‘Oregon Stories’ jazz and history come to Liberty Theater
ASTORIA — The 12-piece
Portland Jazz Composers En-
semble announces its most
ambitious project ever: a mu-
sical triptych that tells the sto-
ries of three Oregonians who
triumphed over racial and gen-
der discrimination to achieve
inspiring, notable success.
“Oregon Stories” features
original compositions by
famed ¿lm composer and gui-
tarist Mark Orton (“Tin Hat,”
“Madeline Peyroux”), Darrell
Grant, celebrated pianist and
music professor at Portland
State University, and enseble
Executive Director Douglas
Detrick, an award-winning
composer and trumpeter.
KMHD-FM host Jessica
Rand produced the audio in-
terviews which comprise the
foundation for this musical
chronicle of living history.
Radio broadcast of a studio
recording is scheduled for late
2016, when the “Oregon Sto-
ries” album will be released.
Live performances are
scheduled April 1-8 in the
Oregon Stories
8 p.m. Saturday, April 2
Liberty Theater
1203 Commercial St., Astoria
$20 general admission, $15 seniors, $5
students w/I.D.
Tickets at ticketswest.com
communities where the stories
originated, Hood River, Asto-
ria and Portland:
Astoria’s performance is
8 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at
the Liberty Theater. Astoria
is where Deborah Dempsey
was the ¿rst woman river pilot
to guide oceangoing vessels
over the Columbia River Bar.
Dempsey tells her own story.
The Hood River event is
Friday, April 1, at The Colum-
bia Center for the Arts where
George Akiyama was threat-
ened with violence, and a fel-
low citizen stepped forward
to support him when he came
Submitted Photo
Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble.
home from serving in World
War II. Told by historian Lin-
da Tamura
Portland’s version is Fri-
day, April 8, at The Old Church
where DeNorval Unthank,
a Portland African-Ameri-
can physician, became a civ-
il rights leader. Told by his
daughter Lesley Unthank.
“The ‘Oregon Stories’ proj-
ect makes a powerful state-
ment: jazz is an inclusive art
form that can tell the stories of
many communities, not just of
the elite urban audience often
associated with the music,”
Detrick said. “The project will
allow the PJCE to reach across
the conventional boundaries of
our ¿eld and participate in one
of the most important conver-
sations of our time—equality.”
The Oregon Stories project
was funded in part by the Fred
W. Fields Fund of the Oregon
Community Foundation, and
by the Regional Arts and Cul-
ture Council, and is sponsored
by the Oregon Historical So-
ciety and Oregon Humanities.
The Portland Jazz Compos-
ers Ensemble is dedicated to
the performance of new works
by Portland and Oregon-based
composers. Its exclusive com-
mitment to new music, its
unique instrumentation and its
conductorless performances
(since 2014) set it apart from
traditional big bands and small
jazz groups in Oregon. These
qualities, combined with the
record label and community
roundtables, makes it a unique
organization.
‘Bad Boys’ to serve up 2016 volleyball tourney
Story by EVE MARX
For EO Media Group
SEASIDE — Deng Thepharat
was in Seaside mid-March to
introduce himself to members
of the Seaside Chamber of
Commerce. One of three new
directors of the Seaside Beach
Volleyball Tournament, he
hopes to bring more stream-
lined play, more teams, more
dates and more age groups to
the event.
Thepharat even told cham-
ber members that new smart-
phone technology can provide
hours of free time for compet-
itors — time that can be spent
browsing, dining or shopping
in Seaside.
“<ou’ll be able to ¿nd out
when you play, where you’ll
play and against who,” PT
Thilavanh, the tournament’s
co-director, said. “All this will
be in the palm of your smart-
phone, your tablet or your
laptop. You’ll be able to tell
your friends and family when
you’re playing so they can
cheer you on. .”
Laos to Seaside
Thilavanh and Thep-
harat have been friends since
childhood. They came from
the same small village in Laos
to the Paci¿c Northwest as
child refugees during the war
in Vietnam.
“Our sponsor was from
Seaside, so that’s how we
got here,” Thepharat said.
“We played volleyball in our
village and when we got to
Seaside, we played volleyball
here.”
In partnership with fellow
volleyball enthusiast Mike
Grif¿n, these three are the new
NWAS/Bad Boys Open Vol-
leyball tournament directors
for the 35th annual Seaside
Chamber Beach Volleyball
event Aug. 12-14.
NWAS and Bad Boys Open
Volleyball are two Portland
groups operated by Thepharat,
Thilavanh and Grif¿n, active
members of the volleyball
community and former players
at the Seaside tournament.
Last year 1,509 teams com-
peted on 134 courts.
The Seaside Chamber has
hosted the event for three de-
cades.
Funding charities
An all-charity event, funds
have been raised to bene¿t the
Children’s Cancer Associa-
tion, Wounded Warrior Proj-
ect, Big Brothers Big Sisters
(Columbia NW) and Doern-
becher Children’s Hospital,
among other charities.
Submitted Photo
Deng Thepharat, Mike Griffin and PT Thila-
vanh.
Thilavanh, an informa-
tion technology professional
at Nike World Headquarters
in Beaverton, said the tour-
nament is an asset to Seaside
because it brings people out to
enjoy what the community has
to offer.
“It’s a tradition for many
people and a great start of
new one, not to mention the
revenues it generates for local
businesses,” he said.
Thepharat, a professional
software developer, said he
and his partners put in their bid
to direct the tournament be-
cause they believed they could
improve the game overall.
“We’re introducing music
and we are addressing our pet
peeve that the tournaments be
run on time,” Thepharat said.
“In some tournaments you
don’t play for hours. We’ve
also added an extra day and
more for juniors.”
Grif¿n, founder of Bad
Boys Open Volleyball, which
got its start in 2000, and a
police of¿cer for 20 years in
Washington County in Bea-
verton, said he met Thepharat
and Thilavanh when they
were practically youngsters
and playing in his tourna-
ment.
“I’ve been playing the Sea-
side tournament since 1989 or
’90,” Grif¿n said. “It’s a tra-
dition for a lot of people. PT,
Deng and I threw our names
in the hat when we found out
the chamber was looking for
new directors. Nothing against
the guys who ran it before
— they’re great guys — but
we’ve got some new ideas
we’d like to see happen.”
Grif¿n said he’s really ex-
cited to be part of this tour-
nament. “Volleyball is a big
part of my life, just as it is PT
and Deng’s. I’ve made a ton
of friends through the vol-
leyball community. We know
it’s a big venture to put on the
35 th annual tournament. There
will be expectations and we
hope we do a good enough
job that everybody will be
happy. We’re ready for the
challenge.”
March 31, 2016 | coastweekend.com | 21