Oregon Symphony Association

The 22/23 season saw the Oregon Symphony continue to invest in its mission by bringing inspiring music to life on the stage, championing Oregon artists, growing the art form with new commissions, diversifying the genres that we present, and supporting community wellbeing through education and engagement programs. As the largest performing arts institution in the largest city in Oregon, we are committed to our responsibility as leaders in the cultural and economic life of our region. For more than 110 nights of the year, we are helping revitalize our urban cores by bringing people into the heart of portland and salem not only to enjoy great art, but also to support downtown businesses .at this moment of social, political, and economic uncertainty, our community needs music more than ever to educate, unite, inspire, and heal. In fy23, we were proud to meet that need for the nearly 350,000 children and adults who experienced the Oregon Symphony in person through a performance or community event and for the 25 million globally who heard us via broadcast. While it was a challenging year for the artsparticularly so in portlandwe are nevertheless encouraged. Ticket sales for our upcoming 23/24 season are increasing significantly, data indicate that people are listening to orchestral music at record levels, and downtown safety appears to be improving.although we will continue to face challenges as the arts sector recovers, we are addressing them proactively and will continue to lead the way for the arts in Oregon. While we prepare for that future, we continue to bring the power of music to more people in new waysboth onstage and off.

Investing in community equally important to our excellence onstage is the work we do to increase access to the arts. Music supports cognitive development, emotional wellbeing, and social inclusion. Each year, tens of thousands of people experience these benefits through Symphony programs. Following is a sampling of the many ways that our musicians and visiting artists brought the life-changing benefits of music to our community in the second half of fy23.led by harold & arlene schnitzer associate conductor deanna tham, we hosted five young people's concerts this spring: two in portland, two in salem, and one in newberg. Collectively, 6,200+ students in grades 3-8 from seven counties joined us for a ypc performance. Students enjoyed a wide variety of works, from classical masters like beethoven, mussorgsky, and debussy to living composers like gabriela lena frank, andy akiho, frank proto, and 14-year-old portland composer elaina rae stuppler. In march, we hosted three link up concerts in portland for participating students in grades 3-5. During the school year, students learned to sing and play the recorder in their classrooms; the link up curriculum culminates with students performing from their seats in our hall alongside the Oregon Symphony. This year, more than 5,500 students studied in our program and joined us in the hall.we brought back our kinderkonzerts series of in-school performances for students in grades k-2. Three host schoolsfaubion school in ne portland, woodstock elementary in se portland, and lincoln st. school in hillsboroengaged nearly 4,000 students for up-close performances by groups of Oregon Symphony musicians. Each performance featured an ensemble of string, woodwind, or brass players sharing short pieces that demonstrated the tone quality and characteristics of each instrument. Under the guidance of a narrator, students were encouraged to move with the music, respond to questions, clap and sing, and engage verbally throughout each performance. Prior to each classical concert and select pops and specials concerts during the season, we hosted student ensembles in our lobby to give prelude performances. Student performers were recognized from the stage before each concert, and they were invited to attend the Symphony performance free of charge. More than 300 student musicians were afforded this unique opportunity. We also welcomed hundreds of students to witness and learn from orchestra rehearsals. One high school student remarked, "it was eye-opening to see how well the musicians played even at rehearsal, and how the sound changed the more they played together.oregon Symphony musicians and our two artists-in-residence also visited schools throughout our region. They visited band and orchestra ensembles to coach student artists during in-school rehearsals, hosted masterclasses to share innovative teaching techniques with large groups of students, and visited elementary schools to host informational performances ("informances") that inspire young students to study music. Beyond its ability to support learning, music supports emotional wellbeing for people of all ages and backgrounds. For instance, our 2023 lullaby project in partnership with path home supported families in housing transition. Working with Symphony musicians and local singer-songwriters, each family wrote and professionally recorded a lullaby that honored their family. We debuted these heartfelt songs before 200+ community members at an in-person free concert at the alberta rose theater in may; the songs continue to live on our website.recognizing that many people would benefit from the healing power of music who are unable to attend an in-person concert, we take our musicians to meet neighbors where they are. In april, an Oregon Symphony string quartet visited santiam correctional institute in salem to aid inmates' rehabilitation. One man said, "listening to your music was the most peaceful i've felt since i got here." In may, xavier foley performed for and spoke with residents of st. mary's home for boys. For both these groups, music promotes the development of positive behaviors and helps improve impulse control. Our musicians helped to mark significant cultural occasions as well. In recognition of aanhpi heritage month, we partnered with the portland japanese garden to provide a full day of free performances for all garden visitors to enjoy. Groups of musicians shared culturally relevant music, culminating in simone lamsma's performance alongside a traditional japanese koto player and remarks from principal guest conductor jun mrkl on his own japanese heritage. Also in may, we participated in the second annual Oregon rise against hate event at lan su chinese garden, honoring aanhpi communities and demanding an end to anti-asian hate and discrimination. Other examples included Symphony violinist ins volgar belgique performing at an event for the local nonprofit venezuela's voice in Oregon, a percussion ensemble playing at the graduation ceremony for the russian immersion reading program at kelly elementary school in se portland, and vadim gluzman performing for students at congregation beth israel. As we do each year, we offered special concerts for free to our community. In addition to the waterfront concert described in our mid-year report, this spring we hosted the "in harmony" celebration concert which filled the hall with families invited through our nonprofit partners. For many attendees, such a free show may be their only opportunity to hear live music. This concert included the debut of a piece, born out of our partnership with outside the frame (otf), which uses film as an engagement tool to support homeless and marginalized youth. Creative chair kahane worked with otf youth to collaboratively write a piece that included original footage that the students had filmed. The evening also included a piece by giancarlo castro, a portland-based, venezuelan composer whose commissioned work we will premiere in our upcoming season.

