UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Performing & Fine Arts

UP Students In Winners Circle

Three University of Portland students were in the winners circle of the Oregon and SW Washington state round of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Classical Competition just before spring break. Junior Alberto Rincon-Pardo placed third in Upper Division College Men; freshman Lauren Cline placed third in Lower Division College Women; and freshman Cameron Creitz placed first in Lower Division College Women. On Saturday, Creitz placed first in his division in the Regional competition which includes, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia, and Alaska.

The next round is a video round which will determine whether Cameron will compete at the national level during the 56th National NATS Convention in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Two years ago, UP graduate Catherine Jacobs ’18 competed at the national level in the Upper Division College division and placed within the top 14 in the country.

For more information contact performing and fine arts at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.

“The Dragon” Pre-Play Panel, March 14

All ticket holders to the Saturday, March 14 performance of The Dragon are invited to a complimentary wine, cheese, and dessert reception before the show as a panel of campus experts highlight what to look and listen for. Reception begins at 6:15 p.m., panel at 6:45 p.m., and the play at 7:30 p.m. in Mago Hunt Center. For ADA accommodations or more information contact the Garaventa Center at up.edu/garaventa or x7702. For tickets contact the Hunt Center Box Office at x7287.

Music at Midweek: Tim Connell on Mandolin, March 11

The next Music at Midweek performance will feature mandolinist Tim Connell on Wednesday, March 11, 12:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center Recital Hall. The event is free and open to all.

Tim Connell is well-known to acoustic music fans as a top-tier, virtuoso mandolinist, touring nationally with Don Julin, Eric Skye, and Mike Marshall’s Ger Mandolin Orchestra. Tim has also spent many years putting together a set of solo arrangements for the mandolin, from Brazilian choros to Irish jigs, from Beatles to Broadway. Tim couples these flights of virtuosic picking with heartfelt American songs, giving audiences an intimate window into his virtuosic yet emotional style and his deep passion for music and life.

For more information contact PFA at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.

Music at Midweek: Music Therapy with Jessica Steinhebel

Music at Midweek will feature a presentation about music therapy by alumna Jessica Steinhebel on Wednesday, February 26, from 12:30-1:25 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center Recital Hall. The event is free and open to all. The previously scheduled appearance of pianist Thomas Otten has been cancelled.

Steinhebel is the CEO and Owner of Sound Wellness Music Therapy, LLC. She is a board certified and licensed professional music therapist, which is a recognized licensed health care profession in Oregon. Jessica’s business strives to help the community incorporate music into everyday wellness through music therapy, music wellness classes, and performance. Jessica’s music therapy focus supports adults and elders with psychosocial, emotional, life enrichment, pain management, physical, quality of life, cognitive, and spiritual needs in hospice and palliative care. She received the Western Region Chapter of the American Music Therapy Association 2019 Internship Scholarship and is an on-call resource music therapist with Seasons Hospice-Portland. Learn more about Sound Wellness Music Therapy, LLC and music therapy at www.soundwellnessmusictherapy.com.

For more information contact performing and fine arts at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.

Music at Midweek: Trevor New

The next Music at Midweek event will feature Trevor New, a Brooklyn-based electro-acoustic viola musician, on Wednesday, February 19, from 12:30 to 1:25 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center Recital Hall. The performance is free and open to all. 

Trevor New has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia as a soloist, chamber musician, and recording artist. He has appeared as a soloist performing the Elgar Cello Concerto transcribed for Viola, and premiering the Henderson Viola Concerto with the Chelsea Symphony of New York. As a chamber musician he has played with the Balkan Chamber Orchestra on a multi-city tour of Japan, Chris McNulty on her Jazz album “Eternal”, Joe Daley’s “Portraits and Virtues”, David Chesky’s “Joy and Sorrow”, Feist’s “Metals”, Hip-hop Violinist and Emmy award winner Damien Escobar, and in the TV Orchestra of television’s first drama about life in a symphony, “Mozart in the Jungle.” In 2018 Trevor performed a concert series with Academy Award winner Joe Hisaishi, playing his film scores, including “Spirited Away” at Carnegie Hall.

