CONCERT GUIDE: 2023 Summer Festival from Chamber Music Northwest

Music and poetry have been connected to one another since their ancient beginnings. Long before each art form was written down and codified, music and poetry were performed together, and inspired one another. Essential musical elements such as lyricism and rhythm lie at the heart of poetry, and a particularly moving musical experience is often described as “pure poetry.”

Our 53rd summer festival, Poetry in Music, celebrates the historical and ongoing interaction between the two art forms. You will hear music of great composers such as Schubert, Brahms, Fauré, and Bolcom set to the words of legendary poets Heine, Rückert, Verlaine, Angelou, and Dickinson. You can meet and talk with composer David Serkin Ludwig, and native Oregonian poet Katie Ford about their collaboration in the monodrama, The Anchoress. And, as always at Chamber Music Northwest, you will get to hear the most dynamic performers in the world: captivating fresh stars like mezzosoprano Fleur Barron and cellist Zlatomir Fung, inspiring personalities like clarinetist Anthony McGill, towering artists such as clarinetist David Shifrin, and even the Emerson String Quartet for two of the final performances of their storied career.

We look forward to seeing you throughout the summer for a picnic and concert at beautiful Reed College, a drink and conversation at Portland Center Stage at The Armory, a bonus pre-concert performance at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton, and at Portland State University and the Alberta Rose Theatre!

Gloria Chien & Soovin Kim Artistic Directors

2023 Summer Festival Highlights

A Festival of Poetry in Music

Music is Poetry, and Poetry is Music. Explore the intimate connection between poetry and music with renowned vocalists Fleur Barron, Susanna Phillips, and Hyunah Yu inhabiting the lyricism of Schubert, Fauré, Robert Schumann, and Brahms, and the storytelling of The Anchoress. Enjoy the world premiere of Wang Jie’s delightfully unique and entertaining Blame the Obituary, narrated by Portland native and NPR Performance Today host Fred Child, and experience an array of poetically-inspired music and musically-inspired poetry.

Emerson Quartet Farewell

Celebrating America’s Greatest String Quartet. After 17 appearances with us over a span of 30 years, the nine-time Grammy Award-winning Emerson Quartet takes their final bows in two glorious concerts. In addition to their inspired performance as a quartet of Beethoven’s and Bartók’s masterworks, they will also perform with their great friend and CMNW Artistic Director Emeritus David Shifrin, and with Artistic Director Gloria Chien. It will be a grand finale for the books!

Dynamic & Diverse Artistry

Musical Masters of Today. This summer, we welcome many of America’s most acclaimed and influential musical artists to CMNW—many for the first time! They include groundbreaking clarinetist Anthony McGill, the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst Quartet, the mesmerizing Metropolitan Opera soprano Susanna Phillips, acclaimed pianist and composer Stewart Goodyear, and the extraordinary new musician/composer collective umama womama— comprised of flutist Valerie Coleman, violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, and harpist Han Lash.

Magnificent Masterworks

The Greatest Chamber Music Ever Written. Even the best have their best: Bach’s soaring Magnificat; Beethoven’s cathartic Opus 131; Brahms’s supreme Clarinet Quintet and Piano Quartet No. 2; Schubert’s sublime The Shepherd on the Rock; Mozart’s miraculous Piano Concerto No. 12; Amy Beach’s ravishing Piano Quintet; and Robert Schumann’s irrepressibly joyous Piano Quintet, just to name a few. You’ll be swept into a musical reverie with an abundance of the greatest chamber works ever conceived, performed by some of the world’s finest chamber musicians.

Exciting Innovations

Be In the Room When It Happens! Take your seat to be among the first listeners for the music of the moment—and the artists of the future. We'll premiere 12 new works—eight commissions—and explore the music of emerging and leading composers of today, including: Chris Rogerson, Patrick Castillo, Aiden Kane, David Serkin Ludwig, Wang Jie, Alistair Coleman, and CMNW Protégé composer Kian Ravaei. Plus, marvel at the talent and virtuosity of our Protégé Artists and Young Artist Institute Fellows, who are among the brightest rising star musicians of the future.

