LSA News

No. 87, February 2008

Notes on the Performing Arts
(continued)

My perspective has changed over the years, and now when I attend a symphony concert I do so with enthusiasm. I don't think it's because my standards have lowered. I think the orchestra is more consistent that it was in 90's, although I don't want to diminish the impact conductors Marin Alsop and Miguel Harth-Bedoya made on helping the orchestra mature. In fact, I think Eugene is very fortunate to have an orchestra of the quality of the Eugene Symphony, and that quality has come in large measure from the skill and vision of its past music directors, several of whom have gone on to hold major conducting posts. The orchestra's current conductor, Giancarlo Guerrero, has demonstrated similar breadth of vision and talent, and when he moves on, I hope that the orchestra will exercise the same wisdom as it has in the past in selecting the next music director.

It would be absurd for me to attempt to share my personal observations about all the performers and ensembles I've heard here — the Eugene Opera, the Oregon Mozart Players, and other resident ensembles, and the astounding variety of guest artists to appear here, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, a world-class roster of chamber musicians who have visited Beall Hall, jazz musicians like Diana Krall and Chick Corea, dance companies such as the Mark Morris Dance Group and Momix, and others. It's just fair to say that for those who enjoy the performing arts, there are countless opportunities to enjoy them.

As I thought about the myriad opportunities Eugenians have to enjoy the arts, I realized that it would be impossible to give an adequate summary of what is available. So what follows is a quick overview of some of what you can see and hear, with the understanding that there is much more. I realize I'm giving short shrift to most musical genres, as well as to theater, and I'm not even addressing the visual arts.

Let's start with the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, a facility built in 1982, and home to eight resident companies. The Eugene Symphony Orchestra, now in its 42nd season, plays about 10 classical concerts each season, as well as special programs such as children's concerts and holiday programs. The orchestra's current music director, Giancarlo Guerrero, like several of his predecessors, has shown a special interest in American music. The orchestra's next regular season concert is February 14 and will include works by American composer Roberto Sierra, as well as (that being Valentine's Day) Sergei Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet."

The Oregon Mozart Players, a professional chamber orchestra founded by local musicians in 1983, gives about a half dozen concerts each season. Although one or more works by Mozart appears on nearly every concert, the ensemble's programming includes works from the eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The orchestra's next concert, on March 15 and 16, will be led by music director Glen Cortese and will include music by Mozart, Haydn, and my colleague in the School of Music and Dance, David Crumb.

The Eugene Concert Choir, founded in 1975, performs beloved masterworks (such as Handel's "Messiah"), short classical works from the Renaissance to the present, and choral arrangements of pop and Broadway favorites. Under ECC's aegis is a smaller, more select chorus called the Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble, founded by current artistic director Diane Retallack.

The Eugene Opera has been one of the Hult's resident companies since it was opened. It has experienced some financial difficulties and gone through several directors during its recent history, but under artistic advisor Mark Beudert, this current brief season leaves opera lovers feeling optimistic. "Madama Butterfly" runs February 29 and March 2.

No classical music festival is better known among out-of-towners than the Oregon Bach Festival, which runs for a little over two weeks each summer. Founded in 1970 by German conductor Helmut Rilling and UO Professor Royce Saltzman (who stepped down as executive director in July), the festival has brought to Eugene world-class performers from Frederica von Stade to Bobby McFerrin. The great choral works of Bach, such as the B-minor Mass, remain the festival's core repertoire, but the festival has also premiered new works by celebrated contemporary composers including Krzysztof Penderecki and Arvo Pärt. Educational activities have long been a part of the festival's mission, and the Youth Choral Academy and Rilling's master class in choral conducting attract participants from all over the world each year. Welch-born John Evans took over Saltzman's post this summer.

The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts was founded by Jim and Ginevra Ralph who have provided the lion's share of its funding and who maintain strong administrative and artistic control over the organization. Although it is one of the Hult's resident companies, the Shedd Institute has its own facilities in downtown Eugene in what used to be First Baptist Church, including the former sanctuary, now Jaqua Concert Hall. "Now Hear This," a concert series offered by the Shedd, focuses primarily on jazz, bringing to town such luminaries as Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis and Chick Corea, as well as giving local jazz musicians a venue for performing. The Ralphs put an equal amount of energy into the Shedd's Community Music School, which offers classes and lessons in various styles of music.

