Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Every year, the City of Roses throws itself a big party, and this year the Portland Rose Festival (May 24 – June 9) has adopted ”Portland’s Party” as its theme, promising more fun and festivity than ever. Best of all, you’re invited!

The fest kicks off with a spectacular fireworks show on Friday, May 24. For a great view, grab a seat on the Ferris wheel in the waterfront CityFair, which features rides, food and beer and live music. (This year, there’s also a second night of fireworks, on June 7.)

The 2013 concert lineup includes pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen (June 9), country quartet Little Big Town (June 2), and indie rock bands Fitz And The Tantrums (May 26) and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (May 25).

The evening Starlight Parade (June 1) features illuminated floats and a “Portlandia” section with syncopated drummers, roller derby teams and the Portland Zombie Walk. The fest’s hallmark event, the Grand Floral Parade (June 8), travels from Memorial Coliseum (where reserved seating is available), across the Willamette River and through downtown, delighting crowds with 17 all-floral floats, 18 marching bands and 19 equestrian units – in addition to vintage vehicles, colorful dancers and more. For a closer look at the impressive floats, check out the Grand Floral Float Showcase (June 8-9), adjacent to the CityFair.

Get to the fragrant source at the Portland Rose Society 125th Annual Spring Rose Show (June 6-7), the nation’s largest and longest-running rose show with more than 4,000 blooms in the Lloyd Center Ice Rink.

Last but not least, the Portland Rose Festival Dragon Boat Race (June 8-9) brings the party to the river as 80 local, national and international teams compete in ornate boats provided by the Portland-Kaohsiung Sister City Association.

Here are some of Portland’s classical music highlights for May and June (also see performing arts and visual arts highlights):

"Falstaff" by the Portland Opera at the Keller Auditorium (Photo courtesy Portland Opera)

Falstaff
May 10-18
Portland Opera, Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.

A comic masterpiece, Giuseppi Verdi’s final opera puts Shakespeare’s greatest fool front and center and surrounds him with some of the composer’s finest music.

The Big Oh!
Resonance Ensemble
May 11 (Agnes Flanagan Chapel, Lewis & Clark College, 0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Road) and May 12 (Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta St.)

The top-flight choir’s season comes to a climax in a clever concert featuring music about the peak of pleasure, from Verdi, Wagner, Bruckner, Monteverdi, Mozart and other randy classical composers.

Spring Concert
May 12
Portland Youth Philharmonic, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway

The quality displayed by the nation’s oldest youth orchestra continues to belie its teenage members’ ages, and conductor David Hattner crafts an excellent program of masterpieces from the 21st (Christopher Theofanidis’s dazzling “Visions and Miracles”) and 20th centuries (Stravinsky’s game-changing “Symphonies of Wind Instruments” and Bartók’s thrilling Concerto for Orchestra), plus Romantic Polish composer Henryk Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 2.

Theo Bleckmann, Refuge Trio singer (photo by John Labbe)

Refuge Trio
May 16
Mission Theater & Pub, 1624 N.W. Glisan St.

Two stars of the jazz-meets-contemporary-classical movement, singer Theo Bleckmann and drummer John Hollenbeck, join the superb erstwhile Oregonian pianist/keyboardist Gary Versace in this PDX Jazz concert.

Arrivederci Portland!
PSU Chamber Choir
May 17 (St. Stephen’s Catholic Church, 1112 S.E. 41st Ave.) and May 19 (Kairos-Milwaukie United Church of Christ, 4790 S.E. Logus Road, Milwaukie)

The award-winning choristers sing for their plane fare to Italy, where they will be the first American choir to compete in the prestigious, half-century old Seghizzi International Competition for Choral Singing. They’ll regale the judges there, and Portland listeners here, with American folksongs, hymns, spirituals and music by contemporary composers such as Eric Whitacre and Eriks Esenvalds, plus Romantic masters like Verdi, Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff.

Oh, Those Gershwin Boys
Portland Chamber Orchestra
June 8 (Century High School, 2000 S.E. Century Blvd., Hillsboro) and June 9 (Agnes Flanagan Chapel, Lewis & Clark College, 0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Road)

Rocky Blumhagen and Susannah Mars join the orchestra for a musical biography of one of America’s greatest masters of music, as viewed from the perspectives of his brother/collaborator Ira and his paramour Kay Swift.

