Caulkins Guitar Duo – New Music for Two Guitars

Neil & Tamara Caulkins – New Music for Two Guitars

Neil and Tamara Caulkins will be presenting a concert of classical guitar duets in Soap Lake on Saturday, October 17th at 7:00 pm. The program features Dry Falls, a work co-commissioned with Friends of the Lower Grand Coulee which can only be heard at this live performance. Admission is by donation.

The program opens with Michael Young’s Prelude Music, a majestic – and playful – four movement work: Prelude, Fugue, Passacaille, and Toccata. This was commissioned inspired by the organ at St. Mark’s cathedral in Seattle. It is followed by “Pentamerisms” by R. Michael Daugherty. This suite explores the number five (i.e. “penta” is a prefix meaning five, originally from Greek) in three movements. Bruce Reiprich’s impressionistic “When Flowers Sleep” opens the second half. The duo premiered Reiprich’s piece in Ellensburg on March 8, 2026. The final suite on the program, “Dry Falls,” was co-commissioned with Friends of the Lower Grand Coulee. In six movements, the suite evokes the Missoula Floods with still water motifs and crashing waves. Learn more about this piece on Northwest Public Radio (under “Dry Falls”).

The Caulkins Guitar Duo actively commissions new works for two guitars. These commissioned works include Three Cherokee Legends by Sarah Pierce (NC), Kootenai East, Op. 56 by Michael E. Young (ID), Water Leaves by Bruce Reiprich (PA), and Sunrise in the Woods by Virginia Yep (Peru/Berlin). The duo also specializes in historically-informed performances of early nineteenth-century music from the archives – new music from the past!

The Caulkins’ recordings have been declared “altogether exciting!” (Fanfare, New Jersey), “a striking debut album” (Guitar Review, New York), and that “they make the music come alive” (The Intimate Guitar). Guitar International described the duo as “a well-matched team.”.

Neil and Tamara are Artists-in-Residence at Gallery One in Ellensburg where they curate an annual series, “Guitar in the Gallery.” The duo maintains an occasional blog and schedule of concerts on their website: www.caulkinsguitarduo.com. For more information, check out their website (www.caulkinsguitarduo.com).