Free tickets are now available for the Advent Concert, a performance by the University Singers and Women’s Chorale at Saint Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday, December 3, at 8 p.m. Choral music for the Advent and Christmas seasons will be interspersed with readings and carols. The featured work is Misa Criolla, by Argentine composer Ariel Ramírez. This mid-20th century work incorporates authentic Latin American folk styles into sacred music. The music will be directed by Michael Connolly, Kathryn Briggs, and student conductors Molly Kerns and Jasmine Tsai. Tickets are free but required for admission to this popular holiday concert. Get tickets now at the performing and fine arts office in Buckley Center or by x7228.
Performing & Fine Arts
“Mad Forest” Opens Nov. 16
The performing and fine arts department will present Mad Forest by Caryl Churchill from Wednesday, November 16 to Sunday, November 20, at 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. Sunday) in Mago Hunt Center Theater.
Mad Forest is an incisive portrait of society in turmoil that focuses on two families living under a totalitarian regime. What happens when that regime collapses, and ordinary people try to find their own identity for the first time? A visually evocative world comes to life through ensemble collaboration in this wild ride of a production that challenges everyday concepts of reality.
Tickets are available through the Mago Hunt Center box office. For more information contact performing and fine arts at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.
Music at Midweek: William Berger Concert Moved to Nov. 23
This week’s Music at Midweek performance was to feature baritone William Berger, hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “one of the best of our younger baritones,” on Wednesday, November 16, at 12:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center Recital Hall. Due to problems with Berger’s travel arrangements to the U.S., his performance date has been changed to Wednesday, November 23.
A compelling interpreter of song, Berger is equally at home on the operatic stage and has performed at renowned festivals, opera houses, and concert halls, including the English National Opera, Liceu Barcelona, Opera Vlaanderen, Opera de Toulon, and the Lucerne, Aix-en-Provence and Edinburgh International Festivals.
For more information contact performing and fine arts at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.
Religions & Politics: A Night of Opera and Music Theater, Nov. 11-12
Lyric Theater Workshop presents “Religion & Politics: A Night of Opera and Music Theater” on Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12, at 7:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to all. The event includes staged scenes from Book of Mormon, Nixon in China, Assassins, Hamilton, Sweeney Todd, and more. For ADA accommodations or more information, contact the PFA office at x7228. This event is co-sponsored by performing and fine arts and the Garaventa Center.
Music At Midweek Performance: Arnica String Quartet, Nov. 2
This week’s Music at Midweek performance will feature the Arnica String Quartet in a free concert on Wednesday, November 2, at 12:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to all. The Arnica String Quartet is comprised of UP viola faculty and member of the Oregon Symphony, Charles Noble, violinist and Oregon Symphony member Shin-young Kwon, violinist and Oregon Symphony member Fumino Ando, and acclaimed cello soloist Heather Blackburn.
For more information contact performing and fine arts at x7220 or pfa@up.edu.
Music At Midweek: Denise Westby and Susan McDaniel
The next Music at Midweek performance will feature flutist Denise Westby and pianist Susan McDaniel on Wednesday, October 12, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., in Hunt Center Recital Hall. The performance is free and open to all.
Westby is the principal flute with Sinfonia Concertante Orchestra and 5tet Woodwind Quintet. She is the flute instructor at Linfield College and is the founder of the Flute Alliance, an organization which organizes workshops and educational events with professional flutists in the Portland area.
McDaniel has been a member of the music staff at Seattle Opera, Portland Opera, and Utah Festival Opera as well as music director and pianist for the San Diego Opera Ensemble, Off-Center Opera (Seattle), and Puget Sound Concert Opera. She teaches and accompanies at Linfield College, the University of Portland, and the Atlantic Music Festival in Waterville, Maine.
For more information contact performing and fine arts at 7228 or pfa@up.edu.
Music at Midweek: Dan Balmer Trio, Oct. 5
The next Music at Midweek performance takes place on Wednesday, October 5, at 12:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center Recital Hall, featuring the Dan Balmer Trio. The performance is free and open to all.
Dan Balmer is a jazz guitarist and UP faculty member who has long been considered one of the finest guitarists, composers, and educators in the Northwest. From 2005 to 2009, Balmer toured with two-time Grammy winner Diane Schuur, and is hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “the model of what a contemporary guitarist should be.”
For more information contact performing and fine arts at x7228 or pfa@up.edu.
Performing and Fine Arts presents “Good Kids” by Naomi Iizuka
The performing and fine arts department presents Good Kids, with performances on Wednesday, October 5 through Sunday, October 9, 7:30 p.m. (except Sunday at 2 p.m.), in Mago Hunt Center Theater. Set at a Midwestern high school, in a world of Facebook and Twitter, smartphones and YouTube, Good Kids explores a casual encounter gone wrong and its very public aftermath. Who’s telling the truth? Whose version of the story do you believe? And what does that say about you?
Faculty and staff can reserve complimentary tickets by showing UP identification cards; students can reserve free tickets for the Wednesday or Thursday shows with their UP student identification cards.
Contact the Mago Hunt Box Office (x7287 or magohuntboxoffice@up.edu) to reserve seats, or visit the box office in the Mago Hunt lobby from 11-5 Monday-Friday. For ADA accommodations or any questions, please contact the Mago Hunt Box Office.
“Good Kids” Pre-Play Panel and Reception, October 8
All ticket holders for the Saturday, October 8 performance of “Good Kids” are invited to enjoy a complimentary wine and cheese reception prior to the play. Campus experts will highlight intriguing themes and production details. The reception begins at 6:15 p.m. with panel at 6:45 in Mago Hunt Recital Hall.
For theater tickets call x7287. For more information, contact the Garaventa Center at x7702 or garaventa@up.edu.
UP Orchestra, Wind Symphony Concert: Oct. 1
The University of Portland Music Program opens its 2016-2017 concert season on Saturday, October 1, at 7:30 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium with performances by the University Orchestra and Wind Symphony. The concert is free and open to all.
The Wind Symphony, under the direction of guest conductor and UP alumna Kylie Pybus, will feature lively folk dances set in large, symphonic form, including Alfred Reed’s Armenian Dances, David Holsinger’s Havendance, Jan Van der Roost’s Rikudim, and Eric Whitacre’s stirring October.
The Orchestra portion of the program, entitled, “Copland’s America,” will feature iconic works by Aaron Copland that defined the Americana sound of the mid-20th century. The performance will include Fanfare for the Common Man, “Variations on a Shaker Melody” from Appalachian Spring, Four Dances from Rodeo, and selections from Our Town and The Tender Land.
For more information contact David De Lyser, performing and fine arts, at 7382 or delyser@up.edu.