Listen to the Hear of the Now

March Music Moderne 32 events all across the PDX global village multiverse to celebrate the gloriousity of tactile, experimental, classsical and creative music in too many forms and performances. This is the third year for this extraordinary “festspiel” and the line up includes Friends of Chamber Music, Oregon Symphony, Arnica String Quartet, Cascadia Composers, Gamelan music, Stravinsky, Portland Jazz Composers and more more more.

The third month of this year means the third year of March Music Moderne, upon us again with 32 events all across the PDX global village multiverse we live in. 10 events are held in SE, 12 are free and ALL sound intriguing. It’s a month-long nightly musical extravaganza of symphonies, bands, seriousness, sensuousness, classical, sounds of nature, spoken word and musical exploration.

Themes this year are the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”, the 100th year fete of Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski, the 55th birth year of Finnish composer, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and the bicentennial of Richard Wagner’s birth. Events are Community Music Center, the Arlene Schnitzer, Lincoln Hall at PSU, Lewis and Clark, Marylhurst Colege and plenty of others. You’ll need a program to keep track and fortunately you can see it at www.marchmusicmoderne.org. A few juicy SE highlights to add to your calendar then…

Mad as a March Hare Cascadia Composers in a concert of new chamber music by Oregon composers, Sunday March 17, at Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church, 2828 SE Stephens St. Music at 3 pm.

The concert features The City of Tomorrow with Elizabeth Blachly-Dyson’s “Crotchety Quintet”, “Frogs at Dusk”, a saxophone quartet with drums by Paul Safar, piano solos, works for winds and songs by Lisa Marsh, Jan Mittelstaedt, Sam Reising and Jeff Winslow. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 seniors, $15 working artists and $20 general admission. www.cascadiacomposers.org

 

• Soundwalk Listen to nature’s concert. Take your ears on a guided soundwalk with composer Susan Alexjander in Mt. Tabor Park, Saturday March 9 at 1 pm. Free.

• Umi Sajin with Flutes & Kotos with Tessa Brinckman and Mitsuki Dazai and works from Salonen, Hosokawa, Brown and Corea at Hipbone Studio, Saturday, March 16, 4 pm $15

PDX Jazz Composers Ensemble Schmokin’ 15-piece big band charts by Wallsmith, Allen, Williams and Berman Friday March 22, 7:30 pm at Community Music Center, 3350 SE Francis St. $12–15

 • 24 Preludes and Fugues for Painters What does music by Shostakovich look like? 24 Portland-area artists will show you in this exhibit at Muse Art and Design, 4220 SE Hawthorne Blvd. an official event of MMM, daily from Monday through Sunday, 11am – 6 pm through March 31. A meet the artists reception is Thursday, March 14, 6:30 pm.

Each artist was asked to create a visual interpretation of an assigned prelude and fugue from Shostakovich’s “24 Preludes and Fugues for Piano,” Op. 87. Other than working in the consistent format of an 18”x36” canvas, artists were given complete freedom regarding style, subject, and choice of horizontal or vertical orientation.

This exhibit coincides with the Friends of Chamber Music Shostakovich Festival, March 10 -14 downtown.

Listen to the Hear of the Now

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