Music❯Indie

Music is more than just an aural language – it is a multitude of communication modes and literacies. Sight Reading features world-renowned songwriters translating between dialects in real time: the written language of music (usually expressed on staff), oral / aural traditions and “playing by ear” come together to work with Oregon Symphony musicians as they perform newly-created arrangements of songs by musicians who write their music in a variety of ways.

Jimmie Herrod

Jimmie Herrod is a singer, songwriter, and performer celebrated for his radiant tone and emotional depth. Hailed by The Seattle Times as “a voice like a beacon of hope,” Herrod brings striking expressivity to performances across stage and screen.

He rose to international prominence as a finalist on America’s Got Talent, where he earned the coveted Golden Buzzer from Sofía Vergara. He later returned to compete on AGT: All-Stars, further expanding his global audience.

Since 2017, Herrod has toured extensively with Pink Martini, performing throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He is also a frequent guest with major orchestras across the United States and has collaborated with artists including Renée Fleming, Lalah Hathaway, Brian Blade, and Vince Mendoza.

Equally at home across genres, Herrod is known for performances that combine technical precision with warmth, clarity, and a powerful sense of connection.

Katherine Paul

This land runs through Katherine Paul’s blood. And it called to her. In dreams she saw the river, her ancestors, and her home.When the land calls, you listen. And KP found herself far from her ancestral lands during a time of collective trauma, when the world was wounded and in need of healing. In 2020 she made the journey from Portland back to the Skagit River, back to the cedar trees that stand tall and shrouded in fog, back to the tide flats and the mountains, back to Swinomish.

It is a powerful thing to return to our ancestral lands and often times the journey is not easy. Like the salmon through the currents, like the tide as it crawls to shore this is a story of return. It is the call and response. It is the outstretched arms of the people who came before, welcoming her home.The Land, The Water, The Sky is a celebration of lineage and strength. Even in its deepest moments of loneliness and grief, of frustration over a world wrought with colonial violence and pain, the songs remind us that if we slow down, if we listen to the waves and the wind through the trees, we will remember to breathe.

There is a throughline of story in every song, a remembrance of knowledge and teachings, a gratitude of wisdom passed down and carried. There is a reimagining of Sedna who was offered to the sea, and a beautiful rumination on sacrifice and humanity, and what it means to hold the stories that work to teach us something.

Chord progressions born out of moments of sadness and solitude transform into the islands that sit blue along the horizon. The Salish Sea curves along her homelands, and when the singer is close to this water she is reminded of her grandmother, how she looked out at these same islands, and she’s held by spirit and memory.

The Land, The Water, The Sky rises and falls, in darkness and in light, but even in its most melancholy moments it is never despairing. That is the beauty of returning home. When you stand on ancestral lands it is impossible to be alone. You feel the arms and hands that hold you up, unwilling to let you fall into sorrow or abandonment. In her songs Katherine Paul has channeled that feeling of being held. In every note she has written a love letter to indigenous strength and healing.

There is a joy present here, a fierce blissfulness that comes with walking the trails along the river, feeling the sand and the stones beneath her feet. It is the pride and the certainty that comes with knowing her ancestors walked along the same land, dipped their hands into the water, and ran their fingertips along the same bark of cedar trees.

This is a story of hope, as it details the joy of returning. Katherine Paul’s journey home wasn’t made alone, and the songs are crowded with loved ones and relatives, like a really good party. And as the songs walk us through the land it is important we hover over the images and the beauty, the moments that mark this album as site specific. The power of this land is woven throughout, telling the story of narrow waterways, brushstrokes, salmon stinta, and above all healing. Let it take you. Move through the story and see the land through her eyes, because it is a gift, awelcomedsʔabadəb.

**The word “gift” in Lushootseed, the language of the Coast Salish people“

Nick Jaina

Nick Jaina is a Portland-based musician and writer whose work bridges music, literature, and performance. Originally from Sacramento, he has lived and worked in Portland, New York, and New Orleans, shaping a multidisciplinary creative career.

Jaina is the author of the memoir Get It While You Can, a finalist for the Oregon Book Award and now in its third printing. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, McSweeney’s, and Oregon Humanities.

As a musician, he has released numerous albums under his own name, including 2025’s The Monster Mash, blending literary sensibility with adventurous songwriting. His work often crosses artistic boundaries, reflecting a deep engagement with narrative and form.

He co-founded and served as music director for the New York-based ballet company Satellite, collaborating with dancers from Juilliard School and New York City Ballet, with performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Jaina has also composed scores for films and documentaries including All Sorts, Cement Suitcase, and Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire.

45th Parallel Universe is a collective of musicians dedicated to celebrating great chamber music through intimate, imaginative performances. Comprised primarily of musicians from the Oregon Symphony, the ensemble brings exceptional artistry and a spirit of collaboration to every project.

Since 2009, 45th Parallel has blurred boundaries between old and new, classical and contemporary, bluegrass and jazz, fiddle and folk. Their programming reflects Portland’s vibrant creative community, drawing together diverse audiences through unexpected and thoughtfully curated musical experiences.

Known for its “360-degree” approach to programming, the ensemble seamlessly weaves Bach and Beethoven alongside adventurous repertoire and cross-genre collaborations. These projects often feature artists from a wide range of traditions, embracing the richness and diversity of the region.

At its core, 45th Parallel Universe believes in music as a powerful and shared human experience—one that is both timeless and ever-evolving.

November 11 & 12, 2026

Special Concerts

Portugal. The Man takes the stage at the Schnitz for the first time with the Oregon Symphony, delivering amped-up orchestral rock to close out their U.S. tour. Celebrate the 15th anniversary of In the Mountain in the Cloud alongside their newest album, SHISH, with live performances featuring music from both albums. They’ll be joined by artists Quinn Christopherson, May Arden, Onry, Redray Frazier, and Sarah Clarke for a one-of-a-kind performance created just for Portland.