A Muse of Fire
Chamber Music Northwest
June 24 (Kaul Auditorium, 3203 S.E. Woodstock Blvd.) and June 25 (Catlin Gabel School,  8825 S.W. Barnes Road)

The venerable annual summer festival kicks off with the renowned husband-and-wife, cellist-and-pianist team of David Finckel and Wu Han, playing music by Brahms, Beethoven and Bruch.

Photo by Dolan Halbrook via Flickr

It’s a small outdoor venue unlike any other: a grassy lawn, sloping down to a modestly-sized stage and bandshell, with an elephant yard on one side and a red ape reserve on the other. For the past 35 years, musicians and fans alike have flocked to the Oregon Zoo each summer to revel in music, sunshine and friends — including those of the feathered and furry varieties.

The 2013 Oregon Zoo Summer Concert Series (June 22 – Sept. 6) boasts a roster of artists as diverse as the park’s residents, which range from African bullfrogs to Visayan warty pigs. Folk singer/songwriter John Prine takes the stage on opening night; maybe he’ll perform “Crazy as a Loon,” a favorite of the birds in the nearby aviary. Ziggy Marley brings his Jamaican reggae to town on June 30 — his song “Black Cat” might elicit a roar from the zoo’s resident big cats. Other musical acts on the schedule include Weird Al Yankovic, the Indigo Girls, Randy Newman, the B-52s, Los Lobos and the Doobie Brothers. Alas, no Snoop Dog, er, Lion.

Shows start at 7 p.m., with access to the concert area at 5 p.m. Concert tickets also grant zoo access for the full day, so plan to visit the animals before the show. And whether you bring a picnic (no outside beverages) or enjoy the zoo’s selection of local food, beer and wine, be sure to fill up — after all, you wouldn’t want your stomach growling louder than the Amur tigers (or the bands).

True story: Radiohead’s Thom Yorke once wanted to be Jim Morrison. Well, at least that’s what the band’s frontman sang in one of their earliest tracks, “Anyone Can Play Guitar.” During Rock Band Tuesdays at Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade, not only can anyone play guitar, but they can also be Yorke, Morrison or one of hundreds of other musicians in the iconic video game.

Ground Kontrol is a video-gamers’ Valhalla, crammed with 90+ classic coin-op masterpieces ranging from Pac-Man to Dance Dance Revolution. Serving beer and wine in the evenings, it’s a great place to relive 8-bit memories and also hosts DJs, twice-monthly free play nights and tournaments, in addition to Rock Band Tuesdays. (more…)

Here are some of Portland’s classical music highlights for March and April (also see performing arts highlights):

Bang on a Can's Michael Gordon

“When Michael Meets Julia”�
Feb. 28-March 1
Third Angle, Alberta Rose Theater, 3000 N.E. Alberta St.

A band, a festival, an organization and a continuing revolution, New York’s Bang on a Can has, for a quarter-century, reinvigorated classical music with the pulsating rhythms of rock, minimalism and other contemporary sounds.

Bang on a Can's Julie Wolfe

For about the same stretch, Third Angle has showcased some of the most original and accessible music being composed in the classical tradition, so this pairing of Oregon’s finest new music ensemble with the striking music of (and appearances by) two of BOAC’s (married) cofounders, Julia Wolfe and Michael Gordon, is the season’s happiest combination.

“Back in the USSR”�
March 2 (Resonance Ensemble, Agnes Flanagan Chapel, Lewis & Clark College, 0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Road) and March 3 (Yale Union [YU], 800 S.E. 10th Ave.)

One of the city’s finest collections of singers drawn from other top choirs sings seldom-heard sounds, long imprisoned in the Soviet era’s artistic gulag, by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Arvo Pärt and other Eastern European composers.

