Tim Weed’s banjo playing awed the audience at the Lucid Art Foundation’s annual concert, “Mystical Night of Music and Poetry” last month. The nimbleness with which he fingered his banjo mesmerized the audience, but it was equaled or exceeded by the originality of his captivating score. Tim, who also co-founded the nonprofit Sound Orchard and helps lead dozens of West Marin residents in a community choir, played “Colloquium: Dark and Light,” a composition he is preparing for a classical orchestra, along with several other of his own
compositions.
The Lucid Art concert amalgamated different ethnic and cultural traditions to produce a universal presentation. The foundation’s president, Fariba Bogzaran, recited poems by the Persian poet Rumi, but also a poem by Emily Dickenson. To encourage active participation, she taught the audience responses to recite to some of the poetry. Brothers Sina and Samander Dheghani played traditional Persian instruments: the Tombak, a goblet drum; a long-necked, stringed musical instrument with a girdled sound box called the Tar; and the Daf, a large drum with metal rings that add a jingling effect.
Tim’s background as a southern California surfer who started playing the banjo at 17 and originally performed bluegrass, jazz, rock and other types of American music may seem quite divergent from the other musicians on the face of it, but he has long since transcended any specific style. He lived in Japan for a period of time, and listeners can hear sounds of the koto, that country’s ancient stringed instrument.
Tim’s genius lies in his ability to incorporate chords, melodies and other aspects of the music of many cultures into his playing. In the Lucid Art concert, his playing blended seamlessly with the two Persian musicians, and was especially apparent in a duet, “The Bird,” which he composed.
The concert was not his only recent local performance. As the creative director for Sound Orchard, a group that promotes many varieties of local music, Tim is well known to West Marin audiences. He and Debbie Daly lead the Common Voice Choirs; their latest sessions, which met in Point Reyes Station and Stinson Beach, numbered 80 singers. The two groups joined together at the end of October to sing at the Day of the Dead celebration, marching down Main Street in Point Reyes Station and ending in a moving ceremony at the Dance Palace, where they sang Tim’s “Oratorio de los Muertos” and some Spanish folk songs. More recently Sound Orchard offered its annual concert and talent show, at which choir members performed solos and duets. In all of these activities, Tim always offers encouraging leadership and accompaniment to even the least talented participants.
Tim is now orchestrating “Colloquium: Dark and Light,” to be played by a classical orchestra. Recently he played it and other banjo music at a dinner for a group of leaders of a major orchestra, who were, unsurprisingly, taken with his music. Afterwards he was encouraged to submit the score of his work. If it is accepted, he may be asked to perform in concert with the orchestra.
Yet creating a written score for his music is not how Tim usually works. More often he performs extemporaneously—one of the reasons his music seems so spontaneous, despite the labor he puts into it.
Herb Kutchins, a retired college professor, has been fascinated by the musical talent in this community despite his own limited musical ability. To listen to Tim Weed’s music, visit timweed.com.