Tickets: CMNW.org or 503-294-6400

OPENING NIGHT: Poetry in Music

Saturday & Sunday

Saturday, June 24 • Kaul Auditorium, Prelude: 6:30pm • Performance: 8pm

Sunday, June 25 • Lincoln Performance Hall, 4pm

Poetry and music are two of the most evocative art forms. Mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron returns after her dazzling performances last summer to give voice to German, English, and Persian poetry that are the inspirations for songs by Brahms and world premiere songs by CMNW Protégé composer Kian Ravaei. The program is capped by one of Brahms’s grandest and most glorious works of all, his second Piano Quartet. Poetic pianist Ieva Jokūbavičiūtė makes her CMNW debut, and brilliant string players Benjamin Beilman, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Peter Stumpf celebrate the opening of the 2023 festival.

• MOZART Duo for Violin & Viola, K. 424

• KIAN RAVAEI Gulistan

CMNW Commission • World Premiere

• KIAN RAVAEI Morghe Sahar (Bird of Dawn)

• BRAHMS Two Songs, Op. 91

• BRAHMS Piano Quartet No. 2, Op. 26

FEATURING: Fleur Barron (mezzo-soprano), Benjamin Beilman (violin), Hsin-Yun Huang (viola), Ieva Jokūbavičiūtė (piano), Peter Stumpf (cello)

FLEUR BARRON

BENJAMIN BEILMAN I EVA JOKŪBAVIČIŪTĖ

Oregon Poet Prelude

Schubert & Fauré: Masters of Lyricism

Thursday, June 29 • The Reser, Prelude: 6:30pm • Performance: 8pm

Thursday

Franz Schubert composed more than 600 songs in his lifetime, including his epic final song cycle Schwanengesang (Swan Song) that depicts his desire and longing for lost love. Schubert’s Fantasy for violin and piano, composed during the same final chapter of his life, is simultaneously one of his most virtuosic and sublime works. In his impassioned Piano Quartet in G Minor, Gabriel Fauré incorporated his love of song into his dreamy instrumental melodies.

• SCHUBERT Selections from Schwanengesang (Swan Song)

• SCHUBERT Fantasy for Violin & Piano

• GABRIEL FAURÉ Piano Quartet No. 2

FEATURING: Fleur Barron (mezzo-soprano), Benjamin Beilman (violin), Gloria Chien (piano), Zlatomir Fung (cello), Paul Neubauer (viola)

CMNW Presents the Oregon Bach Festival: Magnificat

Saturday, July 1 • Kaul Auditorium, Prelude: 6:30pm • Performance: 8pm

Saturday

Inspired by Bach’s 1723 move to Leipzig, the “imaginative and spontaneous” (The New York Times) Jos van Veldhoven leads the OBF Period Orchestra and Chorus through a Baroque-era musical journey. Beginning with movements from Telemann’s celebratory nautical oratorio Hamburger Admiralitätsmusik, the program includes cantatas from Graupner and Bach, and concludes with the joyous and transformative Bach Magnificat.

• TELEMANN Selections from Hamburger Admiralitätsmusik

• GRAUPNER Aus der Tiefen rufen wir from Cantata 1113

• J. S. BACH Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22

• J. S. BACH Magnificat in D Major

FEATURING: Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Period Chamber Orchestra, Jos van Veldhoven (conductor)

ZLATOMIR FUNG

OREGON BACH FESTIVAL

Week 2: July 2 - July 8

Voices of Schumann, Schubert & Brahms

Sunday, July 2 • Lincoln Performance Hall, 4pm Monday, July 3 • Kaul Auditorium, 8pm

Sunday & Monday

On this program of four master composers of song, Metropolitan Opera star soprano Susanna Phillips performs works by Franz Schubert and William Bolcom that feature instrumental virtuosity as well. Bolcom’s moving song cycle, Let Evening Come, is set to poems by Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, and Jane Kenyon. Schubert’s The Shepherd on the Rock and Johannes Brahms’s dramatic trio, two of the greatest clarinet chamber masterpieces, are given voice by legendary CMNW Artistic Director Emeritus David Shifrin.