March Music Moderne
March 7-23
Various venues

The annual citywide celebration of contemporary music reveals that, despite the musty programming of too many of Portland’s classical institutions, the 20th and 21st centuries have produced a cornucopia of compelling sounds. All 32 concerts, many free or low-cost, are worth checking out; top picks include the preview party potpourri (March 7), Free Marz String Trio (March 8), Arnica Quartet (March 15), Beta Collide (March 16), Third Angle (March 21) and City of Tomorrow Wind Quintet and Northwest New Music (March 23).

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From masses to operas, films to cartoons, classical music has found a way of evolving with the times. So it should come as no surprise to fans of complex compositions that video games are now yielding some of the most beloved tunes of our times. And like a trip to the ol’ fairy pond, Oregon Symphony’s The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses (March 16) will have heart containers overflowing with 25 years of classic Nintendo musical scores, reviving nostalgia for everyone’s favorite Triforce-powered hero, Link.

A one-night-only adventure at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, this performance is all-ages, multimedia fun, covering theme songs from Hyrule’s dungeons to Kakariko Village — all set to a cinematic video presentation, and arranged into a four-part symphony. The concert, conducted by Eimear Noone and performed by the Oregon Symphony and Pacific Youth Choir, spans games from The Legend of Zelda to Twilight Princess, and has been approved by the games’ original composer, Koji Kondo.

Attendees are encouraged to suit up and represent the vast reaches of Hyrule, with the winning costume taking home the show’s 6-foot window banner, autographed by the conductor. With all those Zeldas, Ganons, fairies and gorons, there’s sure to be plenty of spectacle along with the symphonics. But please leave your ocarinas at home — it’s time to let someone else play.

Here are some of Portland’s music highlights for January and February (see visual arts and performing arts highlights):

Even though March is the main month for new classical music in Portland, both local and touring ensembles warm the winter season with certified classics featuring typically non-starring instruments (cello, bass, recorder, and more), show tunes, film scores, two of literature’s strongest women, and a surprising number of contemporary works.

Photo by Ellen Appel

Takács Quartet
Jan. 21-22
Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 S.W. Park Ave.

Friends of Chamber Music again brings back perhaps the world’s finest and most passionately powerful string quartet to play masterpieces by Schubert and Haydn, plus (with help from guest violist Erika Eckert) both of Brahms’s gorgeous viola quintets.

“Selva Morale e Spirituale”
Jan. 25
The Ensemble and Wildwood Consort, Agnes Flanagan Chapel, Lewis & Clark College, 0615 S.W. Palatine Hill Road

Accompanied by the city’s premiere historically informed small ensemble, an all-star lineup of some of Portland’s finest singers performs one of the greatest works of the early Baroque period by the Italian master Claudio Monteverdi.

Rastrelli Cello Quartet
Jan. 27
Lincoln Recital Hall, 1620 S.W. Park Ave.

A city so smitten by the Portland Cello Project will welcome the mostly Russian foursome, which mixes music by classical composers like Tchaikovsky and Bach with pop and jazz stars such as Dave Brubeck and George Gershwin.

Image courtesy Portland Opera

“Tosca“
Feb. 1, 3, 7, 9
Portland Opera, Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.

Puccini’s heartbreaking drama of political corruption, love, and betrayal returns.

“Penelope“
Feb. 2
FearNoMusic, Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta St.

In the most exciting classical music event of the season, the Portland new music ensemble brings composer Sarah Kirkland Snider’s new song cycle (with vocals by the bold pop/new music singer Shara Worden, from My Brightest Diamond) that tells the story of the Odyssey from the perspective of Odysseus’s loyal wife, left behind to fend off suitors while he sought adventure abroad.

“Baroque Journeys“
Feb. 8
Kaul Auditorium, 3203 S.E. Woodstock Blvd.

Chamber Music Northwest brings back two favorites from its summer festival—the world’s greatest recorder player, Danish virtuosa Michala Petri, and the oboe master Alan Vogel—plus other guests to perform an all-Baroque program of music by J.S. Bach, Telemann, Corelli, Beethoven and more.

Image courtesy www.chi-chinwanoku.com

“Virtuoso Bass. Vienna c1780“
Feb. 15-16
Portland Baroque Orchestra, First Baptist Church, S.W. 12^th Ave. and Taylor St.

