Demonstrating the inherent passion of such dances as the milonga, tango, and samba, the group launches the tour in Portland July 11, followed with Bend on July 12, Eugene on July 13, and Ashland on July 14.

A native Oregonian, Powers was given a harmonica at age two and has pursued musical adventures ever since. After gaining a music degree from the University of Oregon he traveled and performed in cities from Tokyo to Paris to tango-crazy Buenos Aires, where he honed his world-conquering harmonica skills. Powers won the Belgian Crystal Harmonica Award/Classical Division in 2008.

Known for exploring a wide range of genres including jazz fusion, classical, blues, pop rock, hip-hop, Latin, and new age, Powers “can play everything from blues to tango,” writes Rob Cullivan of the Portland Tribune, “and is one of the finest chromatic harmonica players on this planet.”

But tango is his deepest passion, and for his OBF tour Powers has enlisted some of the tango world’s leading players.

Argentine pianist Octavio Brunetti studied classical piano at the National School of Music and has played with many of Argentina’s most important tango musicians and singers. He has collaborated as arranger with composer Osvaldo Golijov, was first-prize winner in the Solo Pianist and Duos categories of the New York International Tango Competition, and has performed and recorded with superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Another Argentine, guitarist Guillermo García, co-founded and has toured and recorded with the San Francisco tango group Trio Garufa. As a dancer, he learned Argentine tango from Buenos Aires masters of the salón, milonguero and nuevo styles, and teaches a weekly tango salón class in San Francisco. He holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford, and has developed audio technology for Gibson Guitar and Silicon Graphics.

Bassist Bernardo Gomez and percussionist Jesse Brooke, both active in Portland’s world music scene, complete the quintet.

For more concert and ticket information, see the links below or visit our tickets page. The tour is made possible by sponsorship from US Bank.

“Tango Harmonica” concerts, all times 7:30 pm

• Wednesday July 11, Portland (Lincoln Hall at Portland State University)
• Thursday July 12, Bend (Tower Theatre)
• Friday July 13, Eugene (Beall Concert Hall)
• Saturday July 14, Ashland (Southern Oregon University Recital Hall)

The 5 Browns perform July 12

Tickets are now on sale  for the 2012 Oregon Bach Festival, for a record 30 ticketed concerts in 14 different venues in 7 cities.

Review our ticket pages for venue and price options.

Tickets can be purchased instantly online, or by mail, phone, or through ticket outlets for events in other cities. Those outlets include TicketMaster, TicketsWest, the UO ticket office, Tower Theatre, and our home base, the Hult Center Bach’s Office. See the grid below or visit our ticket page for full info.

All Eugene and Corvallis concerts (except Pink Martini 7/1)

• Hult Center for the Performing Arts

Pink Martini July 1, Cuthbert Amphitheatre

• All Safeway Ticketswest outlets, online at Ticketswest online
• Charge by phone at 1.800.992.8499.

BachFest PDX (Portland)

• June 30 Joshua Bell, through the PCPA ticket office and TicketMaster.
• Online, in person, or by phone through the UO ticket office, 541.346.4363

Ashland, Lincoln City

• Online, in person, or by phone through the UO ticket office, 541.346.4363

Astoria

• Liberty Theater Box Office, 503.325.5922

Bend

• Online, in person, or by phone through the Tower Theatre, 541.317.0700

Monica Huggett directs the Portland Baroque Orchestra's "Goldbergs"

This exciting string ensemble version, arranged by Russian violinist and conductor Dmitri Sitkovetsky, is quite a variation from the traditional work, originally composed for a single harpsichord performer. “The variations turn out to be quite well suited for string instruments,” writes Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, John Adams, in his program notes for the piece. “Such a recasting sheds new light on the music by drawing out expressive elements that previously could only be hinted at when played on a harpsichord or even a modern piano.”

With 30 complex variations, each movement seemingly more complex than the last, the piece is famously inventive and considered to be an exceptional example of the variation form of composing. So powerful is the work that the Festival is celebrating it not only with the tour, but with other concerts, panel discussions and films as well.

The spark igniting the flame of this year’s Goldberg extravaganza is the double birth and death anniversaries of enigmatic pianist Glenn Gould (1932-1982), who was passionate about Bach’s work and was closely associated with the Goldberg variations during his life.

