Weekender Encore: Napa's Terry Family Band Collaborates With Chamber Orchestra for Season Opener

By Swan Day

NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — Jim Terry and the Terry Family Band have attracted a fervent and dedicated following in Napa over the past decade. The band has played at the Blue Note, the White Barn, Copia Amphitheater, JaM Cellars and many Porchfests, among other venues. Terry's style of 21st-century folk music draws from his personal experiences, emotions, and the history and events of his local community.

Jim Terry - Tim Carl Photo

Now, fans of the Terry Family Band will be pleased to enjoy their favorite music in a new and expanded format. The Napa Valley Chamber Orchestra has commissioned an arrangement of Terry's ballad, "Fire in the Wind," to highlight the first concert of the NVCO's fourth season. The free concert will be held at Crosswalk Church in Napa at 2 p.m. on Sept. 29. Terry’s appearance is an example of the orchestra’s community outreach through its dedication to promoting local composers, soloists and musicians.

"Fire in the Wind" has been arranged for Chamber Orchestra and vocal soloist by Rob Wright, a local musician who is the orchestra’s principal double bass player. "Fire in the Wind" is a poignant and moving account of Terry's experience in the 2017 Atlas Fire, which ravaged the mountains near his home. In 2018, the song was selected as the “Song of the Year” by the Napa chapter of the West Coast Songwriters Association. The piece headlines a program based on international folk music, including Percy Grainger’s “Molly on the Shore,” the Frank Bridge “Suite for Strings,” and Peggy Stuart Coolidge’s “Pioneer Dances,” as well as folk-inspired pieces from Ireland, Scotland and England.

Terry began playing music at the age of four when his father gave him a banjo-ukulele. Jim (and in later years, each of his sons) served as music director at the Lair of the Bear UC Berkeley’s summer camp in the Sierras. Following the loss of his wife in 2012 and at her urging, Terry focused his passion on music, and in recent years has evolved into a skillful and beloved songwriter. He polished his skills while attending Dar Williams’ “Writing a Song that Matters” workshop in New York for eight years. Terry won the 2019 West Coast Songwriters “Grand Finals” songwriting competition held at famed Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California, as well as numerous other awards. The band’s 2022 release of Terry’s songs appeared on the Folk Alliance International’s charts of most radio-played songs and albums.

Lora Levin, one of the founders of Napa Valley Chamber Orchestra, taught violin to all three of Terry's sons; Clark and Graham, who live in the Bay Area, complete the Terry Family Band with Jim. Brother James, who lives in Georgia, sometimes joins his brothers and father in performance. Terry himself is a founding board member of the Chamber Orchestra.

“I’m proud of my association with NVCO and more than honored that they would ask an old dog folk singer like me to sing and play with the orchestra,” he said.

Napa Valley Chamber Orchestra’s musicians are locals who volunteer much time and talent to bring free chamber music concerts to Napa. Concerts are supported by audience donations, business sponsorships, grants and an annual “Classical Crush” fundraiser hosted by Violet Grgich of Grgich Hills Estate Winery, which will be held this year on Oct. 17 in Rutherford. As a result, the NVCO provides Napa audiences with unique, varied and ever-developing programs designed to share the joy of chamber music with the entire Napa community.

Submitted Photo

For the opening concert of NVCO’s 24/25 season featuring "Fire in the Wind,” the orchestra will be conducted by Ann Krinitsky, who received a hearty welcome to the podium last season by musicians and audience members alike. On Nov. 17, 2024, cellist Isaac Pastor-Chermak will perform Haydn’s delightful “Cello Concerto in C Major,” with Maxim Baluyev, concertmaster of the Solano Symphony, performing as concertmaster/leader in a program featuring music by Corelli, Grieg and Mendelssohn. The third concert on Feb. 23, 2025, again conducted by Krinitsky, will showcase the orchestra’s principal violist, Beth Heid, in a performance of the “Romance for Viola and Orchestra” by Max Bruch. On April 27, 2025, acclaimed Bay Area violinist Chase Spruill performs an early Mendelssohn concerto and serves as concertmaster/leader of the concert.

All concerts take place at 2 p.m. at Crosswalk Community Church, 2590 1st Street, Napa. While it does not charge admission, the NVCO welcomes donations. For further information, please visit their website.

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Swan Day is a musician and volunteer with the Napa Valley Chamber Orchestra. Though a skilled musician, she does not perform with the orchestra.