Artistic excellence under jean vollum music director david danzmayr, we continued our commitment to vibrant and diverse artistry, inspiring audiences, and examining timely subjects through music. In january, we presented the u.s. Premiere of human archipelago by indian american composer vijay iyer. The piece, featuring cellist inbal segev, explores immigration due to climate disasters. Iyer disrupts the traditional orchestra-soloist relationship by introducing a small group of orchestral players called "travelers" who are in tension with the greater orchestra, requiring both elements to find a way to coexist musically. We also gave the world premiere of our co-commission, violin concerto no. 3, by estonian composer erkki-sven tr. Tr explained that the work, subtitled conversations with the unknown, refers to "an individual trying to find an inner harmony with his other self, an inner voice (conscience), god (in the abstract), or with someone you do not know but wish to have as a close friend." It was written for and performed by virtuoso israeli violinist vadim gluzman. Additional outstanding guest artists in the latter half of our season included pianists emanuel ax and aaron diehl, violinist blake pouliot, artists-in-residence simone lamsma (violin) and xavier foley (bass), creative alliance member andy akiho, and global superstar itzhak perlman. We further made investments in local artists by showcasing Oregon Symphony musicians. Bruce & judy thesenga principal flute martha long performed mozart's flute concerto in g major. Truman collins, sr. Principal second violin chien tan performed alongside xavier foley in bottesini's double concerto no. 2. Our "concerto spectacular" featured solo and chamber works by principal trumpet jeff work; mr. & mrs. edmund hayes, jr. Principal cello nancy ives; principal clarinet james shields; and the entire percussion section.to advance our goal to reach more people in new ways, we experimented with concert formats to integrate audiences with artists. Haitian american nathalie joachima member of our creative alliance, whose diverse composers and musicians bring their unique perspectives to create pioneering works and compelling collaborationshosted a second season of open music . These intimate evenings combined talk and performance to explore the process of composing for guests vijay iyer, gabriela montero, and andy akiho. Each guest curated a program that showcased their approach to composition and sources of inspiration. Creative chair gabriel kahane also curated two chamber concerts at the reser center focused on new music from female composers and composers of color, who are underrepresented in the classical field. The first concert featured the blue hour, a song cycle written collaboratively by composers rachel grimes, anglica negrn, shara nova, caroline shaw, and sarah kirkland snider that explores the beauty, pain, and fragility of life from a female perspective. The second, entitled the law of mosaics, brought together four centuries of music and considered the ways in which artists, by engaging with each other across time, help us to better understand ourselves and the world. It paired historical works by bach, beethoven, mozart and farrenc with contemporary works by ligeti, andrew norman, jessie montgomery, and ted hearne. Beyond the classical series, we stretched artistically to cover a breadth of genres. We produced programs with the world's leading indian tabla player, zakir hussain, and his masters of percussion; drag performer thorgy thor, who rose to fame on "rupaul's drag race; the music of rock legend led zeppelin; classic television themes; movie scores from films like "the goonies and "west side story; and video game music from final fantasy. Our music for families serieshour-long, multimedia performances designed for young childrenagain proved popular. We even added an extra show of peter & the wolf in april to meet demand. As we invested in local classical artists, we invested in local popular artists as well. Over the years, we have given artists like pink martini, blind pilot, storm large, and taylor mac their orchestral debuts, helping them to reach new audiences and growing portland's cultural footprint. This season, we built on that legacy by giving orchestral debuts for rapper amin, pink martini's china forbes, and alt-rock legends the dandy warhols.we invested in artistic excellence onstage while navigating challenges with our concert hall. Unsafe conditions related to inadequate snow/ice removal in winter and failed cooling systems in the spring impeded our ability to host concerts. The Symphony incurred tens of thousands of dollars in extra costs due to these problems; president scott showalter publicized issues in the media to apply pressure to local officials to remedy them. He continues that campaign on behalf of all nonprofit arts groups, testifying in summer 2023 before metro councilors and merc commissioners about problems with the hall's management and their historic cost increases.