Pam Hunt
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In this sequel to last month's feature on Terry Hunt, here's a bit about an equally important leader in the local music scene, Terry's "other half": Pam Hunt.  Pam has been teaching, performing, and promoting music here tirelessly since the early 1990's.  It's no exaggeration to say that her teaching has engaged generations of Valley residents, as reflected by her current students who range in age from 4 (!) to 81.  

Pam was born in Connecticut, and grew up in a musical household with a guitar playing mother, a dad who loved to sing, and a family that loved to sing together on road trips and around campfires.  She began formal lessons at 8 on the piano and violin.  She was fortunate to have come up in a public school system that offered excellent musical opportunities.  Her greatest musical love was singing, and eventually, as a member of the Brown University Choir, she traveled to places like China and Romania to perform.  Her degree from Brown was in literature, not music, but she took her singing seriously, especially learning the vocal music of the European masters like Bach, Brahms, Handel, and Schubert.  She also learned, to varying degrees, the foreign languages - French, Italian, German, Spanish- that were so important in rendering these songs properly.

After college, she confronted a dilemma shared by many holders of liberal arts degrees - what to do for a living?  Over several years, she lived in Paris and Japan, and found herself teaching English.  Something clicked for Pam - she knew she was going to be a teacher of some kind.  She met Terry in Boulder, CO, where she was singing and teaching, then the couple moved to Bainbridge Island, WA, where Pam taught at a Montessori school.  When they checked out the Methow Valley in the early 90's, she was struck by the quality of the arts and music scene.  Soon, she was performing here, primarily singing classical repertoire, and it didn't take long before people starting asking her for lessons, first in voice, then piano, and then violin, and eventually adding cello.  in 1996, she and Terry established the Pipestone School of Music, which still thrives today under the umbrella of Cascadia Music.  

Pam is renowned around here as an extraordinary teacher.  She doesn't just focus on building musical skill and repertoire.  Her approach, closely aligned with the famed Suzuki Method, is based on the learning styles of young children.  Her mission is to help the student create beauty, and, moreover, to be a better person and part of a bigger community.  Above all, she makes learning FUN.  Just ask any of the hundreds of her students! Just this week, one of her former students and soon to be professional violinist, Keeley Brooks, played a recital here and was effusive about her first violin teacher.  

Pam is a frequent performer as well.  Annually, she participates in Lake Chelan Bach Fest, and holds down the cello section in the Pipestone Orchestra.  The original Tamarack String Quartet was started about 2008 with Tara Kaiyala Weaver (then Simmons) and John Weeks on violins, Pam on viola, and Craig Weaver on cello.  Today, the lineup is Matt Armbrust and Norma Shull on violins, Anna Dooley on viola and Pam on cello. She's the only original member of the quartet  - but on a different instrument!  Keep up with them at https://www.tamarackquartet.com/.  Pam is truly a valley treasure!  And along with Terry, and their talented kids Galen and Mollie, her positive impact on our community is immeasurable.