The Eugene performance of the Goldberg Variations, sponsored by Valley River Inn, begins at 7:30 PM in Beall Concert Hall. Tickets range from $15 to $45 for the general public (youth tickets are $10) and can be purchased online at oregonbachfestival.com/tickets.

The Goldberg Variations four-city tour is made possible through support from Oregon Public Broadcasting and a grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Tickets are now on sale for this year’s four-concert series, which runs June 30 – July 11 at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, and Lincoln Hall on the PSU campus.

Returning to Portland after bringing audiences to their feet in three sold out performances with the Oregon Symphony in January, violin virtuoso Joshua Bell makes his OBF debut, kicking off the concert series with Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Taking Mendelssohn’s most celebrated orchestral piece to the next level, Bell will perform his own cadenza at the high point of the work. The all-Mendelssohn concert, Saturday, June 30, continues with the Italian Symphony and the exciting choral work The First Walpurgisnacht. Conducted by Helmuth Rilling, the performance of these works, all by a composer influenced by Bach, is sure to make a powerful impact.

Reflecting passion of a different hue, Matthew Halls will conduct Michael Tippett’s modern choral work, A Child of our Time on Friday, July 6. The work was Tippett’s heartfelt response to the tragedies he witnessed during World War II. Modeled after Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Tippett engages the audience during crucial moments of the work by integrating American spirituals in place of the Passion’s chorales. In Halls’s view, “these hauntingly beautiful pieces, involving practically everyone on stage, resonate powerfully” with contemporary audiences. Halls, who will succeed Helmuth Rilling as artistic director following the 2013 Festival, opens the concert with Bach’s Lutheran Mass in G Major.

Continuing on Monday, July 9, John Scott, top organist and music director of New York’s St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, will perform Bach’s most extensive and celebrated organ piece, Clavier-Übung III. The piece contains a grand total of 27 complex compositions, which reflect the main musical themes of the time as well as Bach’s religious views. Scott will perform on the 4,000-pipe Rosales organ, which the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral refers to as “one of the finest pipe organs in America.”

Wrapping up this year’s Bachfest PDX is harmonica virtuoso and native Oregonian, Joe Powers. On Wednesday, July 11, along with his international quintet and a troupe of tango dancers led by Alex Krebs, Powers will perform an eclectic mix of traditional and modern tango, demonstrating the inherent passion of such dances as the milonga, tango, and samba.

To purchase Bachfest PDX tickets or for more detailed information, please visit the Oregon Bach Festival ticket page.

Bachfest PDX festival schedule

• Saturday, June 30, 7:30 pm Joshua Bell plays Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto; also Mendelssohn’s Die Erste Walpurgisnacht and Italian Symphony, all conducted by Helmuth Rilling (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, $26-$90)
• Friday, July 6, 7:30 pm A Child of our Time, Michael Tippett’s modern choral masterwork inspired by World War II; also Bach’s Lutheran Mass. OBF choir and orchestra conducted by Matthew Halls (Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, $29-$45)
• Monday, July 9, 7:30 pm Top organist John Scott performs Bach’s most extensive organ work, Clavier-Übung III (Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, $10-$25)
• Wednesday, July 11, 7:30 pm Harmonica virtuoso Joe Powers, his international quintet and a quartet of tango dancers perform traditional and modern tango, evoking sounds of Argentina (Lincoln Hall at Portland State University, $10-$25)

Part 1/2

St. Matthew Passion, Goldberg Variations, Tango Harmonica

J.S. Bach, Angela Hewitt, Helmuth Rilling

Part 2/2

Joshua Bell, A Child of our Time, Beall Hall concerts by Helmuth Rilling and Matthew Halls

Monica Huggett and the Portland Baroque Orchestra perform in Astoria, Corvallis, Eugene, and Lincoln City. Photo: Torsten Kjellstrand

Tickets are now on sale  for the 2012 Oregon Bach Festival, for a record 30 ticketed concerts in 14 different venues in 7 cities.

Anyone can submit an order via the Festival’s online form or mail-order form for tickets to all events, cities, and venues, although first priority goes to current Friends of the Festival at the $100 level or above.

