Chamber Music Northwest Announces Movie Night Concert Series and 2021 Summer Festival

The 51st annual festival offers 17 live, limited seating, in-person concerts July 1 through July 25 at Reed College's Kaul Auditorium.

By: Jun. 28, 2021
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

Chamber Music Northwest presents the 2021 Summer Festival beginning July 1.

The 51st annual festival offers 17 live, limited seating, in-person concerts July 1 through July 25 at Reed College's Kaul Auditorium and two outdoor concerts - Buster Keaton Movie Nights - free for the community.

As well, CMNW will offer an AT-HOME Festival that begins July 15 with produced recordings of the festival's 2021 live concerts and continues online through August 31.

As part of Chamber Music Northwest's 2021 Summer Festival, CMNW presents two free community events: Buster Keaton Movie Night events feature live, improvised soundtrack performances by the multi-talented pianist and composer Matan Porat.

The master of comedic silent film meets the master of on-the-fly piano with these free events for the community at Gresham Arts Plaza on July 12 and at the University of Portland on July 13. Matan Porat, one of world's great virtuoso pianists, premieres his own CMNW-commissioned piano quintet as a world premiere on July 22 and 23 at CMNW's Summer Festival at Reed College.

CHAMBER MUSIC NORTHWEST 2021 SUMMER FESTIVAL

LIVE Summer Festival
Thursday, July 1 - Sunday, July 25 2021

VENUE: Reed College - Kaul Auditorium, SE 28th & Woodstock

Advance ticket reservations are required.

4-concert LIVE Festival Pass + AT HOME Festival Pass: $325

Premium Reserved LIVE single ticket: $62.50

General Admission (select concerts) single ticket: $47.50

Under 30 LIVE single ticket: $20

FREE COMMUNITY EVENTS


Buster Keaton Movie Nights with Matan Porat

July 12 @ 8:30pm | featuring Buster Keaton's The Playhouse and Sherlock Jr.

VENUE: Gresham Arts Plaza - 401 NE 2nd St., Gresham, OR 97030

July 13 @ 8:30pm | featuring Buster Keaton's The General

VENUE: University of Portland - Franz Patio/Academic Quad, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd.

Outdoor music and silent film enthusiasts, pack a snack bring your own seats for these comedic Buster Keaton movies, but with enthusiastic, improvised soundtracks by the internationally-acclaimed, multi-talented pianist Matan Porat. Matan has garnered international acclaim for his "...vivid, propulsive, and fun..." (The New York Times) musical improvisations to silent films. These free evening events are casual concerts that are intended to be enjoyed by everyone in the community.

AT-HOME Summer Festival

Thursday, July 15 - Saturday, August 7 2021

VENUE: cmnw.org

Recorded and produced concerts from the LIVE festival will premiere on cmnw.org two weeks after the live concert. These rolling online premieres begin on July 15 and run through August 7 - the entire festival is available on-demand through August 31.

9-concert AT-HOME Pass: $150

Single concert online pass (on sale July 9): $20

KEY LINKS

2021 Summer Festival

2021 Summer Festival program

2021 Festival Passes & Tickets

CMNW's "Reflect | Rejoice" 2021 Summer Festival will feature 70 of the nation's finest chamber musicians performing a wide variety of works, from classics to new works, including the much anticipated world premiere of Marc Neikrug's A Song by Mahler that was previously scheduled to premiere at the 2020 Summer Festival. Additionally, the multitalented Israeli pianist and composer Matan Porat will perform improvisational accompaniment for two free Buster Keaton silent comedy movie night performances as outdoor, community concerts in Gresham and North Portland. The live festival concerts will be professionally recorded and streamed online beginning two weeks later on July 15, with access on cmnw.org through August 31.

From Artistic Directors Gloria Chien and Soovin Kim: "After a year without live music, we are so excited to share our joyful and reflective 2021 Summer Festival - our first as Chamber Music Northwest's new artistic directors! Some of CMNW's favorite performers will return, such as the Dover and Brentano string quartets, and cellist Paul Watkins of the Emerson Quartet. The East Coast Chamber Orchestra, saxophonist Timothy McAllister, pianist Marc-André Hamelin, guitarist Jason Vieaux, and bass-baritone Davóne Tines headline the star-studded cast who will make their CMNW debuts. Timeless classics such as Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings and Copland's Appalachian Spring will be heard alongside five exciting world premieres. We are proud to present this array of thrilling and deeply moving repertoire, performed by the greatest artists in the world, and that audiences near and far can enjoy both live in Portland or remotely."

COMMISSIONED WORKS

Chamber Music Northwest's 2021 Summer Festival features string quartets, renowned soloists, today's greatest living composers, local and national musicians, and boasts four new CMNW-commissioned works and a fifth additional world premiere. Creating opportunity for composers to create new music is a long-standing hallmark of CMNW, with more than 130 new works commissioned and premiered since 1971.

For the 2021 Summer Festival, CMNW presents: David Ludwig's Les Adieux: for clarinet and chamber ensemble commissioned to honor CMNW Artistic Director Emeritus David Shifrin in 2020; the world premiere of Marc Neikrug's A Song by Mahler, a theatrical chamber opera co-commissioned by CMNW with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the La Jolla, Lake Champlain and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festivals; Matan Porat playing his lilting Piano Quintet premiere with the Dover Quartet; and the unprecedented composition Sweet and Doleful Timbres by Pierre Jalbert, performed by saxophonist Timothy McAllister and guitarist Jason Vieaux. The festival will also include the world premiere of Portland composer Kenji Bunch's new Vesper Flight, commissioned by, written for, and performed by internationally acclaimed flutist Tara Helen O'Connor.

UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS

WEEK 4: REFLECT, REJOICE & REIMAGINE

The final week of the 2021 Summer Festival features CMNW 2021-22 Artists-in-Residence the Brentano Quartet and the Chien-Kim-Watkins Trio in Classical masterpieces by Haydn, Schubert, and Brahms. The inspired festival finale presents the astounding bass-baritone Davóne Tines in selections from his deeply moving MASS, and Schubert's divine cello quintet.

COMMUNITY ACCESS & EDUCATION

Chamber Music Northwest is committed to making great music and music education accessible in our community. With a consideration given to the pandemic, the 2021 Summer Festival will include two free, outdoor community concerts featuring Movie Nights with pianist and composer Matan Porat at the underserved outer eastside and North Portland locations. Complimentary AT-HOME passes will be offered to local music education organizations that serve students from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented communities. The local community is invited to weekly open rehearsals at Reed College on Wednesday mornings. Each week the public is invited to watch free musical conversations and masterclasses with visiting musicians that will be streamed at cmnw.org.



Videos