Cultural Events Calendar

Violinist Isabelle Durrenberger and pianist Ryota Yamazaki share stunning works by five women composers, including Amy Beach, Florence Price, Dora Pejačević, Katherine Balch, and Maria Theresia von Paradis.

Chamber music is meant to be up-close and personal—our Spotlight Recitals are exactly that! These casual noontime concerts feature CMNW’s rising-star Protégé Artists with repertoire they have chosen to share for their special spotlight performance. Over the course of 60–75 minutes in the intimate 200-seat Lincoln Recital Hall, experience superb chamber music by some of the world’s most exciting early-career artists!

The Protégé Spotlight Recital series is graciously sponsored by Linda & John Hardham

PSU, College of the Arts, Lincoln Recital Hall
Tuesday, 7/22 • 12:00 pm PT

For full festival schedule and tickets, visit cmnw.org.

Go behind the scenes and observe CMNW’s world-class musicians working together to put the finishing touches on the music for upcoming performances.

Summer Festival artists take the stage to rehearse Brahms’ profound and emotionally-resonant Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major.

An informal Q&A follows the rehearsal.

All open rehearsals are graciously sponsored by Debbie & George Olsen

Reed College, Kaul Auditorium
Wednesday, 7/23 • 11:00 am PT

For full festival schedule and tickets, visit cmnw.org.

Portland Opera is partnering with the Happy Valley Library to bring Building Blocks of Opera to families!

Join us at the Happy Valley Library for an evening performance for families and anyone new to opera.

Building Blocks of Opera programs introduce audiences in a fun and interactive way to elements that make an opera! Learn about arias, recitative, ensembles, voice types and how the orchestra helps tell the story!

Inspired by Portland’s food cart culture, Opera a la Cart is a mobile performance venue that brings live opera performance directly into the community spaces where people gather. Designed and built by architecture students at Portland State University, the cart features a fold-out stage and a “menu” of operatic specials of the day to be sung by local artists.

6pm in the Abbey Church

Alon Goldstein is one of the most original and sensitive pianists of his generation, admired for his musical intelligence, dynamic personality, artistic vision and innovative programming. He has played with the Philadelphia orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the San Francisco, Baltimore, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Toronto and Vancouver symphonies as well as the Israel Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles and Radio France Orchestra. He played under the baton of such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Herbert Blomstedt, Vladimir Jurowski, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, Peter Oundjian, Yoel Levi, Yoav Talmi, Leon Fleisher and others.

Mr. Goldstein was recently honored with the “Society of Scholars” award given to him by his alma mater – the Johns Hopkins University. This was given in recognition of his accomplishments and contributions over the years. Mr. Goldstein is the first Peabody alumni to receive this award. He serves as the Artistic Director of the “Lieven Piano Foundation” summer and winter festival in Vienna, as well as the Artistic Director of the Mount Angel Abbey Bach Festival in Oregon, and Co-Director of The Distinguished Artists Concert & Lecture Series in Santa Cruz, California. He created the Emerald Coast Music Alliance, whose annual festival in Florida is devoted to sharing the beauty of classical music to under-served communities, at no charge. Last year the festival featured 12 musicians performing 63 concerts.

Program

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827
• Fantasia
• Allemande
• Corrente
• Sarabande
• Burlesca
• Scherzo
• Gigue

Dive into fascinating storytelling and a mix of music by György Kurtág, Huw Watkins, Carlos Simon, Bach, Dobrinka Tabakova, Michael Djupstrom, Béla Bartók, and Zlatomir Fung.
Conversation with cellist/composer Zlatomir Fung at 6pm.

The Old Church
Wednesday, 7/23 • 7:00 pm PT

For full festival schedule and tickets, visit cmnw.org.

8pm in the Damian Center

Brian Ganz is widely regarded as one of the leading pianists of his generation.

Mr. Ganz shared first prize in the 1989 Marguerite Long Jacques Thibaud International Piano Competition and was third prize-winner of the 1991 Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Piano Competition. He has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the St. Louis Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony (USA), the National Philharmonic, the City of London Sinfonia, and the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra. Among the conductors he has performed with are Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop, Mstislav Rostropovich, Piotr Gajewski, and Yoel Levi.

The Washington Post has written: “One comes away from a recital by pianist Brian Ganz not only exhilarated by the power of the performance but also moved by his search for artistic truth.” For many years, Mr. Ganz has made it his mission to join vivid music making with warmth and intimacy onstage to produce a new kind of listening experience, in which great works come to life with authentic emotional power. As one of Belgium’s leading newspapers, La Libre Belgique, put it, “We don’t have the words to speak of this fabulous musician who lives music with a generous urgency and brings his public into a state of intense joy.”

