Orcas Island’s Young Entertainers

When we moved here, I realized that Orcas Island is a place where a person’s talents and skills can blossom and flourish. Often, if you’re good at something and people hear about you, you will have gobs of opportunities to shine. Our community is incredibly supportive.

We islanders have watched many local kids hone their talents here for years now.

Matthew Laslo, or Matthew the Magician, as we all know him, is a 16-year-old phenom who has invested the days and years of his life in his passion for magic. It is apparent by his confident, professional stage presence that he has meticulously attended to every aspect of his magic and outward persona with the goal of self-mastery. We’ve all been to his shows and left with our jaws on the floor, impressed by such talent and poise coming from someone his age.

Penn and Teller seemed to agree when he competed on their show. Then China heard about him. He recently returned from competing on the largest stage of his life there on the most-viewed show in the country – he has now been seen by over 270 million people.

If you ever visit here, you have to go to one of his shows on the local movie theatre stage. Then you’ll happen to see him at the Saturday Farmers’ Market as kids stop him for a selfie and an autograph. I don’t know if it happens all the time; perhaps it was just the day I happened to be chatting with him. I laughed with pride for him.

I think this photo poster of him is classic. What young boy looking up to him wouldn’t love it? Matthew is the kindest, humblest guy, always quick to flash a genuine smile and exchange polite words. You’d never know from his lighthearted nature the kind of pressure he has taught himself to be able to endure.

Another local talent known by everyone on the island is Stormy Hildreth. Named for the weather on the night she was born, Stormy is anything but violent and volatile. A 16-year-old girl with a balanced, solid head on her shoulders and a kind heart, Stormy is someone we’ve seen at dozens of venues since we first moved here. We first knew her as a distant neighbor girl (she’s not distant; her house is), a school student playing ukulele, and a girl in piano recitals at our piano-teaching neighbor’s house. She has always been a girl with maturity and dignity beyond her age with an ability to talk to anyone with aplomb.

Five years we have been here now and we have seen Stormy succeed at whatever she has tried – winning the island talent show, absolutely nailing a lead role as Helen Keller, and continuing to dazzle as a singer from one stage to the next. She has now released her first CD, Stormy Side of the Moon.

We islanders have all been treated to and impressed by the talents of three of our local young women. Emy Carter, Lisa Carter, and Paris Wilson have mastered their craft to such a high degree that they are asked to play at just about every venue the island offers when they are all in town. We have a lot of musical artists of high caliber here, and these girls have probably trained or played with them all.

The Carter twins are in college now, so the trio, known as Almost Classical, is not playing somewhere here every weekend, as they used to. But they don’t seem to miss a beat, or a note, whenever they are all together.

They are about as professional as you get, playing everything from Beethoven to Taylor Swift with a humble confidence and professionalism that is unwavering. Emy and Paris play violin and Lisa plays piano and Celtic harp.

Finally, Brograss, formerly Brother for Sale, is the unpretentious brother duo of Tashi and Kaj Litch. They are 16 and 13 and they play like prodigies. Their parents, both doctors and musicians, have been performing with them on- and off-island for years as Crow Valley String Band.

If you frequent the bluegrass scene, keep an ear out for them. They play at large venues and then treat us to their talent when coming back home on the ferry.

(The poster and album covers are not my photographs.)