• Raúl Gómez-Rojas Conductor
• Portugal. The Man
• Oregon Symphony

This concert is part of the Special Concerts series, and is eligible for the Choose Your Own Series (Portland only).

Concert begins promptly at the time listed.

Some evenings stay with you forever. This fall, Portland welcomes an extraordinary celebration of classical ballet as PRIMA Ballet Gala brings together artists of the Grand Kyiv Ballet and international guest performers for one unforgettable night. More than a performance, PRIMA Ballet Gala is a night of elevated artistry – where timeless classics meet contemporary expression, and the stage becomes a space of beauty, power, and emotion.

The program features iconic highlights from world-renowned ballets, including Don Quixote, Spartacus, and The Dying Swan, alongside vibrant national dances such as the thrilling Hopak, set to music by legendary composers such as Tchaikovsky. Begin your evening on the red carpet, then step inside for a celebration of artistic excellence and international cultural connection. Guests are warmly encouraged to attend in evening attire, helping create an atmosphere of elegance worthy of this special occasion.

Join a rare opportunity to experience world-class dancers, timeless choreography, and a night filled with beauty and inspiration.

Seats are limited. Be part of PRIMA Ballet Gala — where ballet speaks from the heart.

Inspired by Crater Lake National Park, Michael Gordon’s Natural History weaves Native and symphonic music in this paean to the natural landscape. Plus, hear works by two of classical music’s most intrepid pioneers: Stravinsky’s experimental musical essay on wind and brass sounds, Symphonies of Wind Instruments, and Beethoven’s vivacious and dramatic Symphony No. 1. Native Oregonian Grace Miedziak enhances the program with a new work that celebrates the Pacific Northwest.

Norman Huynh, Conductor

Steiger Butte Drum and Singers, Native American ensemble

Members of Portland State University Chamber Choir, Ethan Sperry, Conductor

Oregon Symphony

Stravinsky Symphonies of Wind Instruments

Michael Gordon Natural History

Grace Meidziak New work (Fear No Music Emerging Composers Fellow, Oregon Symphony commission)

Beethover Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21

On Sunday, November 1st, Oregon Koto-Kai, the Japanese Koto Music Society of Oregon, will present its 15th Annual Fall Concert. This year’s concert will feature traditional and modern koto ensemble pieces selected to honor the koto mastery and memory of the late Kazue Sawai. The music will be complemented by beautiful art on stage created by local artist Satoko Motouji.

Kazue Sawai cofounded the Sawai Koto Institute based in Tokyo, Japan with her husband, koto master and composer Tadao Sawai. Not only was she the instructor and mentor to our Artistic Director, Mitsuki Dazai, but her passion and innovative playing style was an inspiration to our entire group and koto players worldwide. Our program honors that legacy with traditional pieces signature to her repertoire and boundary-pushing compositions from the Sawai catalog.

All Ages // 6 PM Show // Tickets $24

Taylor Bickett is a storyteller at heart. Hailing from Indiana, she's been writing music since before she can remember. Taylor's intimate lyrics and outstanding vocal range gracefully overlay organic indie pop production to create introspective singer/songwriter tunes. After her wistful, Gen Z anthem "QUARTER LIFE CRISIS" hit the internet in 2022, the track compelled a generation struggling with their newfound adulthood to share their own photos and stories on TikTok soundtracked by her song. The trending audio amassed nearly half a million fan-made videos, and celebrities including Drew Barrymore and Kevin Jonas showcased their own transformations since age sixteen atop Taylor's track, which features the lyrics, "I swear 16 was yesterday, but now I'm closer to 28."

Taylor's subsequent 2023 EP grown up and lonely demonstrates her knack for writing honest and unfiltered songs that resonate with an entire generation. She kicked off 2024 with her single "I Like Mondays" which resonated with fans when she quickly wrote and posted the song on the 1st of January (a Monday). After spending the spring on the road, Taylor released her second EP, This Isn't Me Missing You, on September 19th.

Taylor spent 2024 touring with artists like Ron Pope, Blü Eyes, Andi and Áine Deane, which took her all over the US and UK. Her new song "The Crime," based on a traumatic incident that sparked a passion for ending violence against women, will come out in honor of Women's History Month in March of 2025. She is currently writing new music for her debut full length album.

Goldie is a Portland-based artist creating alternative-pop that blends a sense of nostalgia with a distinctly modern sound. Drawing inspiration from artists both past and present, her music is rooted in honest songwriting, warm melodies, and an ever-evolving approach to pop. With four singles released, Goldie is currently working on her debut EP and carving out a sound entirely her own.

In a darkening musical landscape where viral fads and AI-generated fakery share chart-space with the self-absorbed products of the nation’s stage schools, Buzzcocks shine out as a gleaming beacon of hope.
A constant, ever-evolving presence over the last 45 years of pop culture, the band’s legendary status will be set in stone — literally — with their inclusion in the Music Walk Of Fame in September, joining an illustrious roll call including David Bowie, The Who, Madness and Amy Winehouse.
The band’s never-better live shows, meanwhile, are electrifying reminders of rock music’s power to inspire, educate and inform. All delivered with an energy and conviction of a band half their age.
“It’s my lifeblood,” says Steve Diggle — 68 years young — of a non-stop touring schedule which over the summer will see them play to thousands of fans across Europe and the UK.
“I’ve still got the fire in my belly. Some musicians get bored of being on the road, but I’m institutionalised. I’ve done 50-odd years of staying in hotels. It’s what I signed up for. Ever since I saw Bob Dylan in the back of a black taxi in (D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 documentary) Don’t Look Back, I always wanted to live this kind of life — being interviewed in the back of a black taxi on the way to the studio.”

