AUGUST 18, 2016 // 5
Early music festival set in Astoria
Musica Maestrale
Summer Festival
features concerts
and workshops
Aug. 19 and 20
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Portland country band Denver will perform Saturday, Aug. 20
at the Sou’Wester Lodge in Seaview, Washington.
Hear country rock,
experimental pop
at Sou’Wester Lodge
SEAVIEW, Wash. — The
Sou’Wester Lodge will host
live music performances at
8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday,
Aug. 20 and 21. The shows
are open to the public, and
there is no cover charge. The
Sou’Wester Lodge is located
at 3728 J Place. For more
information, call 360-642-
2542.
On Saturday, Port-
land-based country band
Denver will perform. Shar-
ing vocal and songwriting
duties, Birger Olsen, Mike
Elias and Tom Bevitori are
the heart of Denver. The rest
of the lineup has long in-
cluded several of Portland’s
inest players, currently
consisting of of drummer
Sean MacNeil, bassist Billy
Slater and Lewi Longmire
on lead guitar.
The band’s latest album,
“Rowdy Love,” showcas-
es the distinct voices of
Olsen, Elias and Bevitori.
It’s a natural melding of
styles that’s evolved from
afternoons on Olsen’s back
porch, late nights around
Elias’ ire pit, and every last
time they’ve nailed “The
Weight” harmonies at the
old Triple Nickel. Denver’s
three songwriters may come
to the process with varying
styles and inluences, but
Denver’s country songwrit-
ing is universally honest
and bare, whiskey-fueled,
sweat-soaked, and steeped in
working class life.
On Sunday, a group of
songwriting friends — Tara
Jane O’Neil, Katy Davidson,
Cynthia Nelson and Geoff
Soule — will collaborate
to bring listeners a night of
music.
O’Neil is a multi-instru-
mentalist, composer and
visual artist. She creates me-
lodic and experimental mu-
sic under her own name and
in collaboration with friends.
Her recordings and live per-
formances range from solo
songing to noise improvisa-
tions. She has composed and
performed music and sound
for ilms, theater and dance
performances, and written
large and small ensemble
experimental architectures.
Davidson (formerly Dear
Nora, Key Losers) writes
and performs lyric-driven
experimental pop music that
explores the liminal zones
between reality and alt-re-
alities.
ASTORIA — A festival of
concerts, workshops and so-
cial events with well-known
performers and instructors
of Renaissance and Baroque
music is coming to Astoria.
The Musica Maestrale
Summer Festival will take
place Friday and Saturday,
Aug. 19 and 20. All concerts
and workshops will be at
Grace Episcopal Church,
located 1545 Franklin Ave.
Musica Maestrale, a Port-
land-based early music en-
semble, brings together local
musicians with national and
international reputations to
perform the varied repertoire
from the 16th, 17th and 18th
centuries. Using only histor-
ically accurate instruments,
Musica Maestrale explores
the tone, depth and character
of the quieter, temperamen-
tal Renaissance and Baroque
instruments, and aims to
provide a more intimate
musical experience than that
of the modern orchestral
concert.
The festival features
morning and afternoon
workshops for musicians
and auditors as well as noon
and 7 p.m. concerts open to
the public.
Performers and workshop
leaders include: Phil and
Gayle Neuman, who focus
on Renaissance instruments
and consort music; Musica
Maestrale Artistic Director
Hideki Yamaya, a lute, early
guitar and continuo special-
ist; Christine Beckman, a
violin and Baroque instru-
mental performer; Gwen-
dolyn Toth, a harpsichord
and continuo performer; and
Arwen Myers, a soprano and
Baroque vocal performer.
Friday’s events focus
on Renaissance music. The
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Violinist Christine Beckman performs frequently with the Pa-
ciic Baroque Orchestra, the Salish Sea Early Music Festival, and
the Seattle Baroque Orchestra.
Gwendolyn Toth plays harpsichord and continuo.
morning and afternoon
workshops, taught by the
Neumans, are on Renais-
sance consort performance.
The noon concert will
feature Yamaya on lute and
early guitars. The evening
concert from 7 to 9 p.m. will
feature a selection of Re-
naissance music performed
by Ensemble de Organo-
graphia.
Saturday’s events focus
on Baroque music. The
morning workshop is a
Baroque vocal master
class taught by Myers and
Yamaya, while the after-
noon workshop is a Baroque
instrumental master class by
Beckman and Yamaya.
Saturday’s noon concert
will feature the Neumans on
Musica Maestrale Artistic
Director Hideki Yamaya is a
guitarist and lutenist who has
been active as a performer
and teacher in California and
Oregon for over 15 years.
Soprano Arwen Myers has been featured as
a soloist with such ensembles as the Portland
Baroque Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Or-
chestra and the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.
extreme early instruments.
The evening 7 p.m. concert
will showcase Baroque
vocal music with Myers
and Yamaya, followed by a
post-concert gathering.
A variety of different
ticket packages are avail-
able. Those who want to
participate in all events can
choose from three packages
that include lodging, ranging
from $345 to $450. The
all-event participant package
without lodging is $225. A
limited number of schol-
arships are available for
currently enrolled music ma-
jors. For more information,
email Hideki at hidekiyama-
ya@yahoo.com
Passes to all four music
workshops cost $170 for
participants and $55 for
auditors. Individual work-
shop tickets are $45 for
participants and $15 for
auditors.
Passes to all four concerts
are $45 for adults, $38 for
seniors and $26 for students.
Individual tickets to each
noon concert are $10 for
adults, $8 for seniors and $5
for students. Individual tick-
ets for evening concerts are
available in advance: $15 for
adults, $13 for seniors and
$10 for students. Individual
evening concert tickets at
the door are $18 for adults,
$16 for seniors and $10 for
students.
For more information or
for tickets, visit http://musi-
camaestrale.org