Program

Frederic Chopin (1810 – 1849)

Three Mazurkas, Op. 63
• No. 1 in B major
• No. 2 in F minor
• No. 3 in C-sharp minor

Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 4
• Allegro maestoso
• Minuetto: Allegretto
• Larghetto
• Finale: Presto

Intermission

Barcarolle, Op. 60

By request: Mr. Ganz will take audience requests for favorite works of Chopin

Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39

Beginning in the fall of 2024, Nina will be a member of the faculty of Stony Brook University, following the institution’s international search. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Nina performs on a beautiful and sonorous early-18th-century bass, attributed to Guadagnini, which was handed down to her from her father.

Program

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011
• Prelude
• Allemande
• Courante
• Sarabande
• Gavotte 1/Gavotte 2
• Gigue

Get ready for an epic journey through history with Upon the King! Adapted from eight of Shakespeare’s greatest history plays, this production weaves one continuous story of England’s crown as it passes from king to king—through acts both noble and treacherous.

Spanning the Hundred Years’ War with France to the chaos of the War of the Roses, this play captures the triumphs, betrayals, and humanity behind the throne. Packed with the best action and thought-provoking moments, Andrew Philpot’s masterful adaptation crafts a deeply engaging experience. Making its Oregon debut, Upon the King explores the timeless and ever-relevant themes of leadership—the glory, the burden, and the sacrifices demanded of those who wear the crown.​

Join Penguin under the stars for this epic we promise you have never seen the likes of before!

Tickets: $18 Students / $15 Seniors ($3 off on Thursday)

For tickets and more information, please visit penguinsonstage.org.

Be the first to hear legendary musicians Leila Josefowicz and Paul Watkins shine in their World Premiere of Sean Shepherd’s Violin & Cello Duo written especially for them. Josefowicz and Gloria Chien will pair next for Igor Stravinsky’s Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss, showcasing their exquisite artistry. The evening concludes with an all-star ensemble performing Brahms’s profound and emotionally resonant Sextet in B-flat Major.

Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
Thursday, 7/24 • 7:30 pm PT

For full festival schedule and tickets, visit cmnw.org.

8pm in the Damian Center

Acclaimed for her “staggering virtuosity,” Hanzhi Wang is the only accordionist to ever join the roster of Young Concert Artists in its 63-year history. Known for her captivating stage presence and performances that display both passion and finesse, Hanzhi is an ambassador for her instrument.

Hanzhi’s groundbreaking achievements include being named Musical America’s “New Artist of the Month,” becoming the first solo accordionist featured on New York’s WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase, and releasing the Naxos label’s first-ever solo accordion CD, On the Path to H.C. Andersen, which was nominated for the prestigious Danish Radio P2 Prize in 2019.

As the First Prize Winner of the 2017 YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, Hanzhi made her New York debut at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall and her Washington, DC debut at the Kennedy Center, opening the 40th Anniversary Young Concert Artists Series, co-presented with Washington Performing Arts. She holds the Ruth Laredo Prize and Mortimer Levitt Career Development Award for Women Artists of YCA.

Hanzhi won First Prize in the 40th Castelfidardo International Accordion Competition in Italy and continues to inspire the next generation of accordionists through lectures, performances, and masterclasses at prestigious institutions worldwide. Composers such as Martin Lohse, James Black, and Sophia Gubaidulina have written and dedicated works to her.

Program

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Selections from Goldberg Variations BWV, 988
• Aria
• Variation 1
• Variation 7
• Variation 14
• Variation18
• Variation 29

Domenico Scarlatti (1685 – 1757)
Sonata in D minor K. 9
Sonata in C major K. 159
Sonata in G major K. 146

Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1841)
Concerto in G minor, from The Four Seasons “Summer”
• Allegro non molto

Astor Piazzolla (1921 – 1992)
“Summer” from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires

Hanzhi Wang (b. 1990)
Mountain’s Song

Intermission

César Franck (1822 – 1890)
Prelude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18 for Piano and Accordion
Regina Tanujaya, piano

Antonio Vivaldi (1678 – 1841)
Concerto Grosso in D minor, Op. 3 no.11 RV, 565 for Piano, Cello, and Accordion
• Largo
• Allegro
Russell Houston, cello and Regina Tanujaya, piano

Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971)
Selections from Italian Suite for Accordion and Violin
• Introduction
• Serenade
• Tarantella
Justin DeFilippis, violin

Astor Piazzolla (1921 – 1992)
Five Tango Sensations for Accordion and String Quartet
• IV. “Despertar”
• V. “Fear”
with Balourdet Quartet

Welcome to Festival of Friends PNW! Grassroots Music Festival dedicated to promoting amazing bands and songwriters from across the PNW and BEYOND!

