Bringing 'Paradise' to Juneau

A bit of Segovia and Sting, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare and Puget Sound will converge in Juneau this weekend when the musical duo Tingstad and Rumbel perform.

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Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel play American acoustic music, a melodic instrumental style in which they also compose. The Seattlebased virtuosos take the stage at 8 p.m. Saturday at Chapel by the Lake.

Tingstad is an acoustic guitarist. Rumbel plays oboe, along with its larger cousin the English horn, and the ocarina, a versatile ceramic wind instrument. Their sound is jazzy and classical and infused with the melodic accessibility of popular music.

Tish Griffin, who set up the concert for University of Alaska Southeast student activities, said the duo consistently sells out. Griffin first brought Tingstad and Rumbel to Juneau in 1989, and Saturday night marks their seventh Juneau performance.

"They have a following," Griffin said. "It's beautiful music and we get a nice community and student response."

Both musicians have formal music training but are heavily influenced by popular music styles. Rumbel grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and played classical and jazz before joining the noted Paul Winter Consort. She connected with Tingstad in the mid-1980s for a recording project that blossomed into a 16yearlong artistic and professional relationship.

Tingstad, a lifelong Seattle resident, started his musical career as a rock guitarist and bassist. He played in some of Seattle's most popular local rock bands in the 1970s. He worked on his classical and acoustic playing, studying with protegees of famed classical guitarist Segovia at the same time he was playing rock. He said he'd get up by himself on stage with his classical guitar during band breaks at big club gigs.

"I'd play some flashy Spanish piece and get a lot of support," he said.

He tired of the rock scene by 1980, when he was in his mid-20s, and wanted to put more emphasis on acoustic music. In 1982 he released his first recording, "On the Links," a collection of acoustic guitar instrumentals. Another followed in 1984. The following year he enlisted Rumbel to accompany him on an album of instrumental Christmas music, "The Gift," which went on to sell almost half a million copies.

"When I found Nance it was not just a musical marriage, it was a really good friendship," Tingstad said. They both had spouses and families and found that their personalities and artistic temperaments were complementary.

With 14 albums to their credit, Tingstad and Rumbel have composed more than 100 pieces of music. Their latest CD, "Paradise," includes the tunes "Mansfield Park" and "The Man From Stratford," musical tributes to Jane Austen and William Shakespeare. They also cover a tune by pop and rock musican Sting.

Many of their compositions are inspired by nature. "Paradise" opens with "Sailing," an ode to sailing on a beautiful sunny day on Puget Sound. The creeks, streams and marshes of the South Carolina seacoast were the influence for "The Lowcountry."

One new piece, "The Lawnmower Song," was inspired by a suburban household chore. Tingstad said sometimes he can hear three or four lawnmowers running in a 360 circuit in his neighborhood.

"One afternoon everyone but me in the neighborhood was mowing the lawn," he said. "My wife, Carol, was mowing the lawn. I was out playing (guitar). I was listening to the cacophony and the harmony of the motors, the clanking as they hit rocks and such, and they were in the key of G literally, I could match it. I had some ideas I was working on and just played along with what was going on."

Admission is $15, $7 for students with ID. Griffin said $1 from each ticket will benefit the Alaska Wildlife Response Center in Anchorage, out of concern for the oil spill that occurred in August when the fishing tender Windy Bay sank in Prince William Sound. Matching funds will be made to the center by the owners of Windy Bay.

"A lot of their writing has to do with nature and the wilderness, and they've even written some of their songs when they've been here in Alaska," said Griffin.

Tingstad said the duo frequently contributes a portion of CD sales from a concert to support a community or regional cause.

"It's often not so much about money as it raises awareness," he said.