By Neil Pierson

There have been several milestone moments in Patrick Harlin’s evolution as a composer, but maybe the biggest sign of his success will happen halfway across the country this weekend.

On Sept. 27 and 28, the St. Louis Symphony will be perform-ing “Rapture,” an 8-minute piece Harlin created for his master’s degree thesis at the University of Michigan.

Harlin, who grew up in Sammamish and graduated from Eastlake High School in 2003, has been composing music since age 7, shortly before he began taking piano lessons. He said it’s rare for a major symphony to perform a student composer’s work.

“It was quite the surprise to me,” Harlin said.

The 29-year-old has had his fair share of accolades since com-ing to Michigan from Western Washington University, where

he earned his Bachelor of Music degree.

Many of the honors have come within the past year, includ-ing a scholar-ship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, an eight-week fel-lowship with the Aspen Music Festival, and a resident com-poser’s spot at the University of Missouri’s International Composers Festival.

The Hermitage Prize – co-sponsored by the Aspen Music Festival and the Hermitage Artist Retreat – was unusual because it was the inaugural award.

“This prize is important for several reasons,” Bruce E. Rodgers, executive director of

the Hermitage, told the Aspen Business Journal last month. “First, it gives an up-and-coming American composer the gift of time and space to work on their art apart from the everyday world and its

constant interruptions and dis-tractions.

“Secondly, it allows the stu-dent to meet and interact with mid-career artists who have already found success in their artistic endeavors. Thirdly, it is an affirmation that their work is already being recognized by some of the most important pro-fessionals in music today.”

Harlin’s musical tastes are eclectic. One of his favorite art-

ists is Aphex Twin, a well-known name in the electronic genre. Harlin has spent time writing acoustic versions of electronic music.

“I would say I’m as influenced by pop and jazz music as I am by classical,” he explained.

Harlin also believes he’s been “lucky with mentors through the years,” learning under the wing of Michael Daugherty and Evan Chambers at Michigan, and with

community8 l September 25, 2013 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

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By Neil Pierson

Having the discipline to write every day wasn’t something Diana Lanham mastered over-night: From start to finish, it took Lanham four-and-a-half years to complete her 416-page fantasy debut, “House of Aegea.”

Personal circumstances weren’t in her favor as she strug-gled to find time to write. Now 48, she’s the single mother of a 10-year-old daughter. To get the book moving, she had to carve out time in life’s “nooks and cran-nies,” namely early in the morn-ing and late at night. When her daughter Gabby was away, she spent entire weekends in front of her laptop.

Lanham, who has lived in Sammamish for three years, also said she went off on many differ-ent tangents before coalescing the novel into its final form.

“This story that I ended up with is not the story I started with at all,” she said.

“House of Aegea” follows a mermaid clan known as the Dauphine. The early portions of the book explain their origin, which Lanham was determined to make unique, and eventu-ally gets into the major conflict they’re having with a rival clan. As the author phrases it, the book is “a classic story of good versus evil.”

Lanham, a self-described lover of action movies, said she wrote the book with “Lord of the Rings” fans in mind. There are several battle sequences that might appeal to them. But she also drew from a softer, feminine side that is grounded in the chats she likes to have with her mother and sisters. Hopefully, she said, the romance aspects that seep into the book aren’t too “fluffy.”

Friends who’ve read the book have posted their comments on Lanham’s Facebook page, and the novel began gain-ing more critical acclaim earlier this month when it was listed on Amazon.com.

“It’s all about creating a buzz,” Lanham said. “And to be honest, I don’t even mind if there’s a bad review. ... It’s out there and it’s like, if I didn’t want people to read it and comment, I shouldn’t have written the book.”

Feedback on Amazon.com has been limited, but positive.

“This story is a frothy swirl of modern mermaids … with humor and romance and mystery that takes you into a world like you’ve

never imagined,” one review stated. “The characters are full of witty repartee and cool sensibil-ity as they deal with the fantastic creatures they have lived among for centuries.”

“I found the story to be well-written and I read three-quarters of it in one sitting,” another review said. “It was very engross-

ing and the characters tug at your heart as the inevitable battle takes its toll.”

Lanham’s mermaids also deal with reli-gion. As the story unfolds, the Dauphine do what they can to protect

their goddess while also prepar-ing for the arrival of a new deity, which happens every few millen-nia.

The battle with their rivals, which has also been going on for ages, is spawning Lanham’s pos-sible sequel. Tentatively titled, “The Cradle of the White Lotus,” she plans to start working on it in October with hopes of finishing in two years.