While most of their punk peers are content to traverse the globe in jukebox-style revue shows, Buzzcocks continue to move with the times, attracting new fans wherever they go. A case in point being the huge all-ages crowd the band pulled at the Iggy Pop-headlined Dog Day Afternoon in July.
“There’s not a lot of intellectual or emotional thinking in music these days,” observes Steve. “People are being controlled. They’ll watch a video of someone falling over a banana skin and think they’re being entertained. They don’t realise the beauty of words, and the power of music. I’d like to think young kids who come to see us feel the same excitement I got from Little Richard and Chuck Berry. It goes back to the punk thing. It was about attitude and a way of thinking. We had the questions, but we didn’t have the answers. But the questions are the important thing.”

Norman Huynh, Conductor
Steiger Butte Drum and Singers, Native American ensemble
Members of Portland State University Chamber Choir, Ethan Sperry, Conductor
Oregon Symphony

STRAVINSKY Symphonies of Wind Instruments
Michael GORDON Natural History
Grace MIEDZIAK New work (Fear No Music Emerging Composers Fellow, Oregon Symphony commission)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21

Inspired by Crater Lake National Park, Michael Gordon’s Natural History weaves Native and symphonic music in this paean to the natural landscape. Plus, hear works by two of classical music’s most intrepid pioneers: Stravinsky’s experimental musical essay on wind and brass sounds, Symphonies of Wind Instruments, and Beethoven’s vivacious and dramatic Symphony No. 1. Native Oregonian Grace Miedziak enhances the program with a new work that celebrates the Pacific Northwest.

Lewis & Clark College Department of Music and Portland State University’s School of Music and Theater present an afternoon with Grammy Award-winning soprano Audrey Luna on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 from 3pm to 6pm in Evans Auditorium.

Join an afternoon with Grammy Award-winning soprano Audrey Luna. Audrey will give a masterclass with L&C and PSU students and present a lecture titled "The Business of Singing."

So far evolved from who they were when they first began releasing music in 2017, The Aces deserve the sense of celebration they feel in their new music. With 3 albums, over 250 million streams, and countless other milestones under their belts, sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez (lead vocals/guitar and drums), Katie Henderson (lead guitar/vocals), and McKenna Petty (bass) are in full form on their 4th LP, Gold Star Baby. Continuing to reach new pop heights, the band is rapidly becoming one of the genre’s most exciting and authentic voices.

The Aces have toured with the likes of 5 Seconds of Summer, X Ambassadors, The Vamps, COIN, Goth Babe, and have played at festivals all over the world, including NY Pride, Lollapalooza, Firefly, Bonnaroo, OUTFEST, Sziget, Pukkelpop, All Things Go, Summerfest, and more. After an exciting run supporting Louis Tomlinson’s 2026 North American arena tour, the Aces are ready to hit the road again on their own fall headline tour and are steadily continuing to release new music.

“When we travel down those old back roads, that’s when we finally find our way,” sings Portland songwriter Richard Colombo — and that spirit of discovery runs through every note he plays. For over four decades, Richard has been a beloved songwriter, performer, teacher, and community builder whose heartfelt songs blend timeless storytelling with themes of love, courage, and joy. Known for his clear tenor voice, masterful guitar work, and playful energy, Richard’s performances move easily between the profound and the delightfully whimsical — especially when he breaks out his banjo ukulele. A night with Richard leaves audiences feeling uplifted, inspired, and connected.

Inge Hoogerhuis is a singer-songwriter, but that is not how she started out - a lounge and cabaret singer from way back when, who traveled up and down Highway 75, to Las Vegas, and then found a home on the West Coast. She has sung in grange halls to fancy hotels, for 20 people from the back of a pick-up truck to 500,000 in San Francisco's Gay Pride. But her favorite thing to do is to write songs that capture both the humor and melancholy of the West, and that ruminate over love and justice, lost and gained. You can catch her on Spotify or at local watering holes around Portland.

Wendy Emerson is a folk jazz guitarist and vocalist whose music is influenced by ballads and show tunes from the swing era, as well as folk and rock music from the 1950s on. Her repertoire consists of jazzy covers and originals about love and loss served up with a generous helping of speaking truth to power.

Brent Calderwood is a Portland-based singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist inspired by indie-folk, Americana, and the American songbook.

London-born singer and songwriter SIENNA SPIRO announces the “My House” tour, including an extensive North American fall run followed by dates in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Europe.

Just last week, SIENNA released the official music video for her enthralling single “The Visitor.” Written and produced by SIENNA with Omer Fedi (SZA, Lil Nas X) and Michael Pollack (Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus), the song draws its power from a spellbinding vocal recorded in one take, lyrics that cut to the bone, and a 20-piece string orchestra led and arranged by Academy Award-winner Peter Rotter (Oppenheimer, The Last Repair Shop). While SIENNA’s poetry and the video nod to matters of the heart, by the song’s end, we sense that she’s singing about something more: a strong awareness of impermanence — of things ending and people leaving — that can quickly turn into paralyzing fear. That sentiment is the driving force behind the concept that powers Visitor, the album.

Of course, SIENNA is very much here to stay. Her music has amassed over 1.2 billion global streams so far and, in late March, she had a trio of singles climbing the Hot 100 all at once: “The Visitor” (which so far peaked at #43), heartwrenching UK Platinum smash “Die On This Hill” (#19), and the enduring “You Stole The Show” (#55). All three are set to appear on Visitor, which was executive produced by Fedi with additional production from an elite crew including Blake Slatkin, Yakob, and Pollack, plus composers like Larry Gold (Al Green, Silk Sonic) and Rotter. SIENNA and her hand-picked collaborators brought her vision to life in an array of legendary spaces like Electric Lady Studios in New York, Abbey Road Studios in London, and Valentine Recording Studios in Los Angeles.

