I just got done attending a concert by the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra consisting of works by two of my favorite composers, Shostakovich and Beethoven. You can check it out here at NW Reverb.
I also got done spending 8 hours over the last two evenings manning the phones at KBPS 89.9 All Classical for their fall pledge drive; although I left with two hours left to go in the drive, it seemed like they were well on their way to making the goal for this year. It's always a blast to go down there, and P-town (as well as the Columbia River Gorge, the Oregon Coast and the entire world thanks to AllClassical.org) is lucky to have such a phenomenal station that is able to be so successful. I just wanted to thank all the volunteers, the local restaurants that donated food, the charismatic, committed staff and hosts, and especially the KBPS members in the community and the world at large for making it happen.
And I can't believe I haven't written this yet, but please check out the Bach Cantata Choir and the Portland Symphonic Choir websites (links for these and for KBPS are right off to the side there so just click on 'em!) for a full update on the 08-09 seasons. The PSC just got done singing Beethoven's 9th with the OSO and we're going to be working all day long tomorrow on Rachmaninov's Vespers for a concert next year. This is a titanic, amazing work, and quite simply one of the most beautiful pieces of music I think has ever been composed; such rich, haunting, uniquely Slavic music. On top of that, we're doing Mozart's Requiem and Kyrie in D-minor next year, in addition to our Wintersong Concert featuring a medley of Christmas tunes as conceived of by the brilliant Ralph Vaughan Williams.
In the BCC, our first concert (and our silent auction: please come and spend money with us! I'm the silent auction chair and I need to look good!) is coming up on October 26th at 2 pm; we're doing Cantatas 106 and 140, the famous Wachet Auf! (Sleepers Awake!) In addition, we're singing a gorgeous setting by Heinrich Schutz of Psalm 128 for double choir. Don't miss it! And let me know if you'd like to receive the BCC Newsletter; I write and edit that and it's been quite a hit with our audience. I usually write one historical article as well as a profile of one of our orchestra or chorus members; upcoming is our AD Ralph Nelson's article on his experiences studying with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival this summer. I can put you on our mailing list to receive it on paper or send it to you electronically; I plan on archiving past editions online soon. I should have it ready to go next week.
It's late, I'm rambling, I'm going to head to bed cuz it's been a loooong week and the weekend looks just as busy. All in the service of music, the greatest of human endeavors. Buenas noches.
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