• R. SCHUMANN Fairy Tale Pictures, Op. 113

• WILLIAM BOLCOM Let Evening Come

• SCHUBERT The Shepherd on the Rock

• BRAHMS Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Op. 114

FEATURING: Zlatomir Fung (cello), Paul Neubauer (viola), Jeewon Park (piano), Susanna Phillips (soprano), David Shifrin (clarinet), Zitong Wang (piano)

NEW@NIGHT: Tri-Angles

Wednesday

Wednesday, July 5 • Alberta Rose Theatre, Happy Hour: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

Up-close and extremely intimate, in this NEW@NIGHT you’ll get a sneak peek of the dynamic flute/viola/harp trio, umama womama. You'll encounter new music by Han Lash, experience an R. Murray Schafer piece for string trio, and take in Maombi Asante, a piece by, and with, flutist Valerie Coleman.

• HAN LASH Three Shades Without Angles

• R. MURRAY SCHAFER String Trio

• VALERIE COLEMAN Maombi Asante

FEATURING: Edward Arron (cello), Valerie Coleman (flute), Hanna Lee (viola), Jessica Lee (violin), umama womama (flute, viola, harp)

PAUL NEUBAUER

SUSANNA PHILLIPS

GLORIA CHIEN

Celebrating the Emerson Quartet with David Shifrin

Thursday, July 6 • Kaul Auditorium, Prelude: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

Hailed by Time Magazine as “America’s Greatest Quartet,” the nine-time Grammy Award-winning Emerson Quartet graces CMNW’s stage one last time in their farewell season. This not-to-be-missed evening features the full span of the Emerson’s signature musical mastery: a West Coast premiere by Sarah Kirkland Snider, a thrilling Bartók quartet from their first Grammy recording, and a momentous final collaboration with the equally lauded clarinetist David Shifrin, in Brahms’s last and perhaps greatest chamber ensemble work.

• SARAH KIRKLAND SNIDER Drink the Wild Ayre

• BÉLA BARTÓK String Quartet No. 2

• BRAHMS Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115

FEATURING: David Shifrin (clarinet), Emerson Quartet

Saturday Emerson Quartet Farewell with Gloria Chien

Saturday, July 8 • Kaul Auditorium, Prelude: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

The Emerson Quartet’s powerful tone, extraordinary exploration of repertoire, and longevity have made it the most acclaimed chamber music ensemble in the world. After 17 appearances over a span of 30 years, this is their final unforgettable performance at Chamber Music Northwest. There is no more appropriate grand finale than Beethoven’s cathartic Opus 131 quartet, one of the most transcendent pieces in music history. CMNW Artistic Director Gloria Chien salutes and celebrates the Emersons by joining them in Robert Schumann’s irrepressibly joyous piano quintet.

• BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131

• R. SCHUMANN Piano Quintet in E-flat Major

FEATURING: Gloria Chien (piano), Emerson Quartet

EMERSON QUARTET

DAVID SHIFRIN

Thursday at Kaul

Week 3: July 9 - July 15

umama womama: Coleman, Lash & Ngwenyama

Sunday, July 9 • Lincoln Performance Hall, 4pm Monday, July 10 • Kaul Auditorium, 8pm

Sunday & Monday

Three years in the making, be among the first to hear the exciting West Coast debut of this powerhouse composer collective and stunning ensemble of performers. CMNW favorites, flutist Valerie Coleman, violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, and harpist Han Lash came together to create umama womama, a unique three-composer trio, to help us celebrate our 50th anniversary season. Postponed by the pandemic, this incredible trio of beloved musicians and their music will finally be unleashed!

