Contact:
Carl Herko
Vice President, Media & Public Relations
503-416-6347
cherko@orsymphony.org
August 6, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(PORTLAND, Ore.) – What could be better for a Portland music lover on a warm summer’s night than an Oregon Symphony concert? How about a free Oregon Symphony concert, outdoors under the stars, in one of Portland’s parks? Or, better still, how about two of them?
PDXers will get those two rare opportunities this month to hear the Oregon Symphony without having to fork over a dime as the orchestra presents Oregon Symphony in the Neighborhoods, its annual al fresco concert series, on Saturday, Aug. 23, in Southeast Portland’s Mt. Scott Park and Thursday, Aug. 28, in Tom McCall Waterfront Park downtown.
The annual waterfront concert always draws the orchestra’s biggest crowd of the season – upwards of 10,000 are expected – and culminates in a traditional audience favorite, Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” complete with military cannons and spectacular fireworks. Earlier, the Mt. Scott Park activities may be less raucous but they’ll be no less fun, with a neighborhood festival featuring a stellar lineup of afternoon performers on stage from 2 until 6:45 p.m. and the Oregon Symphony concert beginning at 7 p.m.
Oregon Symphony in the Neighborhoods is a neighborhood revitalization project funded by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, including support from the City of Portland, Metro, and Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. Additional support is provided by Portland Parks & Recreation.
AUG. 23: Mt. Scott Park, SE 72nd Avenue and Harold Street
Activities begin at 2 p.m. Aug. 23 with the neighborhood festival in Southeast Portland’s Mt. Scott Park featuring activities for kids of all ages, information booths hosted by community and arts organizations, food vendors and a musical-instrument “petting zoo” hosted by musicians from the Oregon Symphony and Portland Youth Philharmonic.
Afternoon stage performances will feature a wide variety of community entertainers, all hosted by Christa Wessel of All Classical FM. They include:
2 p.m. Jimmy Pardo & Company
2:30 p.m. Roots Revival Blues Band
3 p.m. Portland Parks & Recreation “Teen Idol Top 3” singers
and Caroline & Maggie’s Fiddle and Banjo Play Party
3:40 p.m. “Russian Romance” Gypsy Songs with Natalia Hougen, vocals, and
Tatiana Kolchanova-Parente, violin
4:10 p.m. Justin Klump, guitar/vocals, and Matt Fish, cello
4:50 p.m. Alex Krebs’ Tango Sextet
5:30 p.m. Krebsic Orkestar Balkan Brass Band
6:10 p.m. Portland Taiko
Following the afternoon community festival, the Oregon Symphony takes the main stage for a free performance led by Brett Mitchell, the dynamic young assistant conductor of the Houston Symphony. The Oregon Symphony’s program, “On With the Show,” includes popular music from the worlds of opera, ballet, film and Broadway – and even a television theme contest that calls for audience participation.
The Mt. Scott Park activities were planned by an advisory committee made up of community members from two nearby Portland neighborhoods: Mt. Scott-Arleta and Brentwood-Darlington.
In the event of rain, all of the afternoon activities and the Oregon Symphony concert will be moved indoors to Marshall High School, 3905 SE 91st Avenue.
AUG. 28: Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Naito Parkway near Columbia Street
The summer series concludes the following Thursday, Aug. 28, with another free performance by the Oregon Symphony, led by Music Director Carlos Kalmar and Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda, at downtown Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park on SW Naito Parkway, just south of the Hawthorne Bridge. The Oregon Symphony takes the stage at 7 p.m. for its waterfront performance, following a 5 p.m. concert by the Portland Youth Philharmonic.
Under the direction of newly appointed Music Director David Hattner, the PYP will present works by Edward Elgar, Emmanuel Chabrier, Pablo de Sarasate and Georges Bizet in its hour-long program.
Then, at 7 p.m., Oregon Symphony’s concert will feature a wide variety of popular audience favorites, including previews of the Oregon Ballet Theatre’s October production of Swan Lake and Portland Opera’s fall production of La Traviata. Soloists from each of those ensembles will join the orchestra in the performances. Popular Portland pianist Michael Allen Harrison will also be on hand to preview his special September concert with the Oregon Symphony celebrating his 25th anniversary as a performer.
And what would an Oregon Symphony waterfront concert be without its traditional grand finale – and everyone’s favorite outdoor show-stopper – the Tchaikovsky “1812 Overture,” complete with an elaborate fireworks show and military cannons provided and manned by the Oregon Army National Guard 218th Field Artillery?
Rain date for the waterfront concert is Friday, Aug. 29. The waterfront concert is sponsored by NW Natural.