The Wonders of Yaks, Repairing Cellos, and Mighty Tieton

Megan Sukys
09/23/2008

Today, we visit Jim Harding's yak ranch in Issaquah, where he raises the animals for riding. He compares them to off road vehicles. We also meet a medical doctor who spends his spare time repairing old cellos, and we visit the growing artist colony in Tieton, Washington.

At 2:05 p.m. – Carlsen Cello Foundation

Having the right instrument makes a huge difference in the progress of a young musician. Dr. Ray Carlsen provides aspiring cellists the instruments they need through the Seattle–based Carlsen Cello Foundation. He's a medical doctor who spends his spare time finding and repairing cellos and getting them to young musicians across the country. Dr Carlsen took up the cello when he was 50 years old. The Carlsen Cello Foundation keeps him connected to the instrument and music he loves.

At 2:20 p.m. – Mystique Ranch

A yak is nearly five feet tall and can weigh 1,100 pounds with long, shaggy hair and sharp horns. It's a little larger than your average pet, and yet, Jim Harding cares for his yaks like family dogs. Jim Harding is the CEO of Cirque and a former vice president of Amazon.com. He has his own yak ranch in Issaquah where he raises the animals for riding. He compares them to off–road vehicles. We visit his ranch and meet his prize yak, Tashi.

At 2:40 p.m. – Seattle's Cuban Connections in Music

One of Cuba's most admired artists is making music in Seattle this week. Hilario Duran played piano and arranged music for celebrated Cuban bands and musicians including Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval. Hilario has fronted many of his own bands and plays piano with Seattle's own Cuban orchestra, Charanga Danzon this Friday evening in the Chapel Performance Space in Wallingford's Good Shepherd Center. Irene Mitri is a Seattle–based violinist in Charanga Danzon. She's traveled many times to Cuba, played often with Hilario and joins us with this appreciation of Hilario's contributions to world music.

At 2:50 p.m. – Mighty Tieton

In 2005, downtown Tieton looked like a ghost town. Most of the buildings were boarded up or abandoned. There hadn't been a building permit filed in the central Washington town for years. That's the place Ed Marquand saw one spring afternoon. He has since organized a group of artist friends from Seattle to buy and build in the small town. In this archived interview, he tells Jeannie Yandel what got him thinking about the possibilities of Tieton in the first place.