Since the first magical musical campout, the festival has grown in size and reputation.
If you want to hang out in the great outdoors with your besties and listen to some amazing music… you’ve found home!

Join us for an unforgettable weekend of music, nature, and most importantly, friends…
because life is better with friends and music.

For more information, visit festivaloffriendspnw.com.

Portland Opera is partnering with Portland Parks for their Summer Free for All: Lunch + Play program to bring Building Block of Opera to children and families in select area parks!

Building Blocks of Opera programs introduce audiences in a fun and interactive way to elements that make an opera! Learn about arias, recitative, ensembles, voice types, and how the orchestra helps tell the story!

Inspired by Portland’s food cart culture, Opera a la Cart is a mobile performance venue that brings live opera performance directly into the community spaces where people gather. Designed and built by architecture students at Portland State University, the cart features a fold-out stage and a “menu” of operatic specials of the day to be sung by local artists.

For more information, please visit portlandopera.org.

6pm in the Abbey Church

The Bach Cantata Choir was founded in 2005 with a simple mission – to sing all of J. S. Bach’s sacred church cantatas – most of which date from Bach’s time as the Thomaskantor in Leipzig, Germany (1723-1750). The choir performs one or two cantatas at each concert – plus other Baroque and Renaissance music that may be relevant to the liturgical season (i.e. Lent, Epiphany, Easter, Advent). The choir has 45+ regular volunteer members, and employs professional section leaders, vocal soloists and a professional orchestra of 10-20 orchestra musicians for each concert. Since the demands for singing Bach are quite high, choir members typically are proficient in singing in German and often sing with some of the best choirs in the Portland Area – among them Portland Symphonic Choir and Trinity Cathedral Choir. Orchestral musicians are often members of other select ensembles, including the Vancouver Symphony and the Portland Baroque Orchestra

Program

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750)
Cantata No. 150 Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (O my Lord, I long for thee), BWV 150
• Sinfonia
• Chorus
• Soprano Aria
• Chorus
• Trio (Alto, Tenor, Bass)
• Chorus
• Ciaconna (Chorus and Soloists)

Motet No. 1 Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Sing to the Lord a new song) BWV 225

Get ready for an epic journey through history with Upon the King! Adapted from eight of Shakespeare’s greatest history plays, this production weaves one continuous story of England’s crown as it passes from king to king—through acts both noble and treacherous.

Spanning the Hundred Years’ War with France to the chaos of the War of the Roses, this play captures the triumphs, betrayals, and humanity behind the throne. Packed with the best action and thought-provoking moments, Andrew Philpot’s masterful adaptation crafts a deeply engaging experience. Making its Oregon debut, Upon the King explores the timeless and ever-relevant themes of leadership—the glory, the burden, and the sacrifices demanded of those who wear the crown.​

Join Penguin under the stars for this epic we promise you have never seen the likes of before!

Tickets: $18 Students / $15 Seniors ($3 off on Thursday)

For tickets and more information, please visit penguinsonstage.org.

We’re excited to bring the Opera a la Cart truck to Director Park in the heart of Downtown Portland. Pack a picnic and join us for an evening of gorgeous, passionate selections from opera, art song, and musicals with the outdoor backdrop of a Perfect Portland Summer™. This event is free and open to the public.

Inspired by Portland’s food cart culture, Opera a la Cart is a mobile performance venue that brings live opera performance directly into the community spaces where people gather. Designed and built by architecture students at Portland State University, the cart features a fold-out stage and a “menu” of operatic specials of the day to be sung by local artists.

Chamber Music Northwest is excited to partner with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to bring the Columbia River Brass Quintet to Vancouver’s Arts Hub!

Come see the Columbia River Quintet members Scott Winks (trumpet), Bruce B. Dunn (trumpet), Dr. Dan Partridge (horn), David Conditt (trombone), and John Walling (tuba). Pack a picnic and bring your own seats to enjoy this fun and family-friendly outdoor concert! This performance will feature SoundsTruck NW, the Northwest’s premier mobile concert stage.

Vancouver Arts Hub
Friday, 7/25 • 7:00 pm PT

For full festival schedule and tickets, visit cmnw.org.