A second book shouldn’t be as difficult, she feels, because

Seventh annual Sammamish Arts Fair coming Oct. 12-13

The Sammamish Arts Fair will return to the Sammamish Commons for its seventh year on Oct. 12-13.

The fair will feature some of the top local artists, who will be on hand to speak about their work and their creative processes. Admission is free, and the fair runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Inside City Hall, there will be art available for purchase, including original paintings, jewelry, mixed media, encaus-tic art, glass works, ceramics, woodcarving, printmaking, photography and textiles.

Next door in the Sammamish Library and out-side in the commons area, there will be several “Arts Encounters” programs, which will include performance art-ists and hands-on family activi-ties.

For a list of this year’s art-ists and previews of their work, visit the Sammamish Arts Fair website at sammamis-hartsfair.wordpress.com.

Listen liveThe St. Louis Symphony

will be performing ‘Rapture,’ a piece composed by Eastlake High School gradu-ate Patrick Harlin, on Sept. 27 and 28. The symphony’s Sept. 28 performance can be heard live at 6 p.m. Pacific time through St. Louis Public Radio’s website, www.stlpub-licradio.org.

Patrick Harlin’s stock soaring in the world of music composition

Patrick Harlin

See HARLIN, Page 9

Imagination, persistence spark author’s debut novel

Photo by Neil PiersonSammamish resident Diana Lanham recently completed her first novel, ‘House of Aegea,’ which Lanham describes as ‘a classic story of good versus evil.’

Meet the authorDiana Lanham will be

reading from her book ‘House of Aegea’ and signing copies from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way N.E. in Lake Forest Park.

See NOVEL, Page 9

By Neil Pierson

The Skyline Spartans are given free rein to take open shots regardless of their position on the field, and that philosophy helped produce a victory in the team’s first conference match of the season.

Kelli Sullivan’s 35-yard rocket staked the Spartans to a 3-0 half-time lead, and Lindsey Fujiwara’s 20-yard blast finished the scoring as Skyline dominated the Newport Knights, 5-0, in KingCo Conference girls soccer action Sept. 19 at Spartan Stadium.

Skyline, which is chasing its third straight Class 4A state title, has outscored its opponents 14-0 to open the season with a 5-0 record.

Its defense suffocated Newport for most of the match, particular-

ly in the first half behind starters Fujiwara, Gaby Adamson, Abbey Porter and Abbie Litka. The Knights rarely had possession in their offensive third of the field, and didn’t produce a shot on goal.

“We have a really strong back line,” said Sullivan, a junior midfielder. “We’ve got a lot of hard-working players … which

makes us never concede a goal because every-one is working all over the field.”

Skyline dic-tated the match from the open-ing whistle. In the 17th min-ute, Sullivan beat Newport’s offside trap and collected a long

pass over the defenders’ heads. Knights goalkeeper Sydney Tomlinson saved Sullivan’s shot, but the rebound fell to Jordan Branch, who finished into the open net.

Amanda Johnston created

SPORTS12 l September 25, 2013 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

12

By Neil Pierson

The Skyline Spartans have traditionally featured a pass-happy, wide-open offense, but last week they showed they can also play bruising, run-between-the-tackles football.

Skyline amassed 286 rushing yards, including 151 from sophomore running back Rashaad Boddie, and played stellar defense to earn a 21-6 victory over the rival Eastlake Wolves on Sept. 20 at Spartan Stadium.

A dominant first half proved to be enough for Skyline (2-1), which didn’t score in the second half after Boddie was sidelined with an ankle injury.

Eastlake coach Don Bartel was Skyline’s defensive coordinator last season, giving the Wolves some intimate knowledge of their opponent. Spartans coach Mat Taylor said his team tried to keep Eastlake’s defense uncom-fortable.

“I think it was just running some of our dif-ferent variations out of our pistol zone read, and we just showed a look that we haven’t shown yet,” Taylor said. “We just kind of start-ed playing games with their defensive ends and outside (linebackers), and it proved to be successful.”

Skyline’s defense held Eastlake quarter-back Blue Thomas in check. Thomas ran for

Photo by Dave SheffelsEastlake quarterback Blue Thomas (4) picks up a big chunk of yardage during a Sept. 20 game against Skyline.

Skyline uses run game, defense to stop Eastlake

See FOOTBALL, Page 13

Spartans soccer smashes Knights, extend shutout streak

Photo by Dale GarveySkyline’s Lindsey Fujiwara takes aim on the goal during a Sept. 19 match with Newport. Fujiwara, a sophomore, scored as part of the Spartans’ 5-0 win.

See SOCCER, Page 14

“We’ve got a lot of hard-working players …

which makes us never concede a goal because everyone is working all

over the field.”

– Kelli Sullivan, Midfielder –