For more information contact performing and fine arts at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.

UP Fine Arts Faculty Show Reception, Feb. 13

An opening reception for faculty artists whose work are on display in Buckley Center Gallery will take place on Thursday, February 13, 5 t0 7 p.m., in the gallery. Refreshments will be served and all are welcome to interact with the artists and experience artwork by this diverse and talented group.

The art show will be in Buckley Gallery from Monday, February 10 to Thursday, March 5. The artists show their work professionally in addition to teaching classes in painting, photography, ceramics, drawing, printmaking, design, and sculpture here at UP.

This show gives the viewer a glimpse into the creative vision of eight different artists: Elaine Powell-Ashcroft (drawing, printmaking), Pat Bognar (BW photography/darkroom), Bruce Conkle (painting, design) Kowkie Durst (ceramics), Karen Esler (drawing, painting), Fr. Mark Ghyselinck, C.S.C. (painting, drawing), Milan Rakich (sculpture), and Shawn Records (digital photography).

The University of Portland offers a fine arts minor which requires students to investigate a wide range of visual art disciplines. For more information contact PFA at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.

University Singers & Bel Canto Concert: Women Rise!

The University Singers and Bel Canto will present a concert, “Women Rise!,” on Sunday, February 16, at 1:30 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium. The concert is free and open to all.

As part of the University’s year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage, this concert will feature choral works by women composers, songs sung by and written in commemoration of the Women’s Suffrage movement, and songs that explore social justice issues.

For more information contact performing and fine arts at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.

Brothers, Sing On!  A Celebration of Male Choral Singing

Performing and fine arts will present “Brothers, Sing On! A Celebration of Male Choral Singing” on Sunday, February 9, at 3 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium. The concert is free and open to all.

This annual concert features the best men’s choruses from the Portland area, including the men of the UP Singers, Portland Community College-Rock Creek, Portland Boychoir, Pacific Youth Choir’s Tsunami, and the Multnomah Athletic Club Balladeers.

For more information contact performing and fine arts at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.

 

 

“The Undertaking,” Pomerleau Concert Series, Feb. 5

“The Undertaking,” part of the Rev. Claude Pomerleau Memorial Concert Series, will take place on Wednesday, February 5, at 7 p.m., in Hunt Center Recital Hall. A reception will follow.

An aging mother’s health teeters on the brink. Her adult daughter scrambles to find footing as her role shifts from child to authority figure. Death pounds at the door and they both wonder, “Could someone this ticked off actually be dying?” Through an interdisciplinary blend of music, movement, and theatrical storytelling, “The Undertaking” uses actor/dancers to portray the end-of-life care of an elder using Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2, played live by local music ensemble Northwest Piano Trio.

Featuring UP alumna Hannah Hillebrand ’05 and music faculty member Susan McDaniel, and directed by UP faculty/alumna Jessica Wallenfels, this performance is free to the UP community. Co-sponsored by the Garaventa Center, the Beckman Humor Project, the Fr. Claude Pomerleau Memorial Concert Series, the School of Nursing, and the Performing and Fine Arts Department. For ADA accommodations or more information contact Wallenfels at wallenfe@up.edu.

UP Wind Symphony: Blowing Away The Competition

The University of Portland Wind Symphony has been invited to perform at the 2020 Oregon Music Education Association conference in Eugene, OR on Friday, January 17, at 4 p.m., in the Soreng Theatre at the Hult Center. The ensemble was selected through a blind audition process. The concert is free and open to the public.

The Wind Symphony consists of 55 members representing every school on campus and is conducted by Patrick Murphy, performing and fine arts. The undergraduate conducting associates for 2019-20 are seniors Mike Cleary and Bianca Salazar. The Wind Symphony is recognized as one of the finest ensembles in the region and is committed to performing diverse repertoire and commissioning new works for wind band. This performance marks the second time the Wind Symphony has been invited to perform at OMEA in the last five years.

For more information contact performing and fine arts at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.