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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 2003)
MIND BENDING ROCK THAT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO QUIT YOUR JOB, SELL YOUR HOUSE, AND FOLLOW THE GROUP AROUND 2 TICKETS FOR THE PRICE OF 1 FOR THE FIRST 100 TICKET BUYERS PLUS SPECIAL GUEST APRIL W.O.W. HALL PATRICK PARK 22 www.polyphonicspree.com MONQUI.COM TICKETS AT TICKETMASTER GRAND OPENING APRIL 4 TH Oregon Family Dental, PC John J. Park, DDS “Providing quality care with a gentle touch.” 344-7900 • 11th & Chambers • Eugene 24 HOURS - 7 DAYS FREE Crisis Counseling Phone or Walk-in 687-4000 341 E. 12th Avenue • Eugene White Bird Community Crisis Center 20 MARCH 27, 2003 CALL NOW TO RESERVE SPACE 484-0519 ★ BY BRETT CAMPBELL Women’s Voices WOW Hall stages series of extraordinary singers I t’s International Women’s Month, and for lovers of women’s voices, the WOW Hall is the place to be. On Friday, March 28, the Bay Area-based women’s a capella group Kitka returns to the WOW Hall. Kitka specializes in the spicy harmonies and tricky rhythms of Balkan and Eastern European music, but their appeal transcends that genre — they produce some of the loveliest sounds I’ve ever heard from human voices. After al- most a quarter-century, Kitka has gained ad- mirers all over the world, and their past per- formances at the WOW Hall have woven spellbinding tapestries of lush harmonies. This show features material from their gor- geous new album, The Vine. Women’s voices will also ring out at the WOW Hall’s extraordinary April 1 triple bill, featuring Malian singer Mah Damba, the latest in a long family line of griots; the devo- tional chants of the Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo, and the superb Celtic chanteuse Susan McKeown. The diminu- tive diva with the rich voice and progressive approach to Irish music, traditional and mod- ern, is simply one of the finest singers I’ve ever heard, and one of the brightest lights in contemporary Celtic music. Speaking of divine sounds, on Monday, March 31, the WOW Hall is also hosting gui- tar god Adrian Legg, a must-see for fret fans. Another fine improvising instrumentalist and composer, drummer Alan Jones, brings his much-lauded sextet down from Portland on Saturday, April 5 at Luna. After building a strong career in New York and Europe, recording with the likes of Dave Holland, Ralph Towner, Cecil Taylor, Steve Coleman and others, Jones returned to his na- tive Portland and assembled a strong band of jazzers who’ve also played with some of the giants. Luna also hosts a pair of other Portland ensembles, classic jazzers Mirage on Saturday, March 22, and, on Friday April 4, the West Coast Jazz Ensemble, which recreates the ‘50s cool sound of Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker and others. Speaking of Portland, on Friday, March 28, the terrific new music ensemble Third Angle performs an important concert at Reed College of music by three acclaimed contemporary American women composers: Joan Tower, rising star Jennifer Higdon, and three works by Libby Larsen, including the American premiere of “Licorice Stick,” star- ring clarinetist Todd Kuhns. Larsen will talk about her music and women in music before the show, which also features the string quar- tet of Ruth Crawford Seeger, one of America’s finest early 20th century com- posers. You don’t have to skip town to hear some splendid classical music this month. On April 10, the Eugene Symphony presents one of its best concerts of the year at the Hult Center, featuring powerful music appropriate for this terrible wartime: requiems by Mozart and the wonderful contemporary Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. A disciple of Copland and Sibelius, Rautavaara has com- Kitka performs at WOW Hall on Friday. posed in styles ranging from neo-Romantic to avant garde to the Stravinskian neo-classi- cism of his Requiem; his recent music ap- peals to fans of Gorecki and Arvo Part. Mozart’s Requiem is simply one of the most moving and darkly beautiful works ever writ- ten, especially in Robert Levin’s recent, more authentically Amadeian completion. This at- tractive concert also includes one of Haydn’s great London symphonies. And the town’s new amateur orchestra, the Riverside Chamber Symphony, will perform the last of those late Haydn masterpieces on April 3, along with Gounod’s Petite Symphonie and three Hungarian Dances by Brahms at United Luthern Cchurch, 22nd and Washington. On April 5 and 6 at the Hult Center and the UO’s Beall Hall, the Oregon Mozart Players perform an interesting concert fea- turing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, a potent work that’s unfortunately not played nearly as often as his other concertos, in part be- cause you need three strong soloists — in this case, the UO faculty members who comprise Trio Pacifica: violinist Kathryn Lucktenberg, cellist Steve Pologe, and pianist Victor Steinhardt. The wide-ranging pro- gram, conducted by Robert Ashens, also sports overtures by Mozart and Arne and a lustrous Baroque concerto grosso by the in- ventor of the form, Archangelo Corelli. The UO hosts a trio of fine shows at Beall Hall. On Monday, March 31, the great Baroque music pioneer Jaap Schroeder joins fellow violinists Lucktenberg and Alice Blankenship, cellist Marc Vanscheeuwijck and clarinetist Michael Anderson to play Classical quartets by Haydn, Boccherini, and Hummel on period instruments. Schroeder was one of the first violinists to record Mozart on authentic instruments and is an ac- claimed scholar and teacher as well as per- former. On Friday, April 4, flutist Laura Barron plays contemporary music by Astor Piazzola and others, plus a Gershwin medley. And on Monday, April 7, soprano Ann Tedards sings the world premiere of As Dusk in Paradise for soprano, oboe (J. Robert Moore), and percussion (Charles Dowd), composed last year by UO alumna Carol L. Matthews, with texts attributed to Medieval mystical nuns including Hildegard von Bingen. The fascinating program also features a solo motet by Claudio Monteverdi, six medieval Italian songs, and contemporary works by Dowd and John Cage. ew
