Porchello concert in White Salmon

They were active freelance musicians, performing with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and other groups. But in 2020, all their performances were canceled. 

“We found that we missed performing and wanted to give something back to our local community, so we gave a spontaneous porch concert that was well-attended,” read a press release. “That inspired us to keep performing on our porch. We continued to offer porch concerts regularly and began to livestream our performances. Those in attendance told us that they were grateful for the opportunity to experience live music during some of the darkest days of the pandemic. The experience inspired us to provide performances in nontraditional settings. We knew that we could draw even larger audiences and present a greater variety of music with more performers, so we invited a third cellist and a contrabass player to our lineup.”

Now, Deiter and Erin Ratzlaf and Jonah Thomas, cellists, and Clint O’Brien on upright bass, perform classical, pop, movie and rock music. All are classically trained, collectively holding almost 100 years of performing experience, they wrote.

“Our group is passionate about music and especially the lower strings and all that we have to offer,” read a press release. ... We believe the cello, and Porchello, can bring great joy to many, with its versatility, virtuosity, soulfulness, and deep expression.”