After many years celebrating the music of Big Star via the collective known as Big Star’s Third, Jody Stephens (the last surviving member of the original Big Star lineup) had an idea.

“I truly loved touring the world and performing Big Star’s Third with a core group, a variety of special guests, and a chamber orchestra playing the beautiful orchestrations created by Carl Marsh and Chris Stamey. But when the idea of celebrating the 50th anniversary of #1 Record came up, it was time to pare the production down to a five-piece rock band. So I called a few close and like-spirited musical friends.”

Enter some of the legendary group’s biggest fans, who have long been associated with Big Star and related projects. The band now includes Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Jon Auer (The Posies), Pat Sansone (Wilco), Chris Stamey (The dB's) and Stephens. Dubbing themselves the Big Star Quintet, it’s a lineup that is both personal and close in spirit to #1 Record and Radio City.

November 4, 2026

Special Concerts

The Philip Glass Ensemble returns to Portland for Powaqqatsi, an artful cinematic experience that speaks to the impact of modernization and industrialization on traditional ways of living. Seen through the lens of communities across the globe, the narrative is amplified by compositions from Philip Glass that feature native, classical, and electronic instruments. Enjoyed alone or as the second in The Qatsi Trilogy, you won’t want to miss this thought-provoking performance from The Philip Glass Ensemble and conductor Michael Riesman.

po.waq.qa.tsi (from the Hopi language, powaq sorcerer + qatsi life) n., an entity, a way of life, that consumes the life forces of other beings in order to further its own life.

• Michael Riesman Conductor
• Members of Portland State University Chamber Choir Ethan Sperry, Conductor
• The Philip Glass Ensemble
• Oregon Symphony

This concert is part of the Special Concerts series, and is eligible for the Choose Your Own Series (Portland only). Concert length is approximately 1 hour 40 minutes. No intermission.

Concert begins promptly at the time listed.

King Buffalo, a heavy psych trio featuring vocalist and guitarist Sean McVay, bassist Dan Reynolds, and drummer Scott Donaldson, shares the bill with L.A. Witch. The Los Angeles trio of Sade Sanchez, Irita Pai, and Ellie English blends reverb-draped rock with a sound that ranges across broader sonic territory on its latest album, DOGGOD, while exploring existential and cosmic themes. This is an all-ages event.

Jake Shimabukuro is a world-renowned ukulele virtuoso whose groundbreaking artistry has redefined the instrument for the 21st century. Hailed as the “Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele,” Shimabukuro has captivated audiences across the globe with his masterful technique, innovative spirit, and deeply expressive performances that seamlessly blend elements of jazz, rock, classical, blues, folk, and traditional Hawaiian music.

Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, Jake began playing the ukulele at age four, quickly developing a unique style that pushed the instrument far beyond its traditional boundaries. He first gained international recognition after his jaw-dropping rendition of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” went viral, introducing millions to the ukulele’s untapped potential.

Over the course of his career, Shimabukuro has released numerous acclaimed albums, collaborated with an array of legendary artists—including Bette Midler, Yo-Yo Ma, Jimmy Buffett, Ziggy Marley, and Mick Fleetwood—and performed everywhere from the Sydney Opera House to the Hollywood Bowl and the Kennedy Center. His most recent projects showcase both his dazzling technical command and his growing focus on emotional storytelling through music.

Beyond the stage, Jake is a passionate advocate for music education and community outreach, frequently performing at schools and benefit concerts to inspire the next generation of musicians. Whether playing an intimate solo show or headlining with a full band, Shimabukuro continues to prove that the ukulele is an instrument of infinite possibilities—one that speaks a universal language of joy, connection, and hope.

Acclaimed Athens-based chamber ensemble Galan Trio visits Lewis & Clark College as part of their US tour for a performance on Friday, November 6, 2026 at 7:30pm in Agnes Flanagan Chapel.

A Tuareg singer/songwriter and guitarist who is known for his innovative and intense playing style, Mdou Moctar rose from a small village in Niger to earn viral success among West Africa's cell phone-trading network. An appearance on an American compilation in 2010 led to international recognition and further exploratory releases on the Sahel Sounds label. After starring in a Tuareg-language homage to Purple Rain, Moctar's sound continued to evolve as he pushed his musical boundaries as a multi-instrumentalist on 2017's Sousoume Tamachek. Subsequent albums like Ilana: The Creator (2019) and Afrique Victime (2021) found him infusing his African influences with wild electric psychedelia and full-blast rock and roll to widespread acclaim. 2024's scintillating Funeral for Justice saw Moctar take a stronger political stance on the injustices faced by Niger and the Tuareg people. A reimagined, all-acoustic version of the album was released in early 2025 as Tears of Injustice.

Founded in 2004, Federale has released seven cinematic records inspired by obscure spaghetti westerns, folk-based murder ballads, '60s and '70s European soundtracks, and stylishly dramatic vocalists such as Lee Hazelwood and Nick Cave. Federale's music has appeared in films, including A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, The Bad Batch, and The Lego Movie, while the band has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe.

Federale's newest album Love & Other Lies (2026) teems with a dark sentimentality and a pronounced gloomy sensibility drawing from British new wave, post-punk, goth, and 1960s rock n 'roll. Strains of The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Tears for Fears, and even The Beatles abound. Here, lead singer and primary songwriter Collin Hegna's emotive baritone is swathed in period-perfect Prophet-5 synthesizers and glistening counter-melody guitar lines, and supported by intricate but lyrical basslines and coldly mechanical drums.

