Free Event: Free Event

May 2, 7pm – Trinity Church of Portland
909 NE 30th Ave, Portland, OR 97232

• SCHUBERT – String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, Op. 29.
• TANSMAN – Deux Mouvements pour Quatuor de Violoncelles
• BRAHMS– String Quintet No.2 in G Major, Op.111
• MONTGOMERY – Duo for Violin and Cello
• SCHICKELE – Quintet No. 2 for Piano and String Quartet

All concerts are FREE to the public. More information at classicalupclose.org.

All Classical Radio is the official media sponsor of Classical Up Close.

Program:
Mendelssohn: Athalia Overture
Barber: Violin Concerto – Guest Artist Anthea Kreston
Holst: The Planets

Pre-concert talk by Director, Jonathan DeBruyn 3PM

The Planets is a brilliant and dramatic symphony with movements representing all the known planets at the time it was written. It’s an ambitious masterpiece requiring many instruments including 6 timpani, 2 harps, celeste, numerous percussion, horns, woodwinds, strings, and a female choir for Neptune – the Mystic, the last haunting movement.
In a search for a female treble chorus, Sunnyside Symphony Orchestra Director, Jonathan DeBruyn heard recordings of Pride of Portland (PoP) Sweet Adelines chorus, and reached out to its Director, Drew Osterhout. PoP is an a capella chorus performing close four-part harmony primarily in the barbershop style. The clear, careful vocalization was what Jonathan was looking for. Although a step out of their comfort zone, Drew jumped at the chance for an exciting musical adventure. While Jonathan was busy finding instrumentalists to fill the orchestration, Drew reached out to various community choruses for more soprano and alto singers, building a PoP and Friends chorus.
The Planets requires the chorus to be off-stage while singing to give the feeling of angelic voices. This means also finding a way to coordinate the two directors during the piece as well as figure out how to fit all the instruments on the stage.
This truly ambitious concert will also include the Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber with Guest Artist, Anthea Kreston, the terrific first violin of Oregon’s renowned Delgani Quartet.

Finishing their 2025 spring performances, Blueprint brings a unique concept within the choral and theatrical arena:
letting the audience choose what comes next!

With provided handheld digital devices, the audience will get opportunities to select/vote
— at numerous junctures in this original spy thriller —
which path the main characters will take next!

Backed by a fast-paced plot, audio and visual enhancements,
and (of course) an amazing soundtrack,
the jukebox-musical-style Choose-Your-Adventure-Now show
packs fun and quirky elements together with a fully choreographed show,
and of course the choral harmonies that the organization highlights at every show!

THE STORY (in a sentence or two):
Random major fires have been springing up along the West Coast,
and no agency knows what is causing them!
The source behind them could threaten the very fabric of the entire nation!

Come be part of our team of field analyst detectives helping figure out this mystery, and decide what our agents do next, with a slammin’ pursuit soundtrack, which could include (depending on the path chosen)…

• Themes from James Bond films!
• Barber’s Agnus Dei
• Holding Out For a Hero!
• Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide
• Trousdale’s Wouldn’t Go Back
• Both Sides of the Coin from Drood
• You’re Nothing Without Me from City of Angels
• The Riddle from Powers
• Requiem from Dear Evan Hansen

Oh, and much, much more!

Grab your x-ray specs and your martini for a musical journey of mystery and intrigue!
So come and be a part of the show, and a part of the story!

May 6, 7pm – Montavilla Church
9204 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97216

• TAILLEFERRE – String Quartet
• GLIÈRE – Eight Pieces for Violin and Cello (Bass), Op. 39
• SCHUBERT – Sonata (Duo) in A Major, Op. 162 for Violin and Piano
• DVORAK – Terzetto in C major, Op.74
• VAUGHAN WILLIAMS – Piano Quintet in C minor

All concerts are FREE to the public. More information at classicalupclose.org.

All Classical Radio is the official media sponsor of Classical Up Close.

May 7, 7pm – Red Sea Community Church

7535 N Chicago Ave, Portland, OR 97203

• GLIÈRE – Eight Pieces for Violin and Cello, Op. 39
• SHAW – “Limestone and Felt”
• PROKOFIEV – Quintet in G minor, Op. 39
• KODÁLY – Duo for Violin and Cello, Op.7
• SEIBER – Serenade for Winds

All concerts are FREE to the public. More information at classicalupclose.org.

