We at Cascadia Composers hope you are all staying healthy and coping with the extraordinary circumstances of these days. If any of you or yours do happen to catch the pandemic bug, we wish you and them a mild case and a quick recovery.
Everyone here is hoping to reschedule the NACUSA National Conference, with the same content as had been planned (see below) insofar as is possible. We are actively working on it. However, considering the many uncertainties still surrounding the pandemic and possible aftereffects, along with the major investment of resources (ours and often yours) that every conference is, we regret we can’t realistically project any dates at this time. Although naturally we’d like it to happen sooner, it seems unlikely it could happen before next March.
In the meantime, we plan to livestream selected content planned for the conference in online “concerts” and other presentations. Keep an eye on http://www.cascadiacomposers.o
Cascadia Composers, your go-to source for local new music, is honored to bring you a wider world by hosting the 2020 National Conference of its parent organization, NACUSA (National Association of Composers USA)! This March, Cascadia in partnership with Lewis & Clark College present a three-day bonanza of new music, including six concerts and multiple composer presentations.
A host of renowned performers, including Friends of Rain, Resonance Ensemble, Portland Percussion Group, and piano duo favorites Stephanie & Saar will perform the music of a dozen local composers, plus two dozen more composers from around the USA, all who will be in attendance and eager to hear what our local performers do with their music and what our local audiences think about it.
All concerts are open to the public. Tickets are available at the door, or through Brown Paper Tickets by clicking the icons below. Prices unless noted otherwise are $20 general admission (buys 2 with Arts Card from RACC) / $10 (seniors, members, working artists) / $5 (students) / free for 12 and under.
NACUSA 2020 Conference Lineup
Location: Lewis & Clark College
0615 SW Palatine Hill Rd. Portland, OR 97219
• Fresh Finds 3/19/20 3:30PM at Evans Auditorium
We’re starting the conference off with a bang with exciting new works by talented local student composers from Lewis & Clark College, Portland State University and The Evergreen State College! Featured performers include the Evergreen Experimental Music Ensemble, Lewis and Clark’s Cappella Nova (under the direction of Katherine FitzGibbon), and guest luminaries. Students admitted free, all others $5.
• In the ‘Hood 3/19/20 7:30PM at Agnes Flanagan Chapel
Friends of Rain and top-notch guest performers play works by Cascadia composers Adam Eason, Michael Johanson, Alexander LaFollett, Andrew Lewinter, Liz Nedela, Lisa Neher, Gary Noland, Lesley Sommer, and William Toutant. Two hours.
• Beethoven’s 250th 3/20/20 1:00PM at Evans Auditorium
In honor of the 250th year of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth, this concert features Beethoven-inspired piano works by Theresa Koon and David Lefkowitz, plus Stephanie & Saar playing Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge and other works. One hour, half price!
• Spring Fever! 3/20/20 7:30PM at Agnes Flanagan Chapel
Portland Percussion Group goes crazy playing the music of Trent Hanna, Michael Johanson, and Greg A Steinke. Then Resonance Ensemble brings you choral works that speak (mostly) to today’s issues and concerns by local composers Judy A. Rose and Jeff Winslow, and visiting composers Martin Blessinger, Katie Kring, Lansing McLoskey, Liza Sobel, and Ingrid Stölzel. Two hours total.
• Amplitude & Attitude 3/21/20 1:00PM at Evans Auditorium
Electroacoustic and media works by local composer Kirsten Volness and visiting composers Joe L. Alexander, Chris Arrell, Patrice Langsdale-Williams, Timothy Moyers, and David Peoples. Some composers will play in their own works. One hour, half price!
• A Wider World 3/21/20 7:30PM at Evans Auditorium
Friends of Rain and guests celebrate the glorious diversity of new music being created across the USA with performances of chamber works by visiting NACUSA composers Andrew Conklin, Doug Davis, Joshua Hey, Partick Houlihan, Mark Kilstofte, David Lefkowitz, Allen Shearer, Andy Sigler, and Stephen Yip. Two hours.