Category: Portland, OR

Gregory Vajda, the resident conductor of the Oregon Symphony, will lead the orchestra this coming weekend in a special holiday concert with Chris Botti on Friday and Saturday evenings and a holiday music and dance spectacular on Sunday afternoon.

Vajda took a little time out in his busy schedule last week to chat over a cup of coffee about what he has been doing. I’ll tell you, he has been keeping a hectic scheudle. Continue reading Catching up with Gregory Vajda

Today, YouTube announced that it is creating the first symphony orchestra to be created from online submissions. This is no joke. The YouTube people are putting up a lot of money to team up with Michael Tilson Thomas, Tan Dun, The London Symphony Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall to find classical musicians (no age restrictions) for this orchestra. Those who are chosen will get a chance to play a Tan Dun composition under MTT at Carnegie Hall. I think that this is a terrific opportunity. Continue reading YouTube Symphony Orchestra

While in New York, I learned that the Met has launched a new thing called Met Player so that you can now watch Met productions – some in HDTV – on your computer when you want. The Met has made 13 High Definition videos and 39 historic TV performances available. Right now you can take advantage of a 7 day free trial. I guess that means that you can watch as many operas as you can stand for 7 days before you have to pay anything. Afterwards, you can try one of several rental options.

Click here to find out more about Met Player.

Jennifer Koh gave one of the best-ever performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto on Saturday night with the Oregon Symphony. She played this demanding work with passion, understanding, technical precision, and uplifting artistry, making us hear the music as if we were hearing it for the first time. Continue reading Koh on fire in Brahms concerto with the Oregon Symphony