• ZOLTÁN KODÁLY Serenade

• umama womama Three Pieces for Flute, Viola & Harp

• NOKUTHULA NGWENYAMA Down

• HAN LASH Music in Cold

• VALERIE COLEMAN Aja

CMNW Co-Commission • West Coast Premiere

• R. MURRAY SCHAFER Trio for Flute, Viola & Harp

• IGOR STRAVINSKY Three Movements from Petrushka

FEATURING: Alexi Kenney (violin), Hanna Lee (viola), Jessica Lee (violin), umama womama: Valerie Coleman (flute), Han Lash (harp), Nokuthula Ngwenyama (viola), Zitong Wang (piano)

SPOTLIGHT RECITAL: Alexi Kenney & Soovin Kim

Tuesday, July 11 • Lincoln Recital Hall, 12pm

Tuesday

Multi-award-winning violinist Alexi Kenney returns this summer to play on two programs with umama womama, and this showcase recital will illuminate his masterful virtuosity and depth of expression with pianist Zitong Wang. Join us for a midday interlude of superbly performed Bach, Salina Fisher, and Eugène Ysaÿe.

• J. S. BACH Violin & Keyboard Sonata, BWV 1016

• SALINA FISHER Hikari

• EUGÈNE YSAYE Sonata for Two Violins

FEATURING: Alexi Kenney (violin), Soovin Kim (violin), Zitong Wang (piano)

NEW@NIGHT: McGill, Goodyear & Catalyst

Wednesday, July 12 • The Armory, Happy Hour: 5pm • Performance: 6pm

Wednesday

This dynamite program of new music by a diversity of composers leaps to the moment with Ad Anah? (How Long?) by James Lee III, and Adolphus Hailstork’s The Blue Bag—inspired by jazz greats Nancy Wilson, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, and Aretha Franklin. Plus, Catalyst performs 11 new miniature string quartets!

• STEWART GOODYEAR Piano Sonata

• ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK The Blue Bag

• JAMES LEE III Ad Anah? (How Long?)

• CATALYST QUARTET CQ Minute

FEATURING: Gloria Chien (piano), Stewart Goodyear (piano), Anthony McGill (clarinet), Catalyst Quartet

UNCOVERED Voices

Thursday & Saturday

Thursday, July 13 • The Reser, Prelude: 7pm • Performance: 8pm Saturday, July 15 • Kaul Auditorium, Prelude: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

Special musical partnerships from critically acclaimed albums headline this program. Artistic Director Gloria Chien and heralded clarinetist Anthony McGill are longtime recital partners, and the exhilarating F minor sonata was part of their recording of the Brahms clarinet sonatas. McGill joins the Catalyst Quartet in the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor quintet that is part of UNCOVERED— the Catalyst’s multi-volume spotlight on previously overlooked Black composers. Sensational pianist and composer Stewart Goodyear premieres his The Torment of Marsyas, with Portland flutist, Amelia Lukas.

• BRAHMS Clarinet Sonata in F Minor, Op. 120

• STEWART GOODYEAR The Torment of Marsyas for Flute & Piano CMNW Commission • World Premiere

• SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Clarinet Quintet

FEATURING: Gloria Chien (piano), Stewart Goodyear (piano), Amelia Lukas (flute), Anthony McGill (clarinet), Catalyst Quartet

David Ludwig’s The Anchoress

Sunday, July 16 • Lincoln Performance Hall, 4pm Monday, July 17 • Kaul Auditorium, 8pm

Sunday &

Rarely in one concert will you experience a string quartet with piano, a saxophone quartet, a woodwind quintet, and a poetic monodrama! Set to poetry by Portland native Katie Ford, The Anchoress combines a chorus of nine wind instruments with the human voice to explore the medieval mystic tradition called anchorism—with the remarkably expressive Hyunah Yu inhabiting the role of the Anchoress. CMNW Protégé alums, the Kenari Quartet, perform Quantum Shift, “an 8-minute virtuosic powerhouse” for saxophones. Pianist Stewart Goodyear and the Catalyst Quartet also uncover Florence Price’s lively Piano Quintet.

