July 28, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … The annual tradition of free community concerts heralding the upcoming Oregon Symphony season continues as the orchestra visits southeast Portland’s Harrison Park on Saturday, Aug. 26, and performs in Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Thursday, Aug. 31. The 2006 “Oregon Symphony in the Neighborhoods” series is presented by the city of Portland through the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) and the City of Portland Department of Parks and Recreation, with further support provided by PacifiCorp. Media support is provided by KOIN, KINK fm102 and the Portland Tribune.
The Harrison Park event, organized with the help of the Montavilla Neighborhood Association and local arts and cultural leaders, will include an afternoon festival beginning at 3 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. concert; the Waterfront concert will preview the orchestra’s 2006-2007 season and conclude with the traditional performance of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” accompanied by live cannons and fireworks.
The Harrison Park concert, which will feature a Boston Pops-style evening of music, will be led by Resident Conductor Gregory Vajda, who will also share conducting duties for the Waterfront Concert with Music Director Carlos Kalmar.
This year’s choice of Harrison Park as host for the “Oregon Symphony in the Neighborhoods” concert is linked to the city’s newly released plans to revitalize 82nd Ave., said Emilia Smith, Director of Education and Community Engagement. “The Symphony supports the upcoming changes to this part of Portland; we hope the Symphony’s presence at Harrison Park will help raise awareness about the area’s businesses, the many faceted services provided by local organizations and the importance of the arts in the revitalization of this historic and central neighborhood,” Smith adds.
The performing artists and activities for Harrison Park have been planned by a committee of neighbors and representatives from the Montavilla Neighborhood Association, Portland Parks & Recreation and other local businesses and cultural and arts organizations.
The afternoon festival at Harrison Park begins at 3 p.m. and will be emceed by Van Truong, Vice Principal of Franklin High School, and Errol Carlson, owner of the Taylor Court Grocery Store in Montavilla and long-time community organizer. An afternoon stage featuring performers from the area will include: the Mt. Scott Community Center Dancers, featuring hip-hop dancers of all ages; guitarist Pete Bolliger, whose style combines jazz-influenced pop, rock and R&B; Amiaka, West African drumming; musician Leonid Nosov, who will perform Ukrainian, Russian and East European music on the bayan, a Russian-style button accordion; the Laurelhurst Studio Dancers, who are trained through the Montavilla Community Center and feature ballet dancers of all ages; the students of the Binnsmead Middle School Marimba Band, who will play original and traditional marimba ensemble repertoire; Performing Artists of the Fil-Am Dance Troupe, a folk dance ensemble presenting traditional Filipino dances; and the Viva Mexico Mariachi Band, performing Mexican festival music.
Other festival activities will include: jewelry making by Portland Impact, a non-profit community organization providing social and educational activities and youth mentoring; a mask-making workshop by the Tears of Joy Puppet Theater; button making with youth librarians from the Multnomah County Library; a display of youth art by p:ear (program: education, art, recreation), an organization which builds positive relationships with homeless and transitional youth through education, art and recreation; opportunities to make Symphony-related objects out of recycled materials with SCRAP, the School and Community Reuse Action Project; traditional Polish paper cutting with Daniela Mahoney will be offered by the Oregon Folklife program, a department of the Oregon Historical Society which encourages the preservation of traditional arts and cultures in Oregon communities; a hat and pin making workshop presented by the Montavilla, Mt. Scott and East Portland Community Centers; an opportunity to explore a fire truck courtesy of Portland Fire and Rescue; and an instrument “petting zoo” featuring several Symphony musicians.
Organizations hosting informational
booths will include: SMART
(Start Making a Reader
Today); Ethos, Inc., a nonprofit
multicultural music center
that provides low-cost music
lessons and music-based education
for Oregon youth; Friends
of Trees; Urban Waterworks;
Portland Community Gardens;
Drive Less/Save More, Metro’s
Regional Travel Options program;
Schoolhouse Supplies; the
Montavilla Neighborhood Association;
Portland Nursery and Portland
Habitat for Humanity.
Other tentatively scheduled organizations include demonstrations in Kung Fu by students of the Stark Street Academy of Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do by students from the East Portland and Montavilla Community Centers.
Inexpensive food, including Rosie’s famous strawberry shortcake and gumbo, snacks from Montavilla’s newly reopened, historic Academy Theater; Seven Rivers’ famous Smokehouse BBQ; Jay Jay Johnson’s fried chicken; and Ariell’s organic cookies and bean pies will be among the skilled vendors offering food for purchase throughout the afternoon.
The 7 p.m. Symphony concert, which will include Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1,” film music of Academy Award-winning composer John Williams, “March of the Siamese Children” from “The King and I” and works by Busoni and Prokofiev, will be led by Vajda, entering his second season as the Symphony’s Resident Conductor.
The Harrison Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee includes: Jennifer Tamayo, President of the Montavilla Neighborhood Association; Jennifer Birt, Recreation Coordinator and Assistant Building Supervisor for the East Portland Community Center; Tim Barker, Recreation Coordinator and Assistant Building Supervisor of the Montavilla Community Center; Thomas Ngo, Montavilla neighborhood resident; Roger Warren, Montavilla neighborhood resident; Don McTaggart, the Parks Maintenance Supervisor for Portland Parks & Recreation; and Maylorie Townsend, owner and manager of Glo Loca Café & Bistro.
Harrison Park is located on the corner of Southeast 84th Avenue and Southeast Harrison Street (two blocks east of 82nd Avenue between Stark and Division Streets). In the event of rain, all activities will move to Madison High School, located at 2735 NE 82nd Ave.
The Symphony’s most popular community program continues when Kalmar and the orchestra present selections from the 2006-2007 season and Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” at Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Thursday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. (Raindate Sept. 1). This concert will include excerpts from Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 and Bernstein’s Overture to “Candide,” as well as music of Wagner and Mozart. Vajda will lead the orchestra in a Beatles medley including the songs “All You Need is Love,” “Yesterday,” “Blackbird” and “Here Comes the Sun.” The concert will introduce the three newest members of the Symphony: Principal Flute David Buck; Principal Oboe Marty Hebert; and Principal Trumpet Jeffrey Work. Select members of the Portland Youth Philharmonic will again join the orchestra for the 1812, which will culminate with fireworks and National Guard cannons.
The Symphony concert will be preceded by a 5 p.m. performance by the Portland Youth Philharmonic under the direction of Music Director Mei-Ann Chen, who will perform works from their upcoming season.
NOTE: Waterfront concert attendees are encouraged to bring donations of school supplies; Schoolhouse Supplies, a volunteer-run free store for Portland Public School teachers, which is stocked with supplies donated by the community. They will have representatives on hand to collect the donated supplies for distribution to area students and teachers.
Food and beverages will be available for purchase.