Kaul Auditorium

Liquid State explores music in constant motion. Through currents of sound, shifting colors, evolving rhythms, and sweeping emotional arcs, the program moves between stillness and momentum, tradition and transformation. Each work reveals how music, like water, can flow, gather force, change shape, and carry us somewhere new. Program includes Omar Thomas’ moving arrangement of “Shenandoah”, the sultry sounds of “Vientos y Tangos” (Gandolfi), fan favorite “Bolero” (Ravel), Masklanka’s powerful “Give Us This Day”, and more… $20 suggested donation at the door The Rose City Pride Bands is a welcoming space for members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community to forge connections through music. We cultivate a network of instrumentalists, music enthusiasts, and members of the LGBTQ+ community to entertain audiences and use music as a vehicle to unify our communities.We believe music empowers communities to collectively build harmonious societies.

This program brings together Johann Sebastian Bach and two of his sons to explore how one musical lineage contains strikingly different voices. J. S. Bach’s compelling Triple Concerto anchors the program, while the distinctive voices of his sons reveal how far the next generation traveled in musical innovation. Johann Christoph Friedrich’s stormy Symphony in D Minor bridges Baroque structure with a more modern dramatic voice, contrasting with Carl Philipp Emanuel’s Flute Concerto, with its lyrical expressiveness and moments of striking intensity. Together, they frame a genuine generational dialogue: are these styles kindred spirits, or rivals sparring across time?

The British ensemble VOCES8 is the world’s top-streaming classical vocal group. The ensemble performs an extensive repertory both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading musicians, orchestras, conductors, and soloists. Versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble’s performance and education ethos. “VOCES8’s gorgeous sound, impeccable ensemble and intense responsiveness to text, harmony and melodic shape is all of the highest quality. Hearing them sing is a joy.” BBC Music Magazine

Step into the world of early English consort music, flourishing in Restoration England under Charles II. Curated by Principal Cellist Joanna Blendulf, this year’s Podium concert presents a rare combination of instruments: tenor and bass viols, violas, violins, violone, theorbo, organ, and harpsichord, creating a sound that is intimate and reedy. Purcell’s celebrated Chacony is underpinned by a hypnotically repeating bass line that yields to the Fantasia upon One Note, where a single unchanging pitch anchors the music while the ensemble spirals around it. William Lawes’ Consort Sett No. 6 (a personal favorite of Joanna’s) is dramatic, unpredictable, and ahead of its time. Music by Matthew Locke adds theatrical flair with stormy scenes from The Tempest, before the concert culminates in John Jenkins’s Newark Siege: a musical battle that pits bass viols against one another in a riveting finale.

In the Baroque sensibility, death was not something to fear but rather a peaceful homecoming, and no composer understood that better than Bach. The program culminates in his beloved cantata Ich habe genug, a deeply consoling meditation on death that unfolds like a lullaby. Countertenor Tai Oney returns to PBO, bringing a warm, mellow sound that pairs naturally with the oboe, an instrument Bach uses like an echo or guiding spirit alongside the singer. Works by Telemann, Scarlatti, Torelli, and Pergolesi build steadily toward this destination, including Telemann’s Oboe Concerto in C Minor, a dramatic spotlight for the instrument.

One of the most prolific recording and touring ensembles in the world, Chanticleer loves Portland audiences almost as much as we love them! The Grammy award-winning vocal ensemble is known for its wide-ranging repertoire, dazzling virtuosity, and seamless blend of twelve male voices ranging from soprano to bass. “The singing of Chanticleer is breathtaking in its accuracy of intonation, purity of blend, variety of color, and swagger of style.” Boston Globe