• MISCHA ZUPKO Quantum Shift for Saxophone Quartet

• FLORENCE PRICE Piano Quintet

• DAVID SERKIN LUDWIG The Anchoress

FEATURING: Stewart Goodyear (piano), Hyunah Yu (soprano), Catalyst Quartet, Kenari Quartet, WindSync, Katie Ford (poetry)

SPOTLIGHT RECITAL: Très Coloré et Élégant

Tuesday

Tuesday, July 18 • Lincoln Recital Hall, 12pm In chamber music, as in life, relationships are everything. For today’s recital, hear the beginnings of composer David Serkin Ludwig’s relationship with poet Katie Ford in his 2012 piece, Our Long War. We’ll explore the intimate connection between poetry and music in some of Gabriel Fauré’s exquisite songs, and longtime musical friends and collaborators Soovin Kim and Efe Baltacigil partner on Ravel’s homage to his unlikely friend and fellow composer Claude Debussy.

• DAVID SERKIN LUDWIG Our Long War

• GABRIEL FAURÉ Selected Songs

• MAURICE RAVEL Sonata for Violin & Cello, M. 73

QUARTET

NEW@NIGHT: International Voices

Wednesday, July 19 • The Armory, Happy Hour: 5pm • Performance: 6pm

Wednesday

This NEW@NIGHT is not only fresh music, but also arranged for unique instrumentation. The cutting-edge Third Sound ensemble kicks off their week in Portland with the world premiere of Patrick Castillo’s ephemera, and works by composers Lembit Beecher (Estonian-American), Edvard Baghdasaryan (Armenian), and Magnus Lindberg (Finnish).

• PATRICK CASTILLO ephemera World Premiere

• LEMBIT BEECHER Stories From My Grandmother

• EDVARD BAGHDASARYAN Rhapsody for Violin & Piano

• MAGNUS LINDBERG Caprice for Solo Violin

Viennese Revolutionaries

Thursday & Saturday

Thursday, July 20 • The Reser, Prelude: 7pm • Performance: 8pm Saturday, July 22 • Kaul Auditorium, Prelude: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

Vienna, one of the musical capitals of the 18th to 20th centuries, was home to some of history’s most important composers. At the heart of the First Viennese School of composition was Mozart, and two of his exquisite works bookend this program featuring Artistic Directors Gloria Chien and Soovin Kim. The revolutionary Second Viennese School is represented by Anton Webern’s hairraising transcription of Arnold Schoenberg’s first Chamber Symphony, played by the Pierrot ensemble, Third Sound—a dynamic combination of violin, cello, flute, clarinet, and piano that sounds like a small orchestra.

• MOZART Violin Sonata in G Major, K. 379

• JENNIFER HIGDON Smash

• ARNOLD SCHOENBERG Chamber Symphony No. 1

• MOZART Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 414

FEATURING: Diana Adamyan (violin), Efe Baltacigil (cello), Gloria Chien (piano), Braizahn Jones (bass), Soovin Kim (violin), Zitong Wang (piano), Third Sound (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano)

Tickets: CMNW.org or 503-294-6400 11

Voices of the Soul featuring Fred Child

Sunday, July 23 • Lincoln Performance Hall, 4pm Monday, July 24 • Kaul Auditorium, 8pm

Sunday & Monday

Music can be an extraordinary expression of personal suffering, loneliness, loss, and ultimately, triumph. The wild colors of Alexander Scriabin’s brilliant third piano sonata, the penetrating soulfulness of the Armenian folk songs of Komitas, and the symphonic scale of Richard Strauss’s chamber music make this the most wide-ranging concert of the summer. Chinese-American composer Wang Jie’s Blame the Obituary is simultaneously a whimsical, comical, and bleak musical picture of life during the trying last few years, with her husband and radio host of Performance Today, Fred Child, narrating.

