Cultural Calendar

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra starts the new year with performances of masterworks by Tchaikovsky on January 25 at 3 p.m. and January 26 at 7 p.m. The 70+ member symphony orchestra will be joined by two generations of Schwarz virtuosity. Maestro Gerard Schwarz – 7-time Emmy-winning Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, Palm Beach Symphony and Mozart Orchestra of New York, Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony, Conductor Emeritus of the Mostly Mozart Festival and Distinguished Professor of Music; Conducting and Orchestral Studies of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami– will guest conduct the symphony and his son Julian Schwarz will perform on cello.

The performances begin with Maestro Schwarz with Joan Tower’s Sixth Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman. The piece was composed in 1986 by pianist, composer and conductor Joan Tower who is now serving as a professor of music at New York’s Bard College. Famed cellist, Julian Schwarz will then take the stage for a rendition of Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B Minor under the baton of his father. Following intermission, Maestro Schwarz returns for performances of Tchaikovsky’s monumental Symphony No. 4. The composition being one of the three pieces Tchaikovsky wrote in 1878, including Eugene Onegin and Violin Concerto.

Among his many noteworthy engagements, Dasol Kim is currently performing the complete cycle of the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas in Switzerland and Korea over a four year period. He is also a sought-after concerto soloist who has appeared with the New York Philharmonic in Seoul, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Berlin Chamber Orchestra, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony, Concerto Budapest, Belgium National Orchestra, and Korea’s KBS Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Dasol Kim made his recital debuts in the Young Concert Artists Series in The Peter Jay Sharp Concert at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall and in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center as recipient of the Korean Concert Prize, and was featured in the PyeongChang Festival Chamber Music concerts in the YCA Series in New York’s Alice Tully Hall and at the Kennedy Center. This season, he is presented in an encore recital by Young Concert Artists in collaboration with The Morgan Library and Museum in New York. Recent performances in the U.S. include the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 at the Brevard Music Festival in North Carolina and recitals at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, the Jewish Community Alliance in Jacksonville, FL, and Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, VA.

A favorite of music festivals, Mr. Kim has appeared at the Usedom Music Festival in Germany, Kuhmo Music Festival in Finland, La Roque d’Anthéron in France, Kissinger Sommer in Germany, and PyeongChang Music Festival (formerly the Great Mountain Music Festival) in Korea.

Dasol Kim won First Prizes in the 2015 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, 2011 Epinal International Piano Competition in France and 2010 YCA International Auditions in Leipzig, as well as Second Prize in the 2012 Géza Anda Competition in Zurich and Third Prize at the 2011 ARD International Music Competition in Munich.

January 25, 2020 at 7pm: Katie Jane & the Celtic Light Orchestra

Ignite the night with fiery Celtic fiddle tunes performed on light up instruments! Experience the illuminating performance of Katie Jane & the Celtic Light Orchestra as light and sound combine to create an unforgettable night of Celtic music, interactive lights, Irish dancing, and fun! Pre-show attendees are invited to participate in the Magical Music Petting Zoo where they can touch and play instruments that inspire the creative mind. Kids are welcome to participate! Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind Celtic concert experience!

7:00pm Magical Music Petting Zoo
7:30pm Showtime

At Community Music Center
3350 SE Francis St, Portland, OR 97202

Tickets $15 at the door or from Brown Paper Tickets at:
http://www.bpt.me/4478252

The CoHo Clown CoHort is cooking up the classical music/monster mash-up you never knew you needed, just in time for Fertile Ground 2020. Step into the lab to see what happens when you take Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel Frankenstein, mix in elements from James Whale’s dark cinematic interpretation along with Abbot & Costello’s precise wackiness, throw in classical music legends Beethoven and Chopin (why not?), add a healthy pinch of Romanticism, and distill it all with the pure physical comedy of clowning. The experimental ensemble that brought you Philip’s Glass Menagerie and Witch Hunt returns for more Fertile Ground mischief when Beethoven & Chopin Meet the Bride of Frankenstein, January 25 – February 2 at CoHo Theatre.

