September 19, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … Come dance the night away as Chamber Music on Tap, the Oregon Symphony’s popular chamber music series that presents four-star music in a beer and pizza setting, kicks off its seventh season with “Tango on Tap,” presented by Tango Pacifico on Wednesday, October 15 at 6 p.m. Chamber Music on Tap, the “listener-friendly” chamber music series, is sponsored by BridgePort Brewing Company, and presented by Fortissimo, the Symphony’s young professional volunteer organization. The BridgePort BrewPub is located at 1313 N.W. Marshall.
Tango Pacifico was formed in 2002 by Symphony violinist Erin Furbee and made their debut at a spring Chamber Music on Tap concert. The members of Tango Pacifico are Assistant Concertmaster Erin Furbee, violin; Symphony member Matthew Faust, violin/viola; Symphony member Jeff Johnson, bass; Alex Krebs, bandoneón/dancer; Joe Powers, harmonica/voice; Mika Sunago, piano; and Carrie Whipple, dancer.
Furbee describes this concert as “an overview of the history of the tango,” and hopes that Portland’s tango community will take advantage of the live music and come out to dance. Tango Pacifico will begin the evening with works from the era known as “The Old Guard,” when the tango originated in the 1900’s to 1920’s. Some of the more famous tangos they will perform from that time include “El Choclo” and “La Cumparsita,” as well as “Milonga de Mis Amores” and “Mi Dolor.”
The ensemble will then present works from tango’s Golden Age, circa 1920-1945, which feature bigger and more elaborate arrangements as well as more demanding dance steps. Works from this period include “A La Gran Muneca,” “Nueve de Julio,” “La Punalada,” “Gallo Ciego,” “Danzarin” and the most famous tango of all time, “Celos,” better known by its other name, “Jealousy.”
Tango Pacifico will end the evening with works from the Tango Nuevo period and its most famous composer, Astor Piazzolla, including “Libertango,” “Escualo” and his haunting “Ballada Para Un Loco.” Piazzolla, who played the bandoneón, a relative of the concertina and accordion, featured the instrument in many of his slower works, including “Oblivion,” “Soledad” and “Milonga del Angel.” The bandoneón, a rare instrument known as the “devil’s box” with its two keyboards, is extremely difficult to play. “There are perhaps only six bandoneónists in the whole United States,” Furbee explains. “We are extremely lucky to have bandoneónist Alex Krebs living here in Portland with us.”
Chamber Music on Tap is held on the third Wednesday of each month from October through March. The concerts provide audience members the opportunity to interact with musicians and socialize while sampling the brewery’s homemade pizza and handcrafted, award-winning ales in the pub’s unique building, a 100-year-old former rope factory.
Tickets are $6 for Fortissimo members, $12 for the general public and may be purchased in advance at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at the door, if available. All proceeds from the evening benefit Fortissimo.
Erin Furbee, originally from Chicago, joined the Oregon Symphony as Assistant Concertmaster in 2001. She attended the University of Michigan, received her B.M. from Rice University, and did her graduate work at the University of Minnesota. Prior to playing in Portland, Erin was a member of the Colorado Symphony for eight years, and with the Milwaukee Symphony for a season. She has appeared as a soloist with the Oregon Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, and the University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestras. While in Denver, she developed a passion for tango music, and in 1998 co-founded a four-piece tango ensemble called Extasis. In 1999, with a generous grant from Tango Colorado, she went to Buenos Aires to study with several members of the great tango orchestras there. After moving to Oregon, Erin formed Tango Pacifico, which made its debut in 2002 at the Bridgeport Brew Pub for the Chamber Music on Tap series. Last September the ensemble received a grant from the Knight Foundation (through the Oregon Symphony) and performed on a Tango/Samba show at the Portland Northwest College of Art. Tango Pacifico has also performed on collaborations with the Argentine tango community at Tango Berretín and at the Miracle Theater. Erin also performs with Fear No Music and teaches privately. She especially enjoys coaching students for auditions, and has taught a class at Portland State University on audition preparation. Erin is very excited to be performing for the Chamber Music on Tap series once again, and hopes that this time everyone will get up and dance!
Matthew Faust is a member of the Oregon Symphony violin section. Originally from Minneapolis, Matthew was also a member of the Colorado and Syracuse Symphony Orchestras. He attended Morningside College, received his B.M. at the University of Cincinnati, and his M.M. at Brooklyn College. Matthew also enjoys playing chamber music and teaching. He is delighted to be performing not only violin but also viola (his first real love) with Tango Pacifico on this concert.
Jeff Johnson was born and raised in Missoula, Montana. He has degrees from the University of Montana and the Eastman School of Music, and also attended the Cleveland Institute of Music. He was Principal Bass of the San Antonio Symphony from 1982 to 1992, and has been a member of the Oregon Symphony since 1992. He has played at numerous summer festivals, including the Aspen, Chautauqua, Round Top, Cascade Head, and Sunriver festivals. He is a member of the Third Angle New Music Ensemble and is on the faculty of the Community Music Center.