• ALEXANDER SCRIABIN Piano Sonata No. 3

• WANG JIE Blame the Obituary

CMNW Co-Commission • World Premiere

• KOMITAS VARDAPET Three Armenian Folk Songs

• RICHARD STRAUSS Sonata for Violin & Piano

FEATURING: Diana Adamyan (violin), Fred Child (narrator), Zitong Wang (piano), Third Sound (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano)

SPOTLIGHT RECITAL: Viano String Quartet

Tuesday, July 25 • Lincoln Recital Hall, 12pm

Tuesday

The virtuosic Viano String Quartet—our Protégé ensemble last year—returns to our summer festival with an international noontime musical feast of Hungarian (Bartók) and Czech (Smetana) masterpieces, plus the world premiere of 24-year-old Iranian-American composer Kian Ravaei’s new string quartet, co-commissioned by CMNW.

• KIAN RAVAEI The Little Things

CMNW Co-Commission • World Premiere

• BÉLA BARTÓK String Quartet No. 3

• SMETANA String Quartet No. 1 "From My Life"

FRED CHILD

KIAN RAVAEI

ZITONG WANG

Oregon Poet Prelude

NEW@NIGHT: Protégés United

Wednesday, July 26 • The Armory, Happy Hour: 5pm • Performance: 6pm

Wednesday

This thrilling triptych of new works are all the products of CMNW’s wildly successful Protégé Project! They will include the West Coast premiere of Alistair Coleman’s cello sonata, a new solo piece composed by Viano Quartet violist, Aiden Kane, and the world premiere of a new string quartet by this year’s Protégé Composer, Kian Ravaei.

• ALISTAIR COLEMAN Cello Sonata

• AIDEN KANE Triptych for Solo Viola

• KIAN RAVAEI The Little Things

CMNW Co-Commission • World Premiere

FEATURING: Aiden Kane (viola), Anton Nel (piano), Tate Zawadiuk (cello), Viano String Quartet

FESTIVAL FINALE: American Masterworks

Thursday & Saturday

Thursday, July 27 • The Reser, Prelude: 7pm • Performance: 8pm Saturday, July 29 • Kaul Auditorium, Prelude: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

Our finale is an exciting celebration of the vitality of American music from the turn of the 20th century until today: native and folk influences in Antonín Dvořák, New England church hymns and popular tunes in Charles Ives, traditional Romanticism in Amy Beach, and modern-day lyricism in Chris Rogerson. The sensational Fleur Barron returns to close the summer in a beautiful world premiere work by Rogerson, and the dynamic South African pianist Anton Nel makes his CMNW debut in Beach’s ravishing Piano Quintet.

• ANTONÍN DVORÁK "American" String Quartet No. 12

• CHRIS ROGERSON Quintet for Soprano & String Quartet

CMNW Commission • World Premiere

• CHARLES IVES Selections from 114 Songs

• AMY BEACH Piano Quintet in F-sharp Minor

FEATURING: Fleur Barron (mezzo-soprano), Anton Nel (piano), Viano String Quartet

ANTON NEL

Oregon Poet Prelude

Beyond our mainstage concerts…

Summer Garden Parties

This summer we have two wonderful garden parties featuring our versatile Festival artists. You'll experience chamber music at its best, shared by just a small number of friends on the beautiful grounds of private homes. Proceeds from these events benefit CMNW’s education and community engagement programs.

Tickets: $150 ($75 tax deductible) • Visit CMNW.org for details

Friday, June 23 @ 6pm • Portland’s West Hills • String Quartet with Young Artist Institute faculty members

Friday, July 14 @ 4pm • Sauvie Island Winds • WindSync woodwind quintet

Sponsor a concert!

Contact Leslie Tuomi at lesliet@cmnw.org, 503-546-0184

Buy a program ad!