Love & Other Lies picks up where Federale's previous album, Reverb & Seduction, left off. That album was a radical departure from the band's previous releases which featured mostly instrumentals. "There are a lot more similarities than you think," Hegna says of the group's seemingly two distinct aesthetic periods. "When we were referencing the obscure influences, we liked the drama and darkness. Those elements are in new wave, goth, and post-punk. I just grabbed another couple of colors from the Crayon box."

Holiday Dan (drums) and Rayko Stanislav (piano) started a cacophony of curious clanging helter skelter sounds in 2017. Using a 100 year old upright Meister piano which has travelled across the west and a rickety Pearl drum set they were joined by equally dysfunctional horns: a thrift store tuba (Tubano), knock off Indian valve trombone (Tom Bone) and street find trumpet (Roly). Together they make (mostly) wordless sound eruptions that have only best been described as "if Danny Elfman and Eliot Smith had a baby and if fell down a spiral staircase in New Orleans"

Come try and describe the ear twisting music yourself! See ya on the asphalt!

Taylor Bickett is a storyteller at heart. Hailing from Indiana, she's been writing music since before she can remember. Taylor's intimate lyrics and outstanding vocal range gracefully overlay organic indie pop production to create introspective singer/songwriter tunes. After her wistful, Gen Z anthem "QUARTER LIFE CRISIS" hit the internet in 2022, the track compelled a generation struggling with their newfound adulthood to share their own photos and stories on TikTok soundtracked by her song. The trending audio amassed nearly half a million fan-made videos, and celebrities including Drew Barrymore and Kevin Jonas showcased their own transformations since age sixteen atop Taylor's track, which features the lyrics, "I swear 16 was yesterday, but now I'm closer to 28."

Taylor's subsequent 2023 EP grown up and lonely demonstrates her knack for writing honest and unfiltered songs that resonate with an entire generation. She kicked off 2024 with her single "I Like Mondays" which resonated with fans when she quickly wrote and posted the song on the 1st of January (a Monday). After spending the spring on the road, Taylor released her second EP, This Isn't Me Missing You, on September 19th.

Taylor spent 2024 touring with artists like Ron Pope, Blü Eyes, Andi and Áine Deane, which took her all over the US and UK. Her new song "The Crime," based on a traumatic incident that sparked a passion for ending violence against women, will come out in honor of Women's History Month in March of 2025. She is currently writing new music for her debut full length album.

The Tallest Man on Earth is known for animated, expressive performances and songwriting that critics have compared to Bob Dylan. Influenced by Dylan and early American folk artists, Kristian Matsson describes his music as shaped by what feels natural to him. His 2023 album, “Henry St.,” was his first recorded with a band and brings together a range of musical ideas and sounds.

With Andrea von Kampen. All Ages

Choreographer Lai Hung-Chung makes dances of striking beauty and intention. “Birdy,” his captivating signature work for Hung Dance, moves between suspense and explosive energy, between the weight of tradition and the pull toward something new. Hung Dance blends traditional Chinese arts, including tai chi, Peking Opera, and classical Chinese music, with contemporary dance technique and driving electronic music, creating work that is poetic and rhythmic at once. What audiences see on stage is a world in constant transformation, where bodies bend and resist, images linger, and the tension between holding on and letting go becomes the dance itself.

TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN

Birdy

“…a dreamy sensibility with astonishing athleticism in culturally sensitive modern dance performance.” —Charlie Smith, Pancouver

Sponsored by George & Nancy Thorn. White Bird’s Uncaged Series Sponsor: Ronni Lacroute

The Friday and Saturday performances will have pre-show talks. Come early to hear from the dancers from 6:15–6:45 PM. No ticket needed.

Join us November 3rd for the Hung Dance Lecture Demonstration, FREE with RSVP here .

Monday, November 2, 2026 Mississippi Studios Presents SOLD OUT: Big Star Quintet (Night 1) Ages 21 and up

Singer, rapper, and author Dessa will join the Oregon Symphony for an evening of soaring ballads, writerly pop songs, and rap anthems. The concert also will include a series of new monologues, crafted in Dessa’s signature style—true stories told with intellectual rigor, tenderness, candor, and wit. Don’t miss this landmark performance, presented in collaboration with Literary Arts as an extension of the Portland Book Festival.

• Sarah Hicks Conductor
• Dessa Vocals
• Oregon Symphony

This concert is part of the Special Concerts series, and is eligible for the Choose Your Own Series (Portland only).

Concert begins promptly at the time listed.

Jamila Woods is a musician, poet, and multidisciplinary artist from the South Side of Chicago. Her critically acclaimed debut album HEAVN — an ode to Blackness, girlhood, and home — was released by JagJaguwar Records in 2017. Her sophomore project, LEGACY! LEGACY!, features twelve tracks named after writers, thinkers, and visual artists who have influenced the creator’s life and work — including James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni and Frida Kahlo. Her most recent album, Water Made Us, is a genre-blending song cycle on love and the wisdom of surrender.

Jamila has been featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk, CBS's This Morning, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She has shared stages with Corinne Bailey Rae, Rafael Saadiq, Bonobo, Common, Chance the Rapper, Brittany Howard, Macklemore, and many others. An award-winning poet, Jamila’s work often blurs boundaries between poem and song. As cultural critic Doreen St. Felix writes, “It makes you wish all singers were poets.