It’s a good deal if you order by April 27. You’ll pay only $5 per order handling fee—a big savings from most online ticket purchases.

During this priority period, Friends of the Festival receive their exclusive Friends ticket discount, up to 20% off concerts in the “OBF Performance” series of concerts, depending on the number of events purchased.

During the March 21-April 27 time period, orders are held for processing by the Hult Center Bach’s Office, and then returned by mail beginning early May.

Review our ticket pages for venue and price options.

Download the print order form, which can be returned by mail or fax or delivered in person.

Over the Counter on sale May 8

Beginning May 8 tickets can be purchased instantly online, or by mail, phone, or through ticket outlets for events in other cities. Those outlets include TicketMaster, TicketsWest, the UO ticket office, Tower Theatre, and our home base, the Hult Center Bach’s Office.

Helmuth Rilling. Photo: Michael Latz

Tickets are now on sale for the 42^nd Oregon Bach Festival, June 29-July 15, 2012 in Eugene, Portland, and five other cities.

Conductor Helmuth Rilling, superstar violinist Joshua Bell, keyboardist Angela Hewitt, the Portland Baroque Orchestra, and harpsichordist/conductor Matthew Halls explore Bach’s spellbinding Goldberg Variations and his monumental St. Matthew Passion within the theme “The Power and the Passion.”

Guest artists include pop orchestra Pink Martini, the Joe Powers Tango Quintet, and piano-playing siblings The 5 Browns.

Bach’s towering Passion influences the Festival throughout. In his next-to-final season as artistic director, Rilling will conduct the work as the grand finale in Eugene, and fully explore its structure in four lecture-concerts. Rilling also conducts Joshua Bell and Mendelssohn in the opening concerts June 29-30 in Eugene and Portland, a night of Bach motets and concerti July 11, and guest-conducts the 15^th anniversary concert of the Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy July 8.

The St. Matthew lecture concerts will be filmed in high definition as the next major work on the OBF’s innovative digitalbach.com website, produced in association with the Hinkle Charitable Foundation.

Joshua Bell performs in Eugene and Portland June 29-30

Opening weekend performances to be conducted by Rilling June 29 in Eugene and June 30 in Portland will spotlight masterworks by Mendelssohn, the composer who spurred Bach interest with his revival of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829. The program will include the rousing choral spectacle Die Erste Walpurgisnacht, the Italian Symphony, and the composer’s most celebrated contribution to orchestral music, the E Minor Violin Concerto, with Joshua Bell as soloist.

Widely hailed as one of the music world’s great performers, and the newly named Music Director of The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Bell will take Mendelssohn one daring step further by performing his own cadenza—the work’s climactic extended solo.

More than two hundred years after the St. Matthew Passion, British composer Michael Tippett translated its structure and emotional impact into the modern classic A Child of Our Time. Moved by events preceding the Nazi Kristallnacht attacks, Tippett focused his work on the story of a young man’s attempt to seek justice. Tippett integrated American spirituals in place of the Passion’s chorales, creating a musical work with a universall appeal and deeply dramatic effect.

British conductor Matthew Halls, who succeeds Rilling as the Festival’s artistic director after the 2013 season, will conduct A Child of our Time July 6-7 in Portland Eugene. Halls will open the concert with Bach’s celebratory G major Lutheran Mass.

An acclaimed keyboardist as a soloist and with his own London-based Retrospect Ensemble, Halls will also perform as soloist July 9 in an all-Bach chamber concert.

Bach’s Goldberg Variations is the other thread to weave through the fabric of the 2012 Festival, in a year that marks major birth and death anniversaries of Glenn Gould, the enigmatic genius closely associated with the work:

• Portland Baroque Orchestra tours a string orchestra arrangement of the variations to Astoria, Lincoln City, Corvallis, and Eugene.
• The acclaimed pianist Hewitt performs the set on piano July 14 in Beall Hall.
• OBF Cinema will present two prize-winning films about Gould in Eugene’s Bijou Art Cinema, both running daily July 7-13 at 4 pm.
• The Variations will be the topic of the July 14 Hinkle Distinguished Seminar, with Halls, Hewitt and musicologist Tim Smith.
• Halls’s recording on harpsichord of Bach’s Goldberg Variations will be the audio track for the second interactive component added to the Digital Bach website.

