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MusicWatch Weekly: Musical mixology

By Brett Campbell
July 20, 2016
Featured, Music

This week in Oregon’s bubbly music scene, Portland Opera offers a double shot: Rossini and Tchaikovsky. Chamber Music Northwest swirls some new music into its Beethoven cocktail, and Creative Music Guild mixes much of its double dose of music on the fly. Please let ArtsWatch readers know about other intoxicating musical attractions in the comments section below.

Pants and dresses; Sherman and Kirk. Photo: Blaine Truitt Covert

BodyVox teams with Chamber Music Northwest this weekend. Photo: Blaine Truitt Covert

Chamber Music Northwest 
July 20-26
Wednesday and Thursday’s concerts at Nordia House and Reed College feature music by Carl Nielsen and Portland composer David Schiff’s arrangement of Grieg’s Lyric Suite.

Read my Willamette Week preview of Friday’s New@Noon multimedia concert at PSU’s Lincoln Hall featuring new music by Bruce Adolphe, Portland’s own Bonnie Miksch and more, and Saturday and Sunday’s Reed College/PSU show that includes Adolphe’s music alongside 20th century classics by Kurt Weill and Darius Milhaud. One of those Adolphe pieces highlights Saturday afternoon’s family concert, Marita and her Heart’s Desire.

Monday’s and Tuesday’s concerts, at Reed and PSU respectively, offer Beethoven’s most popular work (in his own time): his sunny, Mozartian Septet (whose popularity eventually irritated him when he wanted to push his music beyond it), plus his Op. 17 string quartet.

Akropolis Reed Quintet performs in Gresham Friday.

Akropolis Reed Quintet performs in Gresham Tuesday.

Weill’s Threepenny music returns along with the Akropolis Reed Quintet at Tuesday’s free community concert at Mt. Hood Community College. The show also includes new music by young composers Rob Deemer and David Biedenbender.

And don’t forget BodyVox’s collaboration with CMNW, which has several shows left this week. Read Bob Hicks’s ArtsWatch review.

Tony Barba and Tricapitate
July 20
Turn! Turn! Turn! Portland
Saxofans should consider this Creative Music Guild Outset Series show featuring Wisconsin-based Youngblood Brass Band member Barba, who’s all played with jazz legends like Andrew Hill and David Murray as well as popsters including Bon Iver, Mountain Goats, Violent Femmes and more. Sax trio Tricapitate features veteran Portland saxophonists Noah Bernstein and John Savage along with Ralph Carney.

Eugene Onegin”
July 21-26
Portland Opera, Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, Portland
Read Christa Morletti McIntyre’s ArtsWatch preview and Bruce Browne’s ArtsWatch review of Tchaikovsky’s opera, sung in Russian with English subtitles and directed by Kevin Newbury.

The Italian Girl in Algiers”
July 22-August 6
Portland Opera, Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, Portland
While Hollywood still struggles to portray women in truly heroic protagonist roles, Giacomo Rossini’s fizzy 1813 comedy-meets-Harlequin romance stars the titular headstrong woman who outwits a macho royal to score the hunky slave she really wants instead of him. Bubbling with energetic arias and intoxication both hormonal and alcoholic, surprisingly, it’s the first Portland production, and this one’s built especially for the intimate Newmark Theatre.

Aleksandra Romano stars as Isabella in Portland Opera's 'The Italian Girl in Algiers.' Photo: James Daniel.

Aleksandra Romano stars as Isabella in Portland Opera’s ‘The Italian Girl in Algiers.’ Photo: James Daniel.

MYS summer ensembles 
July 21
The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th Ave. Portland
Read my Willamette Week preview of the faculty chamber music concert starring present and former Oregon Symphony musicians.

Lakou Mizik
July 21, WOW Hall, Eugene, and July 22 Alberta Rose Theatre, Portland
Read my Willamette Week preview of the Haitian collective’s first Oregon appearances.

Extradition Series
July 23
Leaven Community Center: 5431 NE 20th Ave, Portland
Read my Willamette Week preview of this Creative Music Guild concert featuring a 20th century classic by James Tenney and music by today’s Portland and Seattle performer/composer/improvisers.

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