Cost: Pay What You Can, Sliding Scale $5-$30

The CoHo Clown CoHort is cooking up the classical music/monster mash-up you never knew you needed, just in time for Fertile Ground 2020. Step into the lab to see what happens when you take Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel Frankenstein, mix in elements from James Whale’s dark cinematic interpretation along with Abbot & Costello’s precise wackiness, throw in classical music legends Beethoven and Chopin (why not?), add a healthy pinch of Romanticism, and distill it all with the pure physical comedy of clowning. The experimental ensemble that brought you Philip’s Glass Menagerie and Witch Hunt returns for more Fertile Ground mischief when Beethoven & Chopin Meet the Bride of Frankenstein, January 25 – February 2 at CoHo Theatre.

Cost: Pay What You Can, Sliding Scale $5-$30

 Music has the power to transport us to magical places! This concert explores music that has ignited the imagination of audiences for generations.

The Piano Concerto in A Minor, Opus 16 by Edvard Grieg is one of his most popular works and among the most popular piano concerti ever written. Its power and lyricism transport audiences to the fjords of Norway through folk dances of his native country. Our piano soloist, Crystal Zimmerman, thrilled the audience in our performance of Tolga Kashif’s The Queen Symphony. She is back to bring the magic of Edvard Grieg’s concerto to its full potential. Buckle your seatbelts for a life changing performance of this beautiful piano concerto!

French composer Paul Dukas brought to life the story of a young apprentice to a powerful sorcerer in his programmatic work, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Based on a poem by Goethe, this vivid musical depiction of the story attracted the attention of Walt Disney, who cast Mickey Mouse in the role of the young apprentice in his 1940 cartoon masterpiece Fantasia.

For his musical inspiration, Michael Colgrass looked to the writings of Carlos Casteneda, who wrote of his studies with a Yaqui Indian shaman to learn mystical powers that had descended from the Toltecs. Winds of Nagual, A Musical Fable for Wind Ensemble on the Writings of Carlos Castaneda is an inventive suite of eight movements of some of the most creative musical scoring of the 20^th century.

Mezzo-soprano Lisa Neher and pianist Stephanie Thompson perform art songs and solos exploring the human condition through the lens of birds on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 3:00pm in Evans Auditorium.

Birds have captured the human imagination since ancient times. In literature, birds are used as symbols of freedom and transcendence, as confidants of lovers, as heralds of spring, new life, and new possibilities, and as harbingers of death. Birds serve as mirrors for our human lives, reflecting our struggles, joys, hopes, and fears. In this program, mezzo-soprano Lisa Neher and pianist Stephanie Thompson perform art songs and solos exploring the human condition with setting of poems that feature many different birds. Works include English, French, German, and Spanish songs by composers Amy Beach, Aaron Copland, Gabriela Lena Frank, Edvard Grieg, Juliana Hall, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Richard Hundley, Charles Ives, Florence Price, Franz Schubert, and Ryan Woodhouse. The concert includes the premiere of Portland composer Theresa Koon’s song Winged from Within, a reading of her essay “A Bird in the Hand,” about her experiences raising a baby blackbird in the former East Germany, and a presentation from Portland Audubon Society Executive Director Nick Hardigg.

Tickets are on sale now for this exciting performance!
Cost: $10

Among his many noteworthy engagements, Dasol Kim is currently performing the complete cycle of the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas in Switzerland and Korea over a four year period. He is also a sought-after concerto soloist who has appeared with the New York Philharmonic in Seoul, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Berlin Chamber Orchestra, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony, Concerto Budapest, Belgium National Orchestra, and Korea’s KBS Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Dasol Kim made his recital debuts in the Young Concert Artists Series in The Peter Jay Sharp Concert at New York’s Merkin Concert Hall and in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center as recipient of the Korean Concert Prize, and was featured in the PyeongChang Festival Chamber Music concerts in the YCA Series in New York’s Alice Tully Hall and at the Kennedy Center. This season, he is presented in an encore recital by Young Concert Artists in collaboration with The Morgan Library and Museum in New York. Recent performances in the U.S. include the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 at the Brevard Music Festival in North Carolina and recitals at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, the Jewish Community Alliance in Jacksonville, FL, and Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, VA.

