With minimal resources and maximal willpower, ingenuity and single-minded drive, this composer/impresario [Bob Priest] has herded a bunch of cats (me included) into the successful makings of this niche festival that has become – almost without him intending it –a de facto contemporary and 20th century Portland near-icon.
—Maria Choban, Oregon ArtsWatch (read the full article)
Inspired by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), co-artistic directors Lisa Lipton and Justin Ralls founded CPOP in 2011 to provide an avenue for young and emerging West Coast composers to have their work performed. Their Strange Birds concert consisted mostly of electronic and electroacoustic works, and was a part of March Music Moderne, a Portland new music series founded by composer Bob Priest.
—Sam Reising, I care If You Listen (read the full article)
I’m referring to two mind-boggling performances of Garth Knox’s pieces for solo viola that Joël Belgique gave at the Free Marz String Trio concert on Friday, March 8th at the Community Music Center as part of the March Music Moderne Festival.
—James Bash, Oregon Music News (read the full article)
The event was impressively assembled by impresario/composer Bob Priest, who sought a blend of high-level art and banter about new music. Because Priest kept each segment of the program moving forward, the performances were successful and the audience engaged. Not bad for an evening that was provided gratis by MMM.
—James Bash, Oregon Music News (read the full article)
It would be hard to imagine a more seductive presentation. Despite their rather severe appearance, the Jerusalem [Quartet] projected a warm and lyrical sound, and their technique and ensemble were stellar.
—Jeff Winslow, Oregon ArtsWatch (read the full article)
Contemporary Portland Orchestra Project (CPOP) is presenting “When Strange Birds Passing Meet: Memory and Mimesis in the Soundscape” on Friday, March 22, at 11:00pm at Portland’s Bamboo Grove, in the penultimate performance of March Music Moderne 2013.
CPOP is a bold marriage between classical instrumentation and the electronic sounds of our current sound world. Inspired by BMOP (Boston Modern Orchestra Project), co-artistic directors Lisa Lipton and Justin Ralls pair contemporary composers with skilled chamber musicians.
—Brett Campbell, Oregon ArtsWatch (read the full article)
The tide of 20th century and contemporary music that commenced last month with the University of Oregon’s Music Today Festival and peaked with Portland’s March Music Moderne finally begins to recede this weekend as MMM concludes with concerts by Third Angle (its second and most admirable New Voices in Music project, which includes works by rising young composers from Oregon and beyond) on Thursday at Portland State University’s Lincoln Hall, Contemporary Portland Orchestra Project late Friday, and culminating in Northwest New Music’s closing Saturday night concert at Portland’s Community Music Center, with special guests City of Tomorrow woodwind quartet, two of whose members live in Portland.
—Brett Campbell, Oregon ArtsWatch (read the full article)
Kyril Zlotnikov‘s cello sang out like a cherrywood Archangel, while the twin violins of Alexander Pavlovsky and Sergei Bresler played the part of a fractured nervous system, passing the details back and forth, in the form of mutated melody. Ori Kam‘s viola proved to be the passionate pulse of the quartet, patent leather shoes sliding across the floor. The quartet reached an explosive finale, and were rewarded with a much deserved standing ovation!
—Jason Simpson, REDEFINE magazine (read the full article)
This week, Marylhurst University is hosting Gwyneth Walker as composer-in-residence on its campus. From her home-base in New Canaan, Connecticut, she maintains a busy schedule writing and traveling to concerts where her music is performed.
—James Bash, Oregon Music News (read the full article)