The Eugene Ballet is a 20-member ensemble under the leadership of artistic director and co-founder Toni Pimble, whom Dance Magazine called an "anomaly in the ballet world: a choreographer who knows her own worth but does not trumpet it." The company's annual production of "The Nutcracker," remains popular year after year, and the ensemble has worked in combination with other performing groups in interesting ways, as it did last season when it collaborated with the band Pink Martini. Coming up: "Little Tricker," based on a Ken Kesey story, on February 23 and 24.

The Willamette Repertory Theatre was founded by Kirk Boyd, its artistic director, and is now in its ninth season, which included a play by Lee Blessing last fall and will include John O’Keeffe's comedy, "Wild Oats" in coming months. The company has also mounted productions of classic plays. Dorothy Velasco of the Register Guard wrote: "This is what Willamette Rep does best: intelligent, heartfelt productions of America's greatest plays." Next up, David Auburn’s award-winning drama, "Proof," which opens February 8.

In addition to the resident companies, the Hult is a performance venue for a great variety of touring artists. A recent series of performances of the smash dance revue, "Riverdance," played to nearly full houses. During the next few months the Hult will host a group of Chinese drummers, and Afro-Peruvian music and dance troupe, touring productions of "Menopause," "Mamma Mia!" and "Stomp", to name a few.

The Hult Center isn't the city's only performance venue. During summer months, the listeners can enjoy al fresco music at the Cuthbert Amphitheater in Alton Baker Park, which has welcomed a wide array of artists, including B. B. King, Diana Krall and the rock band Widespread Panic. Back in town, the W.O.W. Hall is somewhat of a magnet for Eugene's wannabe hippies, but in addition to hosting a seemingly endless string of indie rock and astoundingly bad bluegrass bands, serves as a suitable performance space for notable folk, Celtic and world music performers.  The McDonald Theater, a former movie house, has booked performers as diverse as Elvis Costello and the United States Air Force Strings and upcoming performers include the Satin Love Orchestra and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Some of the most interesting musical events take place on the University of Oregon campus. The School of Music and Dance presents concerts nearly every week during fall, winter and spring terms, including student and faculty recitals, guest artists, the contemporary-leaning Vanguard Series, and the widely praised Chamber Music Series, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this season. The Music School's Beall Hall is a wonderful chamber music venue, the CMS has brought to the hall such acclaimed ensembles as the Tokyo String Quartet and the Emerson String Quartet. Also on campus is the Dougherty Theatre, in which a varied array of professional quality dance events are presented each season. Put on your calendar the "Dance 2008," the Dance Department's annual dance concert, February 14, 15 and 16.

UO is also home to the University Theatre, part of the Miller Theatre Complex. Other venues for live theater in Eugene include the Lord Leebrick Theatre, the Very Little Theatre, the Actors Cabaret and Lane Community College.

My summary of the performing arts in Eugene has emphasized the music scene – particularly classical music, simply because that's what I know best. A discussion of vast array of other kinds of entertainment certainly merits attention in these pages in the future. For now, however, I'll just give quick mention to a handful of venues where you can take in an astounding variety of music, dance, and comedy. Saturday Market opens April 5 this year, and the entertainment stage always features a huge variety of styles.

There are dozens of clubs in which you can hear jazz, blues, rock, folk, and a variety of other styles. Although Luna doesn't seem to be offering live music anymore, it looks like Joe Federico's, once a mainstay for local jazz musicians, will once again be a vital jazz venue. Some other places for live jazz include Ax Billy Grill, the Oregon Wine Warehouse, LeVelle Wine Bar, and the Oak Street Speakeasy.

A number of clubs in Eugene offer an interesting and disparate variety of musical styles. I'll just mention a few: Sam Bonds, Cozmic Pizza, John Henry's, the Downtown Lounge and Diablo's, the Wild Duck, Luckey's, Embers, Mac's, and the Overtime Tavern.

I hope someone will feel motivated to write a more thorough discussion of the club scene in town for these pages, and I look forward to more detailed stores on dance and theater in a future issue. Certainly we'd like to run an article of the visual arts some time soon.

Of course it's impossible to prove or disprove the ipse dixit that constitutes Eugene's official motto, but when it comes to the performing arts, it's clear that Eugene has quite a bit to offer. No, it's not L.A. We don't have the traffic.

To find out more, check out some of the web pages maintained by UO Libraries Music Services Department:

• Oregon Musicians
• Music in Oregon
• Music in Eugene (A Discography of the Recordings of Eugene Musicians at UO Library)

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