Oregon Bach Festival 2009 news, views, and reviews

July 15, 2009

June 18: Marking time at the Laundromat. Suzi Steffen of the Eugene Weekly interviews soprano Amy Adams of the OBF Chorus about preparing to sing in a world premiere.

June 25: Makeover for the ‘MESSIAH.’ The re-imagined choral work has its world premiere July 9, an interview with Sven-David Sandstrom by Bob Keefer from The Register-Guard.

June 25: Anniversaries are the name of the game. Bob Keefer and The Register-Guard previews the 40th annual OBF and its celebration of the works of Handel, Purcell, Haydn, and Mendelssohn.

June 27: Choral classic. Bob Keefer of The Register-Guard covers opening night, and the celebration of Haydn’s 200th with his masterwork The Creation.

June 27: Turn on, tune in. Music writer Brett Campbell from the Eugene Weekly previews the On Ensemble and its world music contributions to the Oregon Bach Festival and UO.

June 29: OBF opens on joyful note. David Stabler of The Oregonian covered the OBF opening, and reports on the “smiles all over it.”

July 2: From the gut. Bob Keefer, from The Register-Guard, interviewed Monica Huggett, revealing that organic strings and a jazz sensibility lend a different sound to baroque classics.

July 2: The compleat and accurate Brandenburgs. Terry McQuilken of The Register-Guard writes that the Portland Baroque Orchestra plays the concertos brilliantly – and in the 18th century fashion.

July 3: PBO and soloists present an epic OBF concert. Portland Baroque’s Brandenburg Concertos aroused in reviewer Lorin Wilkerson of Northwest Reverb the “greatest respect” for the performers.

July 6: Shakespearean program plays rare musical treats. Marilyn Farwell of The Register-Guard writes that the July 3 Purcell program was an authentic rendering of rare musical treats.

July 6: Von stade, orchestra successfully bring Bach the Bard. Delightful singer Frederica von Stade had the audience eating out of her hand, writes reviewer Marilyn Farwell of The Register-Guard.

July 7: Artistic synergy ignites in ‘Midsummer’ program. Terry McQuilkin notes the artfulness and precision of the orchestra, and the satisfying synergy of elements in his review in The Register-Guard.