Hailed by France Musique as the new face of the classical guitar, Djibouti-born French guitarist Raphaël Feuillâtre regularly delights audiences and critics worldwide with his charismatic artistry, embracing everything from Baroque-period repertoire to compositions by trailblazing contemporary composers. His jaw-dropping precision, technical mastery, and creative vision make works from all time periods sound as if they were written yesterday–alive, heartfelt, and filled with color. Don’t miss a passionate evening of Latin music, including many of Feuillâtre’s own arrangements.

Greece’s Galan Trio performs at Pacific University as part of their Kinesis tour, bringing a program of American composers hailing from the West Coast, including Pacific University faculty member Ryan Francis. Their appearance is underwritten by the Elise Elliot Trust and is presented under the auspices of Greece’s Ministry of Culture.

”Kinesis” is Galan Trio’s attempt to explore the music of contemporary American composers
by bringing their works together in an original, multifaceted concert program. The project
draws from collaboration between Galan Trio and professors of composition from select
U.S. universities, and from the notion of “Kinesis.” Kinesis is an undirected movement of a
cell, organism, or part, in response to an external stimulus. In Greek, Kinesis means
movement, motion. Motion is a fundamental characteristic of all living beings; motion is
what all musicians worldwide have desired during the last couple of years; motion alludes to
continuity, and it’s a promise for the future of “Kinesis” itself.

Ticket Prices: $21 general admission. Free for Pacific students, faculty and staff. Online ticket sales only. Purchase tickets at https://www.pacificu.edu/musictickets.

Eight-time Grammy-winner Beck has traveled light years from his emergence as a reluctant generational spokesperson when “Loser” exploded from a rejected 1992 demo into a ubiquitous 1994 smash. In the decades since, Beck's singular career has seen him utilize all manners and eras of music, blurring boundaries and blazing a path into the future while simultaneously foraging through the past.

Surfacing just as the mainstream and alternative rock intersected, no small thanks to his 1994 debut Mellow Gold, Beck quickly confounded expectations with subsequent releases including the lo-fi folk of One Foot in the Grave. But the album that first cemented Beck’s place in the pantheon was 1996’s multi-platinum Best Alternative Grammy winner Odelay. Odelay remains a key cultural touchstone from the indelible hooks of "Devil's Haircut” and “The New Pollution" to the irresistible call and response of the Grammy-winning "Where It's At.”

From the world-tripping atmospherics of 1998's Mutations (Beck's second album to win the Best Alternative Grammy) and the fluorescent funk of 1999's Midnite Vultures through the somber reflections of 2002's Sea Change, 2005's platinum tour de force Guero, 2006's sprawling The Information, 2008's acclaimed Danger Mouse-produced Modern Guilt, no Beck record would ever sound like its predecessor.

That pattern would be upended in sublime sonic fashion with the 2014 release of Morning Phase. A companion piece of sorts to his 2002 masterpiece Sea Change, Morning Phase conjured the staggering downtempo impact of that record through the lens of an infectious optimism. The chorus of critical acclaim for Morning Phase was instant and unanimous, as Beck rolled into 2015 taking the Album of the Year top honor at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, as well as the prize for Best Rock Album. Morning Phase also won in the Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical) category.

True to his chameleonic nature, Beck followed up Morning Phase’s subdued beauty with Colors, an intoxicating rainbow of auditory tricks and treats that went on to win Best Alternative Music Album (Beck’s third) and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (the second Beck album to do so) at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019. That same year, Beck would offer a first glimpse into his 14th studio album Hyperspace with the stunning surprise single “Saw Lightning”—written and produced by Beck and Pharrell Williams, who would be credited as co-writer and co-producer on seven of Hyperspace’s 11 tracks.

Beck has spent much of the last few years dazzling live audiences with a grab bag of engaging performances ranging from a handful of freeform one-off shows, to 2023’s massive Summer Odyssey tour with co-headliners Phoenix. Summer Odyssey played to packed houses from the Kia Forum in L.A. to Madison Square Garden and beyond, and was followed by a historic full concert performance with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra—which inspired a series of orchestral performances at the likes of New York’s Carnegie Hall and London’s Royal Albert Hall. The past few years have seen Beck embark on limited runs of orchestral dates featuring musicians who played on milestones including Mutations, Sea Change and Morning Phase accompanied by native orchestras in each city, delivering uniformly unforgettable evenings of unique symphonic arrangements of classics and deep cuts from his towering catalog and beyond.

JOSEPH is the Oregon-bred sister trio of Natalie, Allie, and Meegan Closner, known for
their powerful harmonies, emotionally honest songwriting, and genre-blurring blend of
indie pop, folk, and rock. Since releasing their breakout debut I’m Alone, No
You’re Not in 2016—which featured their hit single “White Flag” and landed them
on The Tonight Show, TODAY, and the Billboard charts—the band has steadily built a
devoted following through gripping live performances, national tours, and appearances
at major festivals including Coachella, Glastonbury, and Bonnaroo.

Over the years, JOSEPH has released a string of critically acclaimed records
including Good Luck, Kid (2019) and The Sun (2023), praised for their rich vocal
arrangements andsoul-baring lyricism. Their most recent release Closer to Happy (2026)
marks their boldest and most personal work to date. Co-produced with Luke Niccoli (Carly
Rae Jepsen, Miya Folick), the project explores themes of grief, self-trust, and radical selfacceptance.
Whether through triumphant anthems like “I Believe In Myself” or gut-punch
ballads like “Bye and Bye,” JOSEPH continues to turn lived experience into songs that
resonate far beyond the surface.

the tudor choir
+ doug fullington

Tudor England (c1485–1603) was deeply unstable — yet monuments of its Latin sacred music survived, including the Sarum rite chant used before the Reformation. This chant formed the basis of devotional works by Taverner, Sheppard, Fayrfax, and Tye. It appears directly in several pieces on this program — among them Sheppard’s deeply moving Libera nos, whose chant melody is shown here. This music is inseparable too from the stone abbeys and cathedrals it was made to fill. These Stones Remain restores these masterworks to their spiritual home, performed by the Northwest’s own Tudor Choir.