Alex began his tango studies in San Francisco and then traveled to Buenos Aires where he spent six months between three visits studying under Argentine Tango maestros. Since graduating from Reed College in 1999, Alex has been busy paying off his student loans by teaching and performing Argentine tango in 15 major U.S. cities and eight European cities, performing in Buenos Aires, co-teaching and performing with Argentine tango masters and choreographing for the tango shows: “Tango Nights,” Piazzolla’s “Histoire du Tango,” the Miracle Theater’s “Danza Tropical,” and “Tango al Tiempo” and in a tango show with the New York Tango Trio at the Benaroya Theater in Seattle.
Joe Powers had a harmonica in his mouth almost before
his first tooth came in. He got one for Christmas at
the meager age of 19 months and it hasn't left his
side since. He began playing with bands in the Portland
area at the age of 14 while studying with Northwest
blues harmonica legend, Arthur “Fresh Air” Moore.
In 1995 he received a first and second place award
at the Yellow Pine harmonica contest in Idaho. In 1996
His funk-rock group, “Seizure Salad” went
on to win the first annual Portland High-School Battle
of the bands.
After a brief 1999 tour to B.C., Canada as a guest
artist with the Jon Stone Country Band, Joe returned
to Eugene and graduated fall of 2000 with a degree
in music composition from the University of Oregon.
While there he had studied voice with Brazilian baritone,
Angelo Dias and composition with acclaimed west coast
composers Robert Kyr and David Crumb. He also participated
in the Eugene Opera, “Artist Mentor” understudy
program and numerous musical/theatrical productions.
Heavy interest and involvement in the local social
dance scene eventually carried him half-way around
the world to Buenos Aires, Argentina where he immersed
himself in the rich music, dance and poetry of the
tango.
Joe is currently a featured harmonica and vocal soloist
with the Conjunto Berretín, a tango performance
group, along with acclaimed northwest jazz pianist,
Tom Grant, and has appeared with Tango Pacífico
members in recent performances at the Southeast dance
studio, “Milonga Berretín,” as well
as the April 2003 Milagro theater production of “Al
Tiempo De Tango,” written and directed by Portland's
Tango maestro, Alex Krebs.
His current band, Rose City Kings (www.rosecitykings.com)
was recently hailed by The Oregonian as “The
hottest new blues act in Portland.” Bob Ancheta
from the Kink FM102, Sunday Night Blues Show, characterized
RCK’s new CD, “Delta Hop,” as “A
local release that will knock your socks off.” RCK,
having been together only a year, has already accomplished
a great deal having opened for such legends as Curtis
Salgado, Bo Diddly, David Lee Roth, Coco Montoya and
Tommy Castro to name a few, and can be heard regularly
on blues playlists for both Kink and Portland’s
own Jazz station, KMHD.
Over the years Joe has performed many styles of music,
from funk to folk, classical to country, and has studied
harmonica with such notable masters as world-renowned
classical harmonica virtuoso Robert Bonfiglo, former
Harmonica Rascals member Eddie Gordon and Argentine
blues master Ruben Gaitán. Joe continues to
perform and teach in the Portland area at his northwest
harmonica studio where he is currently accepting new
students.
Mika Sunago, a native of São Paulo - Brazil,
has performed and placed in several national and international
competitions. Sunago moved to the United States in
1987, where she completed her Bachelor and Master's
Degree in Piano Performance and Conducting at Indiana
University, receiving a prestigious “Performance
Certificate” from that institution. Mika has
accumulated vast experience in solo and chamber music.
She has played for masters such as Josef Gingold, Franco Gulli
and Janos Starker as well as a collaborate pianist
for performers such as Leila Josefowicz, Hannah Chang and
Christine Walewska. Her performances of Latin American
music have been broadcast in radio and TV programs
in the US (NPR), Japan (NHK & ABC), Austria (ORF),
Argentina (Solo Tango & RAE) and Brazil (FM Cultura/TV
Cultura).
Mika has performed chamber music and solo concerts
throughout Brazil, Argentina, Japan and the United
States, including Puerto Rico. Locally, she teaches
at Reed College and has been soloist with the Columbia
Symphony and performed with Third Angle Ensemble, Fear
No Music, the Oregon Symphony, Portland Chamber Orchestra
and Tango Pacifico. Mika has two CDs released: “Between
the Tropics" (collection of solo Latin American
Piano Music) and “Café 1930” (Piazzolla
Tangos) which were featured in several music magazines
and newspapers in Asia and South America.
Carrie began her passionate work with tango in February 2002 while on a quest for greater connection in partner dance. For the past twenty years, she has explored several distinct dance forms, including ballet, salsa, hip-hop, swing, and tribal bellydance, but has recently found herself captivated by the intense power and endless depth of tango.