John Evans, OBF executive director, characterized the Festival as one that illuminates the power of connections. “With Helmuth conducting the St. Matthew, and Matthew Halls both performing and conducting Bach, audiences will experience the strong present and bright future of the Festival,” he said.

“But foremost is the opportunity to see and hear the many ways—through concerts, film, lectures, talks, and digital media—that Bach’s music permeates and enriches our cultural life.”

Beyond Bach, the festive side of the 2012 OBF schedule includes:

• 

  Thomas Lauderdale and Storm Large of Pink Martini. Photo: James Chiang

  Pink Martini with vocalist Storm Large at the outdoor Cuthbert Amphitheatre Sunday, July 1 following the conclusion of Eugene’s Olympic Track and Field Trials.

• Pianist Ya-Fei Chuang in a recital of music by Liszt, Debussy, and Earl Wild.
• Bach’s enthralling organ work the Clavier-Ubung III in Eugene and Portland performed by John Scott in Eugene and Portland july 6-9. Scott serves as music director at Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York and was  previously music director at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
• A salon-style soiree of music by Debussy, celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth.
• The passion and intrigue of “Tango Harmonica” in Portland, Bend, Eugene, and Ashland featuring the Joe Powers Tango Quintet.
• A full schedule of educational and community events including free concerts, lectures, and panel talks.

Advance tickets are now on sale via the OBF’s online order form with priority given to contributing Friends of the Festival. Full over-the-counter and charge-by-phone sales at all venues and ticket outlets begins May 8.

Storm Large. Photo: Jennie Baker, Photo Mandala

OBF’s first-ever concert at the beautiful  Cuthbert Amphitheatre Sunday, July 1 features one of our state’s great natural resources: Pink Martini! And another first: making her Eugene debut with the band is lead singer Storm Large.

Storm Large fills in for China Forbes, who’s taking this tour off to spend some summer with her little one. Storm’s been busy too: her new book Crazy Enough was an Oprah book of the week, she starred in Randy Newman’s Harps and Angels at the Mark Taper Forum in LA, and will travel to Carnegie Hall performing Kurt Weill’s “Seven Deadly Sins” with the Oregon Symphony.

In 2002 she moved to Portland, and with her band The Balls went from wild club act to cult status. In 2006 she was tapped to appear on CBS’ reality show Rockstar: Supernova – a three-month TV blitz that gained her worldwide fame – and in late 2006 her single “Ladylike” debuted at No. 5 on the hot singles chart in Billboard magazine. And, in case you’re wondering, that’s her real name.

Download printable PDF schedule (from OBF season brochure)

Helmuth Rilling, artistic director and conductor.
All information subject to change.

Wednesday June 27

6:00 pm  Light the Torch fundraiser (Valley River Inn)
6:30 pm  Live broadcast: Tango Harmonica (KLCC)

Friday June 29

6:30 pm Inside Line: Linda Hathaway Bunza (Soreng)
6:45 pm Opening Ceremonies: PICCFEST Choirs (Hult Center Lobby)
7:30 pm Joshua Bell plays Mendelssohn—Eugene

Saturday June 30

1:00 pm  On the House: PICCFEST Choirs Guest choirs Youth Choir Merituuli (Finland) and St. John’s Boy Choir (Minnesota) (Hult Lobby)
7:30 pm  Joshua Bell plays Mendelssohn-Portland (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall)
7:30 pm  The Goldbergs on Strings—Astoria Portland Baroque Orchestra; Monica Huggett, director. (Liberty Theater)
9:00 pm  OBF Cinema: We Grew Wings (McDonald Theatre)

Sunday July 1

3:00 pm  The Goldbergs on Strings—Corvallis (LaSells Stewart Center)
7:30 pm PICCFEST Gala (First Baptist)
8:00 pm  Pink Martini with Storm Large (Cuthbert Amphitheatre, Eugene)

Monday July 2

12:00 pm  Organ Interludes: EIRay Stewart-Cook (Central Lutheran)
7:30 pm  The Goldbergs on Strings—Eugene (Beall Concert Hall)