• Sacred Masterworks from Tudor England

This fall, Portland welcomes an extraordinary celebration of classical ballet as PRIMA Ballet Gala brings together artists of the Grand Kyiv Ballet and international guest performers for one unforgettable night.

More than a performance, PRIMA Ballet Gala is a night of elevated artistry – where timeless classics meet contemporary expression, and the stage becomes a space of beauty, power, and emotion.

The program features iconic highlights from world-renowned ballets including Don Quixote, Spartacus, and The Dying Swan, alongside vibrant national dance such as the thrilling Hopak, set to music by legendary composers including Tchaikovsky.

Begin your evening on the red carpet, then step inside for a celebration of artistic excellence and international cultural connection.
Guests are warmly encouraged to attend in the evening attire, helping create an atmosphere of elegance worthy of this special occasion.

Join us for a rare opportunity to experience world-class dancers, timeless choreography, and a night filled with beauty and inspiration.

Seats are limited. Be part of PRIMA Ballet Gala — where ballet speaks from the heart.

DOSS (DJ Set) + CFCF (DJ Set) at Holocene, Portland, Thursday, November 5, 2026 · 9PM · 21+ · $28.18 – $31.99. Over the past ten years, the mononym “ Doss ” has come to represent something increasingly rare in the world of dance music: not just a...

Part of the Portland Book Festival, ‘Sight Reading - Musical Dialects’ features world-renowned songwriters performing newly created arrangements alongside musicians from 45th Parallel Universe. Night one features Jimmie Herrod, Black Belt Eagle Scout, and Nick Jaina.

Jake Xerxes Fussell is a North Carolina-based musician and thoughtful interpreter of folk songs, drawing on nineteenth- and twentieth-century vernacular music and archival field recordings. He has released five studio albums, including his latest, When I’m Called, produced by James Elkington and featuring a range of guest musicians. Fussell and Elkington also collaborated on the soundtrack for the film Rebuilding. Dougie Poole is also featured.

Under the direction of Dr. Abbie Brown, the Pacific University Symphonic Band will present its fall concert program, “City Trees: Urban and Natural Landscapes.” This concert program allows the ensemble and audience members to be in conversation about the way natural and urban landscapes interact with one another and features music that speaks to these two themes. The concert is presented in collaboration with the Pacific University Art Department as students in Drawing and Painting classes depict one piece in particular, Planet B by Catherine Likhuta. Other pieces on this program include Flaxen Tresses by James M. David, Shenandoah by Omar Thomas, and Under Pines and Stars by local Washington composer Megan Vinther.

Ticket Prices: $11 general admission, $8 for seniors, military and non-Pacific students. Free for Pacific students, faculty and staff. Online ticket sales only. Purchase tickets at https://www.pacificu.edu/musictickets.

Station to Station: A Roadtrip Through Modern Creativity, Directed by Doug Aitken. 62min. Not Rated.

The Station to Station feature film is made-up of 62 one-minute films including conversations, performances and unrepeatable moments from the journey, bringing together an amazing cross- section of people and places, from icons of culture to a hitchhiker found on a desert road. With each changing minute the film explores creativity through a different artist, musician, place or perspective, ultimately revealing a larger sense of modern expression transcending the individual voices.

Station to Station is a journey through our evolving creative culture.

Featuring: Beck / Jackson Browne / Thurston Moore / Patti Smith / Ed Ruscha / Doug Aitken / Giorgio Moroder / Mavis Staples / Cat Power / Lawrence Weiner / William Eggleston / Mark Bradford / No Age / Urs Fischer / Olafur Eliasson / Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti / Dan Deacon / Christian Jankowski / Ernesto Neto / Thomas Demand / Sasha Frere-Jones / Cold Cave / Stephen Shore / Suicide / Lucky Dragons / Eleanor Friedberger / Gary Indiana / Paolo Soleri / Scott Dadich / The Congos / Savages / Aaron Koblin / Sun Araw / Liz Glynn / Yoshimio Trio / Theesatisfaction / White Mystery / Sam Falls / Black Monks Of Mississippi / Cornbread Harris / Bloodbirds / The Conquerors / Destruction Unit

We do not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, and films exhibited don’t necessarily reflect the views of PAM CUT or the Portland Art Museum. In addition to the synopses, trailers, and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on sites like Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com.

Forging a muscular sound out of contrasting sonic vistas that include pop hooks, theatrical melodies, jazz-influenced chord voicings, rock rhythms, and sludgy guitars, Slothrust ("sloth-rust") offer a unique spin on the angsty sounds of the '90s. Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Leah Wellbaum, the group's label debut, 2014's Of Course You Do, included a track that was adopted as the theme song to the FX series You're the Worst. They continued to build and expand their sound with ambitious albums like The Pact and 2021's Parallel Timeline as well as the unpredictable EPs I Promise (2023) and Wildcard (2025).

November 15, 2026

Family Series

Alice McLerran’s classic children’s book The Mountain that Loved a Bird tells a heartwarming story of unlikely friendship between a barren mountain and a visiting bird named Joy. Experience Portland-based composer Caroline Shaw’s musical interpretation of the story as the book is narrated live in this celebration of friendship that teaches us the transformative power of kindness and care.

• Su-Han Yang Harold & Arlene Schnitzer Associate Conductor
• Pam Mahon Narrator
• Dance West Jason Davis, Artistic & Technical Director
• Pacific Youth Choir Chris Maunu, Artistic Director; Amber Schroeder, Associate Conductor
• Oregon Symphony

This concert is part of the Family Series, and is eligible for the Choose Your Own Series (Portland only).