A favorite of music festivals, Mr. Kim has appeared at the Usedom Music Festival in Germany, Kuhmo Music Festival in Finland, La Roque d’Anthéron in France, Kissinger Sommer in Germany, and PyeongChang Music Festival (formerly the Great Mountain Music Festival) in Korea.

Dasol Kim won First Prizes in the 2015 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, 2011 Epinal International Piano Competition in France and 2010 YCA International Auditions in Leipzig, as well as Second Prize in the 2012 Géza Anda Competition in Zurich and Third Prize at the 2011 ARD International Music Competition in Munich.

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra starts the new year with performances of masterworks by Tchaikovsky on January 25 at 3 p.m. and January 26 at 7 p.m. The 70+ member symphony orchestra will be joined by two generations of Schwarz virtuosity. Maestro Gerard Schwarz – 7-time Emmy-winning Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, Palm Beach Symphony and Mozart Orchestra of New York, Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony, Conductor Emeritus of the Mostly Mozart Festival and Distinguished Professor of Music; Conducting and Orchestral Studies of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami– will guest conduct the symphony and his son Julian Schwarz will perform on cello.

The performances begin with Maestro Schwarz with Joan Tower’s Sixth Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman. The piece was composed in 1986 by pianist, composer and conductor Joan Tower who is now serving as a professor of music at New York’s Bard College. Famed cellist, Julian Schwarz will then take the stage for a rendition of Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B Minor under the baton of his father. Following intermission, Maestro Schwarz returns for performances of Tchaikovsky’s monumental Symphony No. 4. The composition being one of the three pieces Tchaikovsky wrote in 1878, including Eugene Onegin and Violin Concerto.

First up on T@T this week, is Portland Opera. We’ll hear a preview of their next show, An American Quartet, which will take place in their black box theatre for an intimate evening of four American one-act operas: Menotti’s The Telephone, Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, Moore’s Gallantry, and Hoiby’s Bon Appétit!

The Portland Percussion Group is Portland’s own percussion chamber ensemble. The group formed in 2011 to invigorate new music in the city and the greater Northwest, and since then has become a mainstay in the contemporary music space in Portland. We’ll get a sneak peek at their collaboration with piano duo Stephanie and Saar entitled Petite Corvette Rouge.

The CoHo Clown CoHort is cooking up the classical music/monster mash-up you never knew you needed, just in time for Fertile Ground 2020. Step into the lab to see what happens when you take Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel Frankenstein, mix in elements from James Whale’s dark cinematic interpretation along with Abbot & Costello’s precise wackiness, throw in classical music legends Beethoven and Chopin (why not?), add a healthy pinch of Romanticism, and distill it all with the pure physical comedy of clowning. The experimental ensemble that brought you Philip’s Glass Menagerie and Witch Hunt returns for more Fertile Ground mischief when Beethoven & Chopin Meet the Bride of Frankenstein, January 25 – February 2 at CoHo Theatre.

Cost: Pay What You Can, Sliding Scale $5-$30

Prudencia Hart is an academic scholar of traditional Scottish folklore and immensely dislikes all things pop culture, including her professional nemesis, Colin Syme. After a particularly long night full of draughts and drams at a pub, Prudencia gets lost in the snow-covered forest and winds up getting saved by a man who may have nefarious intentions. Bewitchingly exuberant, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart is a wild romp through Scottish ballads, karaoke mainstays, and devilish encounters.

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart will be performed among the audience in a pub-style setting. Enjoy traditional Scottish pub fare, beverages, and (of course) whiskey for a nominal additional fee.

The CoHo Clown CoHort is cooking up the classical music/monster mash-up you never knew you needed, just in time for Fertile Ground 2020. Step into the lab to see what happens when you take Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel Frankenstein, mix in elements from James Whale’s dark cinematic interpretation along with Abbot & Costello’s precise wackiness, throw in classical music legends Beethoven and Chopin (why not?), add a healthy pinch of Romanticism, and distill it all with the pure physical comedy of clowning. The experimental ensemble that brought you Philip’s Glass Menagerie and Witch Hunt returns for more Fertile Ground mischief when Beethoven & Chopin Meet the Bride of Frankenstein, January 25 – February 2 at CoHo Theatre.

Cost: Pay What You Can, Sliding Scale $5-$30