Contact Nicole Lane at nicolel@cmnw.org, 503-546-0187

Young Artist Institute

Last summer we launched the CMNW Young Artist Institute—our new summer intensive education program for some of the nation's most talented musicians, ages 14-17. This summer, festival audiences will hear our YAI artists featured in showcase concerts, pre-concert preludes, and throughout our community!

Mark your calendars for these free YAI showcases:

Institute Solo Showcase #1 | Friday, June 23 @ 12pm | Community Music Center Institute Solo Showcase #2 |Friday, June 30 @ 12pm | The Old Church Institute Ensemble Showcase | Friday, July 7 @ 7pm | Pilot House, U of Portland Young Artist Pre-Concert Preludes | Most Thursdays & Saturdays @ 6:30pm

YAI (2022) © Liana Kramer

Around Town

Our summer festival events span the greater Portland metro area! Thursdays at The Reser in Beaverton, Saturdays and Mondays at Reed College's Kaul Auditorium, Sunday afternoons and Tuesdays at noon downtown at Portland State, and Wednesday NEW@NIGHT concerts bring us to The Armory and Alberta Rose Theatre. Plus, community concerts and pop-up performances sprinkle the region!

Prelude Performances

Enjoy a short performance before summer festival concerts on Thursdays and Saturdays, performed by local students and CMNW’s Young Artist Institute musicians. See page 17 for details.

Oregon Poet Preludes

In keeping with our Poetry in Music theme this summer, enjoy a poetic moment before selected concerts. In partnership with Literary Arts’s poetry programs, you’ll enjoy a taste of poetry or prose that sets the stage for the music.

Literary Connections

For the Poetry in Music 2023 Summer Festival, we’ve partnered with Literary Arts to offer enriching conversations and collaborations!

Young Artist Trifecta

Friday, July 7 @ 7pm • Pilot House, University of Portland

Young poets from Literary Arts partner with Fear No Music’s young composers to write short poetry-inspired works that CMNW’s 2023

Young Artist Institute musicians will workshop and premiere.

Part of Final Institute Showcase

Literary Conversation

Saturday, July 15 @ Noon • Reed College

The Anchoress composer David Serkin Ludwig and Portland-native poet Katie Ford explore their creative partnership in music and poetry.

Viano String Quartet (2022) © Owen Carey

How will you our 2023 Summer Festival? For Our Community

Chamber Music Northwest strives to offer our community many opportunities for music education and access to live performances. On these pages you will see a myriad of entirely free chances to deepen your experiences with us, and be a part of the 2023 Summer Festival.

Fridays Free Community Concerts

We are delighted to offer free concerts every Friday that feature our incredible festival musicians for our community to enjoy! CMNW partners with SoundsTruck NW, the Pacific Northwest’s premier mobile venue, to deliver some of our performances to audiences in neighborhoods around Portland.

June 23 @ Noon • Young Artist Institute Showcase | Community Music Center

June 30 @ Noon • Young Artist Institute Showcase | The Old Church

July 7 @ 7pm • Young Artist Institute Final Showcase | Pilot House, U of Portland

July 14 @ 7pm • Kenari Saxophone Quartet | North Clackamas Park with SoundsTruck NW

July 21 @ 7pm • 2023 CMNW Protégé Artists | Gresham Arts Plaza with SoundsTruck NW

July 28 @ 7pm • Columbia River Brass Quintet | Leroy Haagen Park in partnership with Vancouver Symphony Orchestra & SoundsTruck NW. Movie follows concert!

CMNW Around Town

Surprise! Once again, CMNW will show up with pop-up performances in and around Portland that are free to the public. Our aim is to bring music to the ears and hearts of all in our community. Put these opportunities on your calendar!

Tuesday, June 27 • 11am - 2pm with Young Artist Institute soloists & pianists SEE THEM at Powell’s, Mirabella, The Racquet Club, OHSU Farmer’s Market, Providence St. Vincent, and more!