All Classical Radio is the official media sponsor of Classical Up Close.

 May 13, 7pm – St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church

11265 SW Cabot St, Beaverton, OR 97005

• BEETHOVEN – Piano Trio No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 1
• MENDELSSOHN – String Quartet No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 44
• BRITTEN – String Quartet No. 2 in C Major Op. 36
• SCHUBERT – Octet in F Major, D. 803

All concerts are FREE to the public. More information at classicalupclose.org.

All Classical Radio is the official media sponsor of Classical Up Close.

Sitka is bringing US Poet Laureate ADA LIMÓN to the Oregon Coast. Join us for an intimate evening of poetry and inspiration with one of the most celebrated poets of our time. Hear Ada Limón read from her acclaimed works and share insights on the power of language and the natural world. This in-person event will take place at Nestucca K8 in Cloverdale, Oregon. Mark your calendars and get ready for an unforgettable experience.
Ada Limón is the author of six books of poetry, including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her book Bright Dead Things was nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Her most recent book of poetry, The Hurting Kind, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. She is also the author of two children’s books: In Praise of Mystery, with illustrations by Peter Sís; and And, Too, The Fox, released in 2025. In October of 2023 she was awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and she was named a TIME magazine woman of the year in 2024. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship and wrote a poem that was engraved on NASA’s Europa Clipper Spacecraft that was launched to the second moon of Jupiter in October 2024. As the 24th Poet Laureate of The United States, her signature project is called You Are Here and focuses on how poetry can help connect us to the natural world. She will serve as Poet Laureate until the spring of 2025.

Get ready to dive into a world of electrifying creativity July 31 – August 3, with the Vancouver Arts & Music Festival at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver, Washington!

There is so much to explore at this free festival, with outdoor stages, local art vendors, a juried art exhibition, family activities and more. Esther Short Park will transform into a playground of creativity, where every corner holds a surprise waiting to be discovered.

Immerse yourself in the rhythm of GRAMMYⓇ Award-winning artists Renée Fleming, Mark and Maggie O’Connor, and Sharon Isbin as they perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA under the batons of maestros Gerard Schwarz and Salvador Brotons.

Brought to you by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA and the City of Vancouver, this festival is a celebration of culture, community and the unbridled joy that comes with experiencing the arts together.

Get ready to dive into a world of electrifying creativity July 31 – August 3, with the Vancouver Arts & Music Festival at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver, Washington!

There is so much to explore at this free festival, with outdoor stages, local art vendors, a juried art exhibition, family activities and more. Esther Short Park will transform into a playground of creativity, where every corner holds a surprise waiting to be discovered.

Immerse yourself in the rhythm of GRAMMYⓇ Award-winning artists Renée Fleming, Mark and Maggie O’Connor, and Sharon Isbin as they perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA under the batons of maestros Gerard Schwarz and Salvador Brotons.

Brought to you by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA and the City of Vancouver, this festival is a celebration of culture, community and the unbridled joy that comes with experiencing the arts together.

Get ready to dive into a world of electrifying creativity July 31 – August 3, with the Vancouver Arts & Music Festival at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver, Washington!

There is so much to explore at this free festival, with outdoor stages, local art vendors, a juried art exhibition, family activities and more. Esther Short Park will transform into a playground of creativity, where every corner holds a surprise waiting to be discovered.

Immerse yourself in the rhythm of GRAMMYⓇ Award-winning artists Renée Fleming, Mark and Maggie O’Connor, and Sharon Isbin as they perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA under the batons of maestros Gerard Schwarz and Salvador Brotons.

Brought to you by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA and the City of Vancouver, this festival is a celebration of culture, community and the unbridled joy that comes with experiencing the arts together.

Get ready to dive into a world of electrifying creativity July 31 – August 3, with the Vancouver Arts & Music Festival at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver, Washington!

There is so much to explore at this free festival, with outdoor stages, local art vendors, a juried art exhibition, family activities and more. Esther Short Park will transform into a playground of creativity, where every corner holds a surprise waiting to be discovered.

Immerse yourself in the rhythm of GRAMMYⓇ Award-winning artists Renée Fleming, Mark and Maggie O’Connor, and Sharon Isbin as they perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA under the batons of maestros Gerard Schwarz and Salvador Brotons.

Brought to you by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA and the City of Vancouver, this festival is a celebration of culture, community and the unbridled joy that comes with experiencing the arts together.