8pm in the Damian Center

The Balourdet Quartet stands out for their vibrant energy and masterful blend of technical precision and emotional depth that brings a fresh perspective to both beloved classics and modern compositions. Its unique closeness and willingness to take creative risks earned it the 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, as well as Chamber Music America’s 2024 Cleveland Quartet Award. With more than 70 concerts per season, recent highlights include the Balourdet’s debuts at Carnegie and Wigmore Halls, and new string quartets by composers Karim Al–Zand, Paul Novak, and Nicky Sohn through grants from Chamber Music America (2021) and the Barlow Foundation (2023). They are currently the Graduate Quartet in Residence at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and are recent graduates of the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program.

In 2021, the Quartet won the Grand Prize at New York’s Concert Artists Guild Competition, which included joint management by Concert Artists Guild in the U.S., and Young Classical Artist’s Trust (YCAT) in the UK and Europe. In addition, the Balourdet has been prizewinners in Canada’s Banff International String Quartet Competition, the International Premio Paolo Borciani Competition in Italy, Gold Medal winners at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and Gold Medal and Audience Prizewinners at the Yellow Springs Competition.

Program

Balourdet Quartet with Nina Bernat, double bass and Alon Goldstein, piano
• Angela Bae, violin
• Justin DeFilippis, violin
• Benjamin Zannoni, viola
• Russell Houston, cello

Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884)
String Quartet No. 1 in E minor “From My Life”
• Allegro vivo appassionato
• Allegro moderato à la Polka
• Largo sostenuto
• Vivace

Karim Al Zand (b. 1970)
String Quartet No. 4 “Strange Machines” (2022) – CMA Classical Commissioning Grant
• Alberti Machine
• Goldberg Machine
• Mannheim Machine

Intermission

Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)
Piano Quintet in A major D.667 “The Trout”
• Allegro vivace
• Andante
• Scherzo: Presto
• Andantino – Allegretto
• Allegro giusto

Welcome to Festival of Friends PNW! Grassroots Music Festival dedicated to promoting amazing bands and songwriters from across the PNW and BEYOND!

Since the first magical musical campout, the festival has grown in size and reputation.
If you want to hang out in the great outdoors with your besties and listen to some amazing music… you’ve found home!

Join us for an unforgettable weekend of music, nature, and most importantly, friends…
because life is better with friends and music.

For more information, visit festivaloffriendspnw.com.

Musica Maestrale and Baker Cabin Historical Society present:

The Art of the Toccata: Lute and Guitar in 17th-Century Italy

Hideki Yamaya, lute and Baroque guitar

In Musica Maestrale’s farewell program, artistic director Hideki Yamaya will perform a concert featuring masterpieces for lute and guitar from 17th-century Italy. The focus will be on the ‘toccata,’ an improvisatory form that was developed in the early Baroque to highlight the expressive capabilities of plucked strings and keyboard instruments. Composers represented include Kapsberger, Piccinini, Corbetta, Bartolotti, and Roncalli.

Advance premium tickets: $20 general/$10 student and youth; At the door: Pay-what-you-wish; no one will be turned away; cash (change provided), personal checks, and Venmo accepted

A part of the Folk Music Exchange: PDX/Colombia – Selva Espiral(Colombia) & Chamberlain / Gonzalez at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop

As part of the Folk Music Exchange: PDX/Colombia – Join us for a night of acoustic music featuring the guitar duo from Colombia, Selva Espiral and the duo Chamberlain / Gonzalez. Hosting is Mother Foucaults bookstore. Located on the border of Portland’s inner southeast industrial district, Mother Foucault’s specializes in used, rare, and vintage books. Mother Foucaults creates the perfect cozy space and unique listening room for acoustic music.

RSVP Online
Donation – $15 cash / venmo at doors
Doors @ 6:30 pm
Music at 7 pm sharp

Get ready for an epic journey through history with Upon the King! Adapted from eight of Shakespeare’s greatest history plays, this production weaves one continuous story of England’s crown as it passes from king to king—through acts both noble and treacherous.

Spanning the Hundred Years’ War with France to the chaos of the War of the Roses, this play captures the triumphs, betrayals, and humanity behind the throne. Packed with the best action and thought-provoking moments, Andrew Philpot’s masterful adaptation crafts a deeply engaging experience. Making its Oregon debut, Upon the King explores the timeless and ever-relevant themes of leadership—the glory, the burden, and the sacrifices demanded of those who wear the crown.​

Join Penguin under the stars for this epic we promise you have never seen the likes of before!

Tickets: $18 Students / $15 Seniors ($3 off on Thursday)

For tickets and more information, please visit penguinsonstage.org.