Thursday, June 29 • 6pm - 7pm at Beaverton's BG Food Carts with Young Artist Institute quartets

Tuesday, July 4 • 11am - 2pm with Young Artist Institute quartets CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY with us at The Grotto, OMSI, Oregon Zoo, Happy Valley Family Celebration, Oaks Park, and more TBA!

Prelude Performances

Thursdays & Saturdays

Arrive early for Thursday and Saturday concerts to enjoy a free performance featuring local young musicians or our Young Artist Institute students. Experience the joy and virtuosity of the next generation!

June 24 @ 6:30pm • Kaul Auditorium with Young Artist Institute soloists

June 29 @ 6:30pm • The Reser with Young Artist Institute soloists

July 1 @ 6:30pm • Kaul Auditorium with Young Artist Institute soloists

July 6 @ 7pm • Kaul Auditorium with Young Artist Institute quartets

July 8 @ 7pm • Kaul Auditorium with Young Artist Institute quartets

Open Rehearsals

July 13 @ 7pm • The Reser

July 15 @ 7pm • Kaul Auditorium

July 20 @ 7pm • The Reser

July 22 @ 7pm • Kaul Auditorium

July 27 @ 7pm • The Reser

July 29 @ 7pm • Kaul Auditorium

Wednesdays

Wednesdays @ 11am | Kaul Auditorium, Reed College

Ready for a treat? Go behind the scenes and observe CMNW’s world-class musicians working together to put the finishing touches on music for upcoming performances. An informal Q&A follows. FREE

June 28, July 5, July 12, July 19, July 26

Masterclasses

Mondays @ Noon

Mondays

Witness our festival artists—many of whom are renowned music educators— coach the next generation of musicians in our community. Trust us, you’ll learn a lot yourself! FREE

June 26 @ Noon • Paul Neubauer, viola | Mago Hunt Recital Hall, U of Portland

July 3 @ Noon • Zlatomir Fung, cello | Lincoln Recital Hall, PSU

July 10 @ Noon • Alexi Kenney, violin | Lincoln Recital Hall, PSU

July 17 @ Noon • Kenari Quartet, saxophone | Lincoln Recital Hall, PSU

July 24 @ Noon • Anton Nel, piano | Lincoln Recital Hall, PSU

Sinta Quartet (2022) © Liana Kramer Tickets: CMNW.org

Venue Information

Citywide performance venues this year for our mainstage concerts include Beaverton’s Patricia Reser Center for the Arts every Thursday night, and Kaul Auditorium at Reed College on Saturdays and Mondays. At Portland State University , performances will be held at Lincoln Performance Hall Sunday afternoons, and the Lincoln Recital Hall on Tuesdays at noon for the Artist Spotlight Recitals. We swing between Alberta Rose Theatre and The Armory for our NEW @ NIGHT adventures.

Audiences can expect a range of experiences for this year's summer festival, likewise we offer a range of ticket prices from premium, select, and access level price points, to under 30, under 18, and Senior Rush options. CMNW also offers Arts4All at the door. We strive to make our music accessible to all who wish to join us!

Enjoy At Home

For those on-the-go this summer, geographically-challenged, or not ready to come to the concert hall, our five-concert AT-HOME series offers you an opportunity to satisfy your musical appetite.

AT-HOME PASS: $150 | Passholders enjoy all 5 concerts on demand through August 31 PLUS bonus concert segments from the past two years!

Opening Night: Poetry in Music

Premieres Friday, July 7

Schubert & Fauré: Masters of Lyricism

Premieres Friday, July 14

Voices of Schumann, Schubert & Brahms

Premieres Friday, July 21

UNCOVERED Voices

Premieres Friday, July 28

Viennese Revolutionaries

Premieres Friday, August 4

Patricia Reser Center for the Arts

STAGE

ORCHESTRA

BALCONY

Kaul Auditorium Reed College

STAGE

Lincoln Performance Hall Portland State University

Blue = Premium | Purple = Select | Pink = Access

— Oregon ArtsWatch

and new musicians..."

rarely heard composers' work,

full of new work, tough pieces,

"...programming varied,