In addition to writing frequently about music and dance, Eugene arts advocate Garry Ferrington was also an avid photographer.
The University of Oregon College of Music and Dance’s Oregon Composers Forum will hold a celebration of the life of longtime Eugene arts advocate Gary Ferrington on Saturday, October 19th at 4:00 p.m. at Gary’s former venue, UO The event will be held at the Beall Concert Hall on campus. I enjoy hours of fun and frequently cover concerts for Oregon Arts Watch.
As Gary said in his thank you note after his death in July at age 83, Ferrington was “a photographic artist himself and one of Eugene’s most valuable artistic supporters, especially young composers.” He was a person who worked hard to expand opportunities for his family.” As a journalist and an advocate, Ferrington did more for art and artists in the years following his retirement from a 30-year career as a faculty member at the University of Oregon than most people do in a lifetime. went. ”
In addition to writing about music, dance, online concert streaming, and more, Gary created ArtsWatch’s Oregon ComposersWatch website and served as editor of the international Journal of Acoustic Ecology. After retiring from his longtime faculty position in the university’s education department, Ferrington, an Oregon native, became one of the original arts advocates who made the DIVA Arts Center, which Eugene had mourned, a treasure. .
Towards the end of his rich life, he turned to novels and memoirs. His most important contribution to the arts in Oregon was to introduce the works of up-and-coming young Oregon composers, including many who graduated from the University of Oregon, for which he would be honored.
Following the celebration, a reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Room 190 (Arsenhal Concert Hall) of the School of Music building, 961 E. 18th St., Eugene. The ceremony, concert and reception, which is open to the public, will be coordinated by UO composer Robert Keel, who is also director of the Oregon Composers Forum.
All Classic Radio’s new resident artists James Shields and Emily Cole receive Residential Honors.
Portland’s All Classical Radio has named violinist Emily Cole and clarinetist James Shields as its 2024/2025 Artists in Residence.
From the station’s press release: “Participants in All Classical Radio’s Artist-in-Residence program have access to the station’s world-class studio, research database, digital music archive, industry connections and network; these powerful tools. With ready-to-use tools, artists can develop their portfolios and share their work across All Classical Radio’s wide range of radio and digital platforms, allowing them to engage with audiences locally and around the world. They are fully capable of recording and producing, creating digital content, broadcasting and performing in the community. Artists also receive monetary awards to support their creativity and career development.”
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Heals said in the release that one of his goals is an ongoing songwriting project that expands his repertoire for violin and clarinet.
Members of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra performed and talked about their new positions (one of the only radio station artist residencies in the nation) on the station’s rare Thursday @Three program last week. You can listen to the archived version until October 23rd. ArtsWatch’s double profile to read James Basch’s writing.
The couple succeeds previous resident artists pianist Maria Garcia (2022-23), flautist Adam Eccleston (2020-21) and pianist Hunter Noack (2019).
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Speaking of resident artists, Portland Opera just named its next set. Returning collaborative pianist Clare Forstmann, soprano Ginaia Black, mezzo-soprano Erin Ross Thomas, tenor Nathaniel Kataska, and baritone Matthew Maisano will be joined by guest faculty, visiting artists, and theater company members. She will learn and perform in two free community performances. This Friday, October 18th at 7pm at Alberta House.
Classic praise Coty Raven Morris. Photo courtesy of NAFME.
Speaking of all-classical, one of the organizers, Coty Raven Morris, professor of choral music in the Department of Music and Theater at Portland State University, has been selected as one of the 25 semifinalists for the 2025 Grammy Award for Music Educator for the second year in a row. Ta. The winner will be recognized at the Grammy Awards in January.
The award recognizes music educators across the country who have “made significant and lasting contributions to the field of music education and have demonstrated commitment to the broader purpose of sustaining music education in schools,” according to the announcement. It is.
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As we wrote when she was nominated as a finalist last year, “The former choir director is also a featured author on All Classical Radio’s arts blog (deep breath here). She is a contributor to ICAN Radio, an all-classical 24-hour arts and music network for families, caregivers, and educators, and Hinckley Assistant Professor of Music Education and Social Justice at Portland State University. She is president of the Northwest Choral Society, community choir chair for the Northwest region of the American Choral Directors Association, and of Being Human Together, a community rooted in music education that strives to normalize difficult topics such as mental health. She is also the founder of , Systemic Oppression, Diversity, and Inclusion – Through Conversation and Connection. She somehow elevates the artistic promise of women’s choral music by bringing together the powerful music of women from the past and present. Since then, Morris has also hosted the seasonal show Sound in Print. Read James Bash’s ArtsWatch profile.
Morris will join Morris and his students in “Community Sings” at “Threads of Harmony,” a concert featuring the PSU University Choir and Community Choir on Friday, Dec. 6, at First Congregational Church in Portland. ” is scheduled to lead.
Continuation of the classic conductor merry-go-round…
• Former Eugene Symphony Orchestra music director Giancarlo Guerrero has been named artistic director and chief conductor of Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival. A six-time Grammy Award winner with a deep commitment to contemporary music, he will succeed Oregon Symphony Orchestra Conductor Laureate Carlos Kalmar, who just completed a quarter-century tenure at the Summer Festival. Now in its 90th year, the festival’s Oregon ties include President and CEO Paul Winberg. He moved there in 2011 from a similar position with the Eugene Symphony Orchestra (where he co-starred with Guerrero).
• Sian Zhang has been named the next music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, effective September 2025. Chan, a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning Chinese-born conductor, will be the first woman and person of color to lead the orchestra.
• Finally, check out this nifty New York Times profile of one of the great living jazz masters, Lewis & Clark graduate Tim Byrne.
