. N.) from 6-10 p.m. The beginning of the evening will be a silent auction and wine raffle with solo performances by BHS jazz music students. From 7:30-10 p.m., the vocal jazz and jazz band will perform, concluding with special guest the Hammon-Esvelt Quintent.

Tickets are $25 each (available here) which gets you complimentary heavy hors d’oeuvres, with beer and wine available for purchase. All proceeds support the Ballard High School Music Program.

By Tyler Steele, PhinneyWood intern

From the outside, the old Craftsman house at 6300 Phinney Ave. N. looks like any other on the block. But on the inside, multi-instrumentalist and owner Michael Connolly runs Empty Sea Studios — concert venue, recording studio, teaching space and platform for his LearningMusician website.

“May of 2009 was the first show,” Connolly said at his studio while setting up chairs before a January weekend acoustic performance by ThorNton Creek, “and I haven’t had to close the doors yet. A lot of people still don’t know this place exists…but word of mouth has kept me alive.”

In order to better promote his business, Connolly has just hired someone to work primarily on marketing, something that will help him focus on what he loves doing — playing, writing, recording and teaching music.

Connolly started playing the mandolin at age 6, picking up more instruments, writing songs and helping other artists develop their talents ever since. Today, he teaches, records, promotes and markets music full-time.

Empty Sea Studios owner Michael Connolly looks over the soundboard before a recent concert by ThorNton Creek.

Although music was always his passion, Connolly wasn’t always involved in it as an occupation. After college he started a career in computer engineering, and in 2004 he came to Seattle when he landed a job at Amazon.

Connolly eventually grew tired of “working long hours” to make a rich company richer, so he turned the only direction that made sense — straight for the music.

He renovated the upstairs of the house to be a “multi-purpose space for recording and teaching,” and kept downstairs for personal living quarters.

By the time he had finished, he had also created a “single-purpose listening room for concerts,” soon becoming the most visible aspect of the business. The stage allows groups such as ThorNton Creek and artists like Korby Lenker to perform only feet away from the audience, which creates an “intimate acoustic experience” Empty Sea has become known for.

Musician Thornton Bowman, of ThorNton Creek, practicing on stage at Empty Sea Studios before a January concert.

For Connolly, “anything acoustic” means folk, early jazz, blues and Americana –“anything that sounds like it came from real instruments,” he explained.

“Fortunately, there are enough people interested in the music that I have plenty of work here in the Northwest,” he added, moving into the recording studio to make a few adjustments before the show.

Yet, only 20 percent of Connolly’s revenue actually comes from weekly concerts. The rest is generated through teaching, recording and from his LearningMusician website.

“The concerts are how I meet the people that might be recording clients,” he explained, adding that musicians who come to hear the concerts often become recording clients or students.

“The acoustic audience has a high percentage of musicians,” he said while helping his engineering intern, Jordan Cunningham, 20, finish setting up as a few audience members started to trickle in for the show. “They are a very narrow niche, but a very deep investment if you can tap into it and provide a product and venue that meets their needs.”

Cunningham said he helps Connolly during shows and on recording sessions, including setting up microphones and the sound booth, patching up gear and even “giving input to musicians,” Cunningham explained.

Connolly said it’s great to have someone around to help, and the payoff for Cunningham is that he has access to the facilities and can transition from an academic setting into the real word of freelance audio engineering.

Empty Sea Studios owner Michael Connolly with engineering intern Jordan Cunningham.

The other part of Connolly’s business, his website, www.LearningMusician.com, probably takes the least amount of effort to maintain but generates the most income.

“It’s like a dating website for music teachers and those looking for instruction,” he explained. “Teachers pay $10 per month as a subscription fee and potential students have free access to the site.”

Connolly admits he probably works more hours now that he owns a small business, but said the lifestyle change was more than worth it.

“I spend most of my time running around like a chicken with my head cut off — answering email and stacking chairs. You think you’re going to do the thing you’re good at, and that ends up being 20 percent of what you actually do during the day,” he said. “Although I achieve my living by busting my ass week after week, I do it by playing my music and doing what I love.”

Tyler Steele is PhinneyWood’s intern. He is a journalism student at the University of Washington.