Tuesday July 3

12:00 pm Let’s Talk: Matthew Halls (The Studio)
4:30 pm  Discovery Series: Bach St. Matthew Passion Part 1 (Soreng Theater)
7:30 pm  The Goldbergs on Strings—Lincoln City (Lincoln City Cultural Center)
7:30 pm  Guy and Nadina Carnets de Voyage Nadina Mackie Jackson, bassoon; Guy Few, piano, trumpet, corno da caccia (Beall Concert Hall)

Thursday July 5

12:00 pm  Let’s Talk: John Scott (The Studio)
4:30 pm  Discovery Series: Bach St. Matthew Passion Part 2 (Soreng Theater)
7:30 pm Ya-Fei Chuang in recital (Beall)

Friday July 6

1:00 pm  On the House: SFYCA Soloists (Hult Lobby)
7:30 pm  John Scott: Bach organ recital—Eugene Bach: Clavier-Übung III (Central Lutheran Church)
7:30 pm  A Child of Our Time—Portland Matthew Halls, conductor (Trinity Episcopal Cathedral)

Saturday July 7

Patron Celebration (by invitation; time and details TBA)
10:00 am  OBF Kids: Buzz and Crow (The Studio)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Genius Within-The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
6:30 pm Inside Line: Linda Hathaway Bunza (Soreng)
7:30 pm A Child of Our Time—Eugene (Silva Concert Hall)

Sunday July 8

4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Genius Within-The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
7:30 pm Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy Anton Armstrong, Helmuth Rilling, conductors (Silva Concert Hall)

Monday July 9

12:00 pm Let’s Talk: Anton Armstrong (The Studio)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Genius Within-The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
7:30 pm Matthew Halls: Bach keyboard concerti (Beall Concert Hall)
7:30 pm  John Scott: Bach organ recital—Portland (Trinity Episcopal Cathedral)

Tuesday July 10

1:00 pm  On The House: Boeckman/Linsenberg Duo (Hult Lobby)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Genius Within-The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
4:30 pm Discovery Series: Bach St. Matthew Passion Part 3 (Soreng Theater)
6:30 pm  Inside Line: Stephen Rodgers (SOMD 163)
7:30 pm Debussy Soiree (Beall Concert Hall)

Wednesday July 11

12:00 pm Let’s Talk: The 5 Browns (The Studio)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Genius Within-The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
6:30 pm Inside Line: Marc Vanscheeuwijck (SOMD 163)
7:30 pm Helmuth Rilling: Bach Motets and Concerti (Beall Concert Hall)
7:30 pm Tango Harmonica—Portland Joe Powers and Tango Quintet (Lincoln Performance Hall)

Thursday July 12

1:00 pm On the House: Young Chamber Players (Hult Lobby)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Genius Within-The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
4:30 pm Discovery Series: Bach St. Matthew Passion Part 4 (Soreng Theater)
7:30 pm Tango Harmonica—Bend (Tower Theater)
7:30 pm  The 5 Browns (Silva Concert Hall)

Friday July 13

12:00pm Organ Interludes: Julia Brown (Central Lutheran)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
4:00 pm  OBF Cinema: Genius Within-The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Bijou Art Cinema)
7:30 pm Tango Harmonica—Eugene (Beall Concert Hall)

Saturday July 14

10:00 am OBF Kids: Peter and the Wolf Dance Theater Oregon (Soreng Theater)
12:00 pm Hinkle Distinguished Seminar: The Goldberg Variations (The Studio)
7:30 pm Tango Harmonica—Ashland (SOU Recital Hall)
7:30 pm  Angela Hewitt in recital: The Goldberg Variations (Beall Concert Hall)

Sunday July 15

3:00 pm Bach St. Matthew Passion Helmuth Rilling, conductor. (Silva Concert Hall)

In the first part, Raphael explains about how the group was formed and how the member’s interests led to the acclaimed CD Fiction.

In part two, Raphael talks about this Sunday’s concert and the progression from one of Mozart’s Haydn Quartets, and makes a “trip” between the classical Vienna of Schubert and the golden age of St. Petersburg in Tchaikovsky’s “Accordion” quartet.

In the conclusion of the interview Raphael  points the way towards a new quartet project based on the concept of water as the purest component of life.