Star Percussionist Colin Currie Plays Our Studio \u2014
The Oregon Symphony welcomes Colin Currie back to the stage Oct. 22\u201324. We talk with Curry about how he\u2019s pushing the boundaries of contemporary classical music, as a soloist and through commissioning new works for percussion and orchestra. Then we give him an assortment of office goods (think recycling bin, bucket, vase, Dragon Boat oar) and ask him to play a tune.
Bravo Youth Orchestra \u2014
Oregon Art Beat brings us this profile of the first Oregon program based on a world-famous Venezuelan method of music instruction. El Sistema is the program that has brought high-quality musical education to hundreds of thousands of kids in Venezuela. Bravo is replicating El Sistema in metro Portland\u2019s underserved communities.
Tin House Fiction Contest Plot Prompt #1 \u2014
Ready to grind out 500 words of flash fiction in Tin House\u2019s Plotto: The Master Contest of All Plots? Without further ado, here is the first prompt:
\u201cCharacter A, proceeding about his business and caught in a crowd, is confronted suddenly by a strange person, character B, who thrusts a mysterious object, X, into his hand and, without a word, disappears.\u201d
How to Succeed on Broadway With Lake Oswego\u2013Native Brisa Trinchero \u2014
What do the hit Broadway shows "Hamilton," "Matilda," "Hedwig and the Angry Itch," and "Pippin" have in common? Lake Oswego native Brisa Trinchero. After working her way up to running the Broadway Rose theater in Tigard by her mid-20s, she made the big jump to Broadway itself. Now she splits her time between Portland and New York, where she produces plays, runs a boutique publishing company, and is working on a ticketing start-up.
State of Wonder\u2019s Aaron Scott caught up with her during a recent trip to the Big Apple to talk the business they call show, including the hottest ticket on Broadway (#YayHamilton) and her involvement in the touring production of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical."
Beirut Wedding As A Model for Change \u2014
Local theater veterans Bobby Bermea and Jamie Rea talk about the company they founded to tell stories of women and people of color. Beirut Wedding World Theatre Project produces its first production Oct. 28\u2013Nov. 10: Zayd Dorhn\u2019s "Reborning\u201d \u2014 a spooky-yet-sexy tale of a young doll maker who\u2019s latest commission is pushing her over the edge.
Between The World And Me: Artists Respond \u2014
A lot of northwest towns have community reading projects, but the University of Oregon is taking it one step further this year. Incoming undergrads were encouraged to read Ta-Nehisi Coates\u2019 best-seller \u201cBetween The World And Me\u201d \u2014 a meditation about being black in America. In tandem, the University\u2019s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is showing contemporary art that works in conversation with the book. Some real A-listers are represented: Kehinde Wiley, Theaster Gates, Kara Walker, and many others.
Eastmoreland Controversy: Who Says It\u2019s Historic? \u2014
Our columnist-in-residence Randy Gragg turns us on to an oddity of Oregon law that allows people to lobby for historic protections for whole areas, whether the people who live there want them or not. Catch is, once your house is designated historic, your abilities to change it become tightly restricted. The southeast Portland community of Eastmoreland has become the latest flashpoint for how this plays out.
Woody Guthrie's Voyage through Oregon \u2014
In the spring of 1941, Woody Guthrie came to Portland to work on one of the most iconic public art projects of the West. The Bonneville Power Administration hired him to write songs for a movie about the virtues of dams, irrigated land and hydropower. Author Greg Vandy tells the story in his book, \u201c26 Songs in 30 Days.\u201d