The Arts Blog

A Mighty Chinful: Great Moments in Composer Facial Hair

September 2, 2021

In celebration of World Beard Day (observed every year on the first Saturday of September), Warren Black, your morning host at All Classical, felt it was time for a retrospective on some great moments in composers’ facial hair. That’s why he teamed up with Emma Riggle, All Classical’s Music Researcher, to assemble this chronological gallery of fine classical beards, bristles, ‘staches, mutton (and/or lamb) chops and more. Here is their hail …

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Get to know Composer in Residence Lauren McCall

August 27, 2021

This summer, All Classical Portland welcomes three new Composers in Residence: Lauren McCall, Jasmine Barnes, and Keyla Orozco! These residencies are co-hosted by N M Bodecker Foundation as part of the Recording Inclusivity Initiative, a program designed to change America’s playlist by recording classical works by composers from historically excluded communities. The station’s three resident composers and their musical …

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John Pitman Review: Kenji Bunch debuts “Lost Freedom” with George Takei

August 20, 2021

John Pitman, director of Music and Programming at All Classical Portland interviews Portland composer Kenji Bunch about an important world premiere happening a few states away, at the Moab Music Festival in Utah, on September 4. Inspired by the autobiographical accounts of the incarceration of United States citizens – Japanese-Americans, in World War II – …

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Classical Sounds of Summer

July 26, 2021

Warmth, reflection, and adventure: summer can be a time for all of these and more, and classical music has explored the season in all its expressions. From Vivaldi’s “Summer” from The Four Seasons, to Frederick Delius’s Summer Night on the River, the literature is full of favorites perfect for summertime. In this list, we’d like to share some lesser-known romantic, modern, …

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John Pitman Review: Conspirare’s The Singing Guitar

July 8, 2021

The Austin, Texas-based choir, Conspirare, give voice to poets and writers from across the spectrum of nationality and gender in their latest recording, The Singing Guitar. Founder and director, Craig Hella Johnson, commissioned new works from composers such as Reena Esmail, Nico Muhly, and Kile Smith that highlight the words of the Sufi poet Hafiz, …

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Dialogo: Debut by cellist John-Henry Crawford

June 25, 2021

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, cellist John-Henry Crawford has already made strides in the field of classical music, in one case as First Prize winner of the 2019 International Carlos Prieto Competition; and more recently with this debut release, Dialogo. Crawford chose the title after the unaccompanied cello work by Hungarian composer, György Ligeti. In it, …

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Music Exploring Queer Experiences

June 23, 2021

This Pride Month, we would like to share with you a short playlist of 20th and 21st century music exploring queer experiences. In this list, you’ll find songs, operas, and a symphony: some by LGBTQI+ composers, some exploring LGBTQI+ characters. You can also listen to a similar selection of music in this article’s companion playlist …

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Juneteenth at All Classical Portand

June 18, 2021

Saturday, June 19th was the 156th anniversary of the day news of emancipation finally reached the westernmost area of the former Confederate states in Galveston Bay, Texas. On All Classical Portland, we’re honoring this Juneteenth with music by African-American composers, and other composers of African heritage. Here are a few of the works you can look forward to hearing this Juneteenth.  Dream Variation By Margaret Bonds American …

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Nancy Ives x AUXART

June 16, 2021

In a continued effort to support collaborative relationships between artists in the local community, on Saturday, June 12th, All Classical Portland facilitated an artistic collaboration between visual artist Philip Krohn and cellist Nancy Ives. The AUXART sculpture and sound work grew from Philip Krohn’s 9 week residency in Portland’s new creative space Building 5. AUXART …

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Balkan Guitarist Miloš Debuts New Guitar Concertos

June 8, 2021

Montenegro-born, and London-based classical guitarist Miloš, celebrates his 10th anniversary with the recording label Decca by releasing The Moon and the Forest, which includes two concertos written for him. Miloš (whose full name is Miloš Karadaglić), asked two composers as famous for their film music as for their concert works: Joby Talbot (who has residences …

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