In these intimate evenings of music and conversation, composers featured at the Schnitz perform and discuss works from the past and present that offer a window into their identities as artists and the ways in which they think about their world. In addition to featuring music crafted by the composers themselves and performed by members of the Oregon Symphony, these concerts will include music that inspires and informs their work.
So, grab a drink, bring a friend, and hear some of the most creative composers and thought leaders of our time offer a fascinating window into the creative process. Hosted by Oregon Symphony’s Creative Chair, Gabriel Kahane.
Three concerts, January 2024 – June 2024
Includes Open Music with Conrad Tao, Open Music with Timo Andres, and Open Music with Gabriella Smith
Conrad Tao has emerged at twenty-eight as one of the most thoughtful and broad-minded artists of our time. A brilliant pianist, violinist, and composer, Tao is an effortlessly engaging raconteur—as comfortable talking about video games, query theory, and dark corners of the internet—as he is about music.
Following his breakout Nonesuch Records debut, Shy & Mighty, Timo Andres has become one of the most sought-after composers of his generation. As a pianist, he’s a fierce advocate for his contemporaries, performing and recording works by composers ranging from Gabriella Smith to Sufjan Stevens.
Gabriella Smith’s music has been performed by many leading orchestras around the world. She’s also a committed environmentalist. During this evening of music and conversation, we’ll hear Gabriella talk about how her paths as artist and activist intersect, where they diverge, and what she believes to be the future of climate activism.
Since its inception in the 1960s with pioneers like Steve Reich and Meredith Monk, minimalism has become one of the most influential forces in contemporary music – and indeed, the ubiquitous soundtrack of our modern American lives. But as a younger generation of composers absorbs the legacy of this movement, what comes next? Juxtaposing minimalist figureheads with a quintet of dynamic new voices, this evening gives a glimpse of a thrilling, varied and emotionally resonant future.
How do we transform and transcend loss as we grieve? The violinist and composer Curtis Stewart spent four years caring for his cancer-stricken mother, a composer and violinist herself. His latest album, of Love., is a personal requiem and tender tribute to his mother's memory. This concert brings together excerpts from Stewart’s album and Grieg's buoyant yet nostalgic Holberg Suite, and also features Missy Mazzoli's gothic and shadowy violin concerto, Dark with Excessive Bright.
Performed with Elgar's Cello Concerto