This concert is part of the 2026/27 Sounds Like Portland festival.

Hailing from Germany, the three Schumann brothers have been playing together since childhood. Together with their violist colleague they communicate with an openness and curiosity that has gained them a reputation as one of the most exciting string quartets performing today.

Mon, Nov 9:
Wolf - Italian Serenade
Mozart - Quartet in G Major, K. 73f
Ives - Quartet No. 2
Brahms - Quartet in A minor, Op. 51, No. 2
Tue, Nov 10:
Haydn - Quartet No. 67 in F Major, Op. 77, No. 2
Samuel Barber - Quartet in B minor, Op. 11
Tchaikovsky - Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11

Montreal-born, Nashville-based Allison Russell is a Grammy, Juno, Americana, SOCAN, and Folk Award–winning artist and Polaris Prize–shortlisted singer-songwriter, producer, author, actor, and human rights advocate.

Her acclaimed solo debut Outside Child (2021) was followed by The Returner (2023), released via Concord/Fantasy. Prior to her solo work, she co-founded and toured internationally with Po’Girl, Birds of Chicago, and Our Native Daughters, and remains an active collaborator with OND and a member of Joni Mitchell’s Joni Jam.

In 2024, Russell joined Hozier’s Unreal Unearth tour across the U.S. and Europe, with their duet “Wildflower & Barley” earning her first Billboard Hot 100 entry. Her Rainbow Coalition ensemble and All Returners tour continued through 2025 across Australia and North America. She also co-wrote “Human Mind” with Hozier for Mavis Staples.

Russell has received eight Grammy nominations and one win, alongside multiple honors including Americana Award nominations and Album of the Year, a Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, International Folk Music Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, and UK Americana Awards. She was also named Billboard Women in Music Canada’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year and shortlisted for the Polaris Prize.

She made her Broadway debut as Persephone in Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown in November 2024 and has since completed a second run in the role. Offstage, Russell is a powerful advocate and organizer, curating the historic Once and Future Sounds set at Newport Folk Festival and co-founding Love Rising, which has raised over $550,000 in support of LGBTQIA+ communities.

Her forthcoming memoir will be published by Little, Brown, and her third album is slated for release in 2026.

Internationally renowned concert organist Nathan Laube presents an exciting recital of thrilling organ music from a wide variety of eras and locales. This one-of-a-kind program features a diverse selection of works by Felix Mendelssohn, Dieterich Buxtehude, Charles-Marie Widor, and more. Laube's 75-minute recital showcases both his dazzling technique and his profound gift of listening carefully to the instrument and eliciting from it a thrilling range of musical colors — a combination perfectly suited to the world-class Rosales organ. He'll explore the organ’s full range of tonal colors throughout the program, which is offered in celebration of the organ's 40th birthday this year.

Nathan Laube, a truly generational talent of the time, is one of the world’s most elite organ performers and pedagogues. He is Associate Professor of Organ on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York and International Consultant in Organ Studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in the United Kingdom. His extensive international recital career takes him continually to major concert venues and festivals around the world.

Trinity's pipe organ, built by Manuel Rosales and installed in 1986, is one of the finest pipe organs in North America. Trinity Music is the professional music program of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, comprising the Cathedral Schola, Trinity Choir, and Choir School; a concert series featuring nationally recognized guest artists; and the acclaimed Rosales organ, all in one of Portland's finest acoustic spaces.

Jamila Woods is a musician, poet, and multidisciplinary artist from the South Side of Chicago. Her critically acclaimed debut album HEAVN – an ode to Blackness, girlhood, and home – was released by JagJaguwar Records in 2017. Her sophomore project, LEGACY! LEGACY!, features twelve tracks named after writers, thinkers, and visual artists who have influenced the creator’s life and work – including James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni and Frida Kahlo. Her most recent album, Water Made Us, is a genre-blending song cycle on love and the wisdom of surrender.

Jamila has been featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk, CBS This Morning, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She has shared stages with Corinne Bailey Rae, Rafael Saadiq, Bonobo, Common, Chance the Rapper, Brittany Howard, Macklemore, and many others. An award-winning poet, Jamila’s work often blurs boundaries between poem and song. As cultural critic Doreen St. Felix writes, “It makes you wish all singers were poets.”

Inspired by Crater Lake National Park, Michael Gordon’s Natural History weaves Native and symphonic music in this paean to the natural landscape. Plus, hear works by two of classical music’s most intrepid pioneers: Stravinsky’s experimental musical essay on wind and brass sounds, Symphonies of Wind Instruments,and Beethoven’s vivacious and dramatic Symphony No. 1. Oregonian Grace Miedziak enhances the program with a new work that celebrates the Pacific Northwest.

• Norman Huynh Conductor
• Steiger Butte Drum and Singers Native American ensemble
• Members of Portland State University Chamber Choir Ethan Sperry, Conductor
• Oregon Symphony

• STRAVINSKY Symphonies of Wind Instruments
• Michael GORDON Natural History
• Grace MIEDZIAK Cascadence (Rizzo-Cummings Emerging Composer Fellow at the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Symphony commission)
• BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21

This concert is part of Classical Series A, and is eligible for the Choose Your Own Series (Portland only). Concert length is approximately 1 hour 33 minutes, with one intermission.

This pre-concert talk takes place one hour before the Sunday matinee performance.

SUN, NOV 1, 1PM: Conductor Norman Huynh and Rizzo-Cummings Emerging Composer Fellow Grace Miedziak with All Classical Radio host Warren Black.

If you need any ADA accommodations, please reach out to [email protected].