music
Thepublicisinvitedtoattendthe
F.A.Gilfillan
MemorialAwardLecture
Cello, Plugged and More
Spring Concerts
AncientHistory:
MicrobialOriginsandthe
GreeningofEarth
Presentedby
L
Dr.StephenGiovannoni
2011F.A.GilfillanAwardWinner
Professor,Microbiology
Mon.Apr.30,2012
7:15Ͳ8:30p.m.
LaSellsStewartCenter,
AustinAuditorium
875SW26 th ,Corvallis
science.oregonstate.edu
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28 APRIL 26, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
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ots of musicians claim the “indie”
label, but Zoe Keating , who
performs May 5 at The Shedd, has
blazed trails for contemporary composer/
performers who seek to chart their own
paths toward sustainable creative
satisfaction. The irony is that for a musician
who’s made her reputation by doing it all
on her own, the solo cellist’s musical track
was initially derailed by, of all things, stage
fright. Her freakouts made a career as a
classical performer, in which fidelity to
every note and other score marking is
essential, out of the question. Just out of
college in the mid ‘90s, Keating began
working on software interfaces in Silicon
Valley while also playing cello in rock
bands. Her two interests converged when
she devised the now-common foot-pedal
looping technique. This enabled her to play
a live cello track, set it on repeat, play
another and then layer that on top of the
first and so on, until she could achieve
orchestral effects (including an arrangement
of the slow movement from Beethoven’s
Symphony #7) with just a plugged-in cello,
computer and pedal.
Keating played in cello ensembles such
as Rasputina and helped found what
became the Portland Cello Project. The
title of her new album, Into the Trees,
reflects her recent move to a cabin in the
woods, and the record itself achieves new
levels of depth and variety despite
Keating’s seemingly limiting formula.
While exploiting the cello’s rich, dark
acoustics, Keating also deftly deploys her
electronics — and in person she exhibits
no trace of the stage fright that once
jeopardized her musical future.
Saturday, April 28, The Shedd hosts two
of today’s leading Hawaiian musicians,
Keola Beamer and Raiatea Helm . Revered
for four decades as one of the masters of the
islands’ mesmerizing slack-key guitar style
(he wrote the first textbook on it), the Big
Island-born Beamer has also forged fruitful
fusions of traditional Hawaiian and
contemporary pop sounds. Still in her 20s,
Beamer’s niece, the Moloka’i-born Helm,
has already garnered many awards, a
Grammy nomination and wide acclaim for
her floating soprano voice and emotionally
engaging performances. This year, the two
joined forces for a breezy, gentle self-titled
collaborative album, which includes covers
of John Lennon and Sandy Denny.
The Shedd brings another strong
combination of talents on May 9, when
jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette
celebrates his 70th birthday tour with help
from his former Miles Davis bandmate
Chick Corea on keyboards and Corea’s
Return to Forever bandmate Stanley
Clarke on bass. Since his Davis days, the
Chicago-born DeJohnette has lifted his
sticks with many of jazz’s most venerated
legends, composed film and TV scores,
made dozens of albums and picked up a
Grammy. This is an all-star band that no
jazz fan should miss.
ZOE
KEATING
Classical fans can catch one of the stars of
the genre Thursday, April 26, when renowned
violinist Midori Goto joins the Eugene
Symphony to play Jean Sibelius’s brooding
Violin Concerto, and the Eugene Youth
Symphony on April 28, both at the Hult.
Another distinguished artist in residence
this month is the terrific French early music
soprano Anne Azéma , who’s completing a
visiting professorship residency at the UO.
Along with presenting public lectures and
student workshops Friday, April 27, Azema
joins vielle player Shira Kammen for
their fourth performance at Beall Hall. The
pair will play music from medieval France,
including songs about spring fever, romance
and just plain lust.
There’s more wonderful Baroque music
onstage Sunday, May 6, at First United
Methodist Church, when Baroque
Northwest (comprising veteran Portland
Baroque cellist Max Fuller , Seattle lutenist
and Baroque guitarist August Dennard ,
Eugene organist Julia Brown and flutist
Kim Pineda ) play 18th century court
music from Paris, Berlin and Dresden.
Back at the UO, you can experience a
smorgasboard of young Duck musical
talent May 3 at the emerging artist show at
Beall Hall, featuring the school’s finest
young musicians and dancers. And another
free concert May 6 at Aasen-Hull Hall
brings contemporary works by young
Northwest composers, courtesy of the
Eugene
Contemporary
Chamber
Ensemble . Finally, the UO music profs in
the Oregon String Quartet continue with
the latest complete Beethoven string
quartet cycle May 9 at Beall Hall.
Classical fans can also celebrate the
return of former Oregon Mozart Players
artistic director Glen Cortese at the Hult
on May 5, when the New York-based
conductor brings a new piece: a chamber
orchestra version of his Songs for All
Seasons concert, featuring soprano Emily
Johnson .
Finally, let’s extend a warm welcome to
the city’s newest musical institution Unity
Arts Cooperative, whose May 4 concert at
Unity of the Valley church brings pianist
Scott Cossu along with jazz singer Halie
Loren ’s trio, and more.
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