In Remembrance

With profound sadness, the Issaquah Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) announces the death of our founder and conductor emeritus, Dr. Duane Bowen, 95. Dr. Bowen, a professional musician (bassoon, saxophone) and retired professor of music at Eastern New Mexico University, founded the IPO in 2000. In the beginning, the small group performed chamber music, but in the years under his baton, it grew to full orchestral size through his skill as an inspirational conductor. Members of the original group still play with the orchestra today, and he continued to support the group, lending his expertise along the way after his retirement. He treasured the IPO as his legacy, rightly so, and we were lucky to experience his encouragement and support. He was an amazing fellow musician, conductor, teacher and friend. He will be dearly missed among us.

The Issaquah Philharmonic Orchestra stands against racism and discrimination in all forms and supports those raising their voices in support of justice and equality.

Issaquah Philharmonic Orchestra

The Issaquah Philharmonic Orchestra is a group of volunteer musicians who rehearse weekly and perform several free community concerts each year. We do all of this out of the love of music and the satisfaction of improving our skills. We maintain a congenial, educational atmosphere at rehearsals.

We are dedicated to providing qualified youth and experienced adults from Issaquah and surrounding communities an opportunity to perform symphonic music; fostering music education in the community; and contributing to the enhancement of the performing arts in Issaquah.

Our orchestra’s roots go back to 2000 when a small reading group was founded by Joyce Cunningham and Dr. Duane Bowen. (see our About page for more information)

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