The fabulous Nigerian-Irish virtuosa Chi-chi Nwanoku joins the excellent historically informed period instrument ensemble for an unusual program of music by Haydn, Mozart and more that features the deep dark sounds of the acoustic double bass.

“Music of Film“
Feb. 22 (Portland Chamber Orchestra, Village Church, 330 S.W. Murray Blvd., Beaverton)
Feb. 23 (Scottish Rite Temple, 1512 S.W. Morrison St.)

The inventive pocket-sized symphony plays award-winning movie soundtrack scores.

“From Broadway to the Met“
Feb. 23-24
Choral Arts Ensemble, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 3228 S.W. Sunset Blvd.

The choir sings choruses from opera composers Puccini, Verdi and Wagner as well as hits from American stage musicals.

“Hough Plays Liszt“
Feb. 23-4
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway

Another great pianist, another program featuring music of Beethoven (“Symphony #2”) and Paul Hindemith (“Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber”), this one also features one of today’s most visionary classical pianists performing Franz Liszt’s big “Piano Concerto #2.”

“When Michael Meets Julia“
Feb. 28-March 1
Third Angle, Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta St.

Oregon’s oldest new music ensemble plays the music of two of today’s most prominent American composers, Julia Wolfe and Michael Gordon, two of the founders of New York’s transformative Bang on a Can organization that has helped make new classical music hip and sustainable again.

Here are some of Portland’s many stage productions to help you celebrate the season. Check out our Holiday Music Guide, too.

A Midsummer Nights Dream at Portland Center Stage. Photo by Patrick Weishampel.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Portland Center Stage
Nov. 13-Dec. 23
128 N.W. 11th Ave.

Strictly speaking, this isn’t a holiday show, of course, but it does have fairies and elves (Isn’t Puck a sort of elf?). Center Stage, the city’s biggest theater, will give it a good ride, and director Penny Metropulos, an Oregon Shakespeare Festival veteran, has done great work with the play there before.

“Christmas on Broadway”
Broadway Rose
Nov. 21-Dec. 23
12850 S.W. Grant Ave., Tigard

This Tigard-based company specializes in musicals, and this one, designed by Rick Lewis, is a sort of Greatest Holiday Hits from Broadway, built around the idea of a bunch of snowbound actors entertaining themselves on Christmas Eve.

“Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol”
Artists Repertory Theatre
Nov. 27-Dec. 30
1516 S.W. Morrison St.

In this hit from Christmas Past, the intrepid but dour detective undergoes a very Scrooge-like experience, aided by the equally intrepid but altogether more balanced Dr. Watson. (more…)

Music, more than any other art form, has the power to move us. It can make you march to the beat, or get up and dance. And this Thanksgiving weekend, it will make hearts flutter and lips smile, as the Oregon Symphony performs a variety of songs with Disney in Concert: Magical Music from the Movies (Nov. 24).

Performing beneath a projection of some of the studio’s best-loved animated classics in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, the acclaimed orchestra will bring the music of Disney to life. From the undersea sounds of The Little Mermaid to the untamed melodies of The Lion King, the one-night concert will pair four distinct vocalists with toe-tapping numbers like “Kiss the Girl” and “Hakuna Matata,” creating an experience as memorable as the feature films themselves.

And ranging from old favorites like Mary Poppins’ “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” to modern hits like “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast, kids of all ages will hear their favorites. If you want to “feel the love tonight” and be “a part of their world,” you’d better act fast —  tickets are already available through the symphony’s website.

If creativity is Portland’s currency, then the coming weeks are an embarrassment of riches, with back-to-back-to-back festivals that celebrate the many expressions of Portland’s creative culture: indie music (MusicFestNW, Sept. 5-9), contemporary art (Time-Based Art Festival, Sept. 6-16) and food and drink (Feast Portland, Sept. 20-23) — not to mention art & technology (XOXO, Sept. 13-16) and all manner of DIY (Mini Maker Faire, Sept. 15-16).

The latest addition to that esteemed lineup — and, in true Portland style, flying slightly below the radar — is Design Week Portland (Oct. 9-13), a preview of which is included here. Be warned: The language careens from earthy to ethereal, rough-hewn to reflective. You know, kind of like the city itself.