Oregon Symphony Launches 'Sounds Like Portland' Festival

The Oregon Symphony is launching a new music festival that spotlights homegrown Portland musicians alongside Oregon Symphony musicians, spanning multiple genres through the lens of orchestral arrangements.

Beginning in October, the inaugural Sounds Like Portland festival is a three-week musical celebration of Portland’s creative spirit, connecting audiences through a variety of accessible venues. To purchase tickets for any of the Oregon Symphony’s 2025-2026 season programming, visit here.

“The Oregon Symphony’s role is to serve as a cultural cornerstone to strengthen and spotlight the city’s vibrant arts ecosystem,” says David Danzmayr, Jean Vollum Music Director of the Oregon Symphony. “Portland is home to incredible artists, and it has been the birthplace of music that resonates far beyond the city. The Sounds Like Portland festival celebrates that creativity, supports local artists, and invites audiences to experience the city’s rich and diverse music scene—from intimate venues to the grand Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.”

The music festival celebrates the unique way Portland artists, venues, and audiences blur boundaries—where indie rock, jazz, and other genres intersect with classical music in unexpected ways. This year, the Oregon Symphony takes the stage with some of the city’s most iconic artists, including Esperanza Spalding, M. Ward, Storm Large, Darrell Grant, The Decemberists, The Dandy Warhols, and the complete string quartets of Caroline Shaw.

The festival kicks off at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall with Portland’s GRAMMY Award-winning jazz visionary Esperanza Spalding on October 18 & 19, 2025. Next, the Symphony makes its debut at Revolution Hall with acclaimed singer-songwriter M. Ward on October 21. On October 23, the Oregon Symphony celebrates the 40th anniversary of The Goonies by performing the iconic score live as the adventure to uncover lost treasure unfolds on the big screen.

On November 1 & 2 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, powerhouse vocalist Storm Large takes the stage for a theatrical rendition of Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, alongside the world premiere of David Schiff’s Uptown/Downtown: Concerto for Piano & Orchestra (2025; World Premiere and Oregon Symphony Commission). The festival continues when Portland’s indie-rock storytellers The Decemberists perform with the Oregon Symphony for the first time in more than a decade on November 6 & 7. Closing out the festival on November 13, the Symphony reunites with The Dandy Warhols to revisit favorites from the band’s three-decade career.

On November 9, the Oregon Symphony and 45th Parallel Universe present The Complete String Quartets of Caroline Shaw: A Concert Crawl — a one-day celebration of the Portland-based Pulitzer Prize–winning composer. Curated by Oregon Symphony Creative Chair Gabriel Kahane, the music will be performed across three Eastside venues. Shaw, considered one of the most dynamic voices in contemporary classical music, has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards and won five, including Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for her collaboration on Orange and Evergreen with ATTACCA QUARTET. Showtimes are 12:00 p.m. at Polaris Hall, 2:30 p.m. at the Center for Native Arts + Cultures in collaboration with the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) , and 5:00 p.m. in the Show Bar at Revolution Hall.

The Oregon Symphony is also collaborating with local organizations that will present four classical music concerts in intimate venues featuring local artists and composers.

• October 24 – The Sound of Us: Resonance Ensemble and Fear No Music showcase works by Portland-based composers at Benson Polytechnic High School Auditorium, featuring performances of pieces by Bora Yoon, Caroline Shaw, Cecille Elliott, Renée Favand-See, Sydney Guillaume, Lisa Neher, and Stacey Philipps.

• October 26 & November 2 – Chatter PDX: Cookin’ with James and Monica (Oct. 26) pairs Kenji Bunch’s Cookbook with Brahms, followed by The Overlook (Nov. 2), featuring Shelley Washington’s "Say" and the world premiere of Bunch’s Cookbook for Clarinet and String Quartet.

• November 4 – An Evening with Gabriel Kahane: The Oregon Symphony’s Creative Chair performs an intimate evening of music and storytelling at the Alberta Rose Theater.

About Oregon Symphony

The multi-Grammy Award-nominated Oregon Symphony, led by Jean Vollum Music Director David Danzmayr, serves hundreds of thousands of people annually through concerts, education initiatives, and community programs. With a 125-year legacy, it is the oldest orchestra in the Western United States.

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