With Halloween right around the corner, this week is the perfect time to explore haunted houses, carve pumpkins, stock up on candy for trick-or-treaters, and of course, tune into All Classical Portland at 89.9 FM!
There’s no better way to enjoy autumn than by listening to a playlist of spooky classical music. Below, we’ll share some of our favorite festive pieces for the fall season. What’s your favorite ghoulish classical piece?
John’s guest is Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ (Im-pih-CHAH-chah-ha) Tate, whose 2009 composition, Lowak Shoppala’ (LO-wak SHO-pah-la), an epic retelling of Chickasaw stories, received its world premiere recording this year. Jerod shares his own stories of growing up in a household of Western classical music, and strong ties to his indigenous roots as well.
Buy “Fire and Light” at ArkivMusic
During Hispanic Heritage Month, which is observed from September 15-October 15, we at All Classical Portland are excited to celebrate the rich musical contributions of Latino and Hispanic composers. In this list, we’d like to introduce you to a few fascinating composers of Hispanic heritage who have lived or worked in the United States. We’ll start back in the mid-19th century, and end the list with some amazing contemporary composers.
John interviews Randall Goosby, whose debut on the Decca label, “Roots,” was released this summer (and is being played on All Classical Portland regularly). The disc is an exploration of music written by Black composers and of composers inspired by Black American culture. Randall tells John Pitman about the importance and responsibility of bringing underrepresented composers into the repertoire, finding balance between violin study and sports; and the mentorship of the great violinist Itzhak Perlman, whose summer camp in New York is on, naturally, Shelter Island.
Buy “Roots” at Arkivmusic
Early musical instruments were designed in the same manner as many other great inventions: by accident. After realizing that ordinary objects could create fascinating melodies, our earliest innovators began testing, shaping, and playing the tangible world around us. Their historic creations have evolved into the unique medleys of science, engineering, and art that exist today.
Below, we’ll peel back the curtain and explore how several of these modern instruments are made!
If we think of music as a mirror of culture, then all music has something to tell us about ourselves and our history. Likewise, the places associated with this music—cities, landmarks, buildings—can teach us about our society and our past, and the powerful and lasting connections between art, architecture, and music.
Countless historic buildings have played a part in the story of music and place: as the sites of premieres, the homes of ensembles, and even as acoustic inspirations. In this list, we’ll take six snapshots of moments in history when music and architecture came together and created something beautiful.
In celebration of World Beard Day (observed every year on the first Saturday of September), Warren Black, your morning host at All Classical, felt it was time for a retrospective on some great moments in composers’ facial hair. That’s why he teamed up with Emma Riggle, All Classical’s Music Researcher, to assemble this chronological gallery of fine classical beards, bristles, ‘staches, mutton (and/or lamb) chops and more. Here is their hail to the laudably hirsute mugs of music history, with something for pogonophiles everywhere.
This summer, All Classical Portland welcomes three new Composers in Residence: Lauren McCall, Jasmine Barnes, and Keyla Orozco! These residencies are co-hosted by N M Bodecker Foundation as part of the Recording Inclusivity Initiative, a program designed to change America’s playlist by recording classical works by composers from historically excluded communities.
The station’s three resident composers and their musical works were nominated by community members and selected from nearly 100 submissions!
We recently welcomed Lauren McCall to Portland for her week-long, in-state residency. A composer and educator based in Atlanta, Georgia, Lauren has had compositions performed around North America and in Europe. Watch the video below to hear more from Lauren about her piece “A Spark and a Glimmer,” her sources for inspiration, what she would share with young composers, and more, as she chats with All Classical Portland’s Artist in Residence, flutist Adam Eccleston.
Stay tuned for more behind the scenes footage, and to meet our other two Composers in Residence, Jasmine Barnes and Keyla Orozco, next month!
John Pitman, director of Music and Programming at All Classical Portland interviews Portland composer Kenji Bunch about an important world premiere happening a few states away, at the Moab Music Festival in Utah, on September 4.
Inspired by the autobiographical accounts of the incarceration of United States citizens – Japanese-Americans, in World War II – “Lost Freedom: A Memory” is a chamber music piece that is woven with words spoken by a man who, as a boy, was one of those citizens forced from their homes and made to live in desolate camps thousands of miles away from where they had lived: Actor George Takei (Star Trek) will take part in the premiere at Moab Music Festival, reading his own words to Kenji’s newly-composed score. Both Kenji Bunch and George Takei join John for this special Arts Blog conversation about the premiere.
Learn more about he Moab Music Festival
Kenji playing his earlier piece, Minidoka:
Check out the video below, and learn more at inalandscape.org
