Resonance presents “Abya Yala," a gathering that spotlights indigenous artists.

For immediate release: February 15, 2022

Resonance Ensemble presents “Abya Yala,” a gathering that spotlights the words, music, and visual art of indigenous artists from
Portland and across the Pan Americas.

PORTLAND, OR — Resonance Ensemble returns to Cerimon House on March 5 & 6 to present ABYA YALA: a gathering that spotlights the words, music, and visual art of indigenous artists from Portland and across the Pan Americas. The evening will feature works by composers Gabriela Lena Frank, Mari Esabel Valverde, and Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate – culminating in the world premiere of Resonance’s latest commission, the Abya Yala Choral Suite, by Chilean-born Portland composer Freddy Vilches.

“This concert will explore the idea of Abya Yala, a concept from the Kuna people of Panama adopted by indigenous cultures in the Americas that describes a vision of interconnectedness,” Resonance Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon says. “We're honored to host the composers and artists for this evening of personal and cultural exploration.”

About the Abya Yala World Premiere:

The Abya Yala Choral Suite was co-commissioned by Resonance Ensemble with the Northwest American Choral Directors Association, with a second performance to follow at the NWACDA conference in Spokane on March 12. 

The composer Freddy Vilches notes, “This multilingual composition is the result of many months of research and collaborative work with different poets in Latin America. As a mestizo composer with indigenous roots in South America, my original idea was to compose a choral suite that would include poems in several languages spoken by our indigenous communities in South, Central and North America, as well as their versions in Spanish.” 

This substantial work will include musical accompaniment by Vilches’s own group, Matices Latin Ensemble. For this performance, Vilches has also invited two special guest musicians who are traveling from Chile to join Resonance.

“I’m very excited to be working with Kathy FitzGibbon and Resonance Ensemble for the premiere of my latest composition,” Vilches says. “In these texts we find the constant presence of our ancestors, a profound love for the land ‘Pachamama,’ and a strong call to preserve the languages and cultures of our indigenous communities for future generations.”

Additional Works and Guest Artists: 

In addition to the Vilches premiere, the performance will feature Hombre Errante by Gabriela Lena Frank, a substantial work which loosely adapts Peruvian poems and tales to tell the story of a “wandering man of the Andes.” Oregon Symphony principal cellist Nancy Ives also joins Resonance to perform Mari Esabel Valverde’s profound reflection “Border Lines” and Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate’s Taloowa’ Chipota.

Celebrated local photographer Joe Cantrell will present an installation of his work at Cerimon House during the concert weekend. Drawing upon his 16 years as a photojournalist, his interest in geological time, and his “Cherokee tradition of viewing the universe” (Oregon Arts Watch), Cantrell has captured a wide array of local subjects and celebrations, from the Waterfront Blues Festival to classical music performances to the immigrant-culture celebrations of Beaverton Market. 

The evening will culminate with a panel discussion that includes Vilches, Valverde, Cantrell, and FitzGibbon speaking on the music, their experiences, and opportunities for the audience to take action in their own communities.

In addition to tickets for a limited audience at Cerimon House, Resonance is also proud to present a livestream of the Sunday concert for donations only, thanks to Resonance’s new REAP Initiative.

Tickets on sale now at resonancechoral.org

Note to Journalists: Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon, composer Freddy Vilches, and Artistic Advisor Damien Geter are available for print, online, and broadcast interviews. If you would like more information or would like to schedule an interview, please contact Liz Bacon Brownson at liz@resonancechoral.org or by calling (503) 427-8701.

FOR MORE INFO:
Media Contact: Liz Bacon Brownson | Email: liz@resonancechoral.org | Phone: (503) 427-8701
YOUTUBE LINK: youtube.com/c/ResonanceEnsemble

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Introducing the REAP Initiative: Resonance Ensemble Access Project

The world looks a lot different now, but artists are still finding a way to safely create, foster community, and share powerful stories. Last year showed us at Resonance Ensemble the incredible global demand for free, online access to our programming - which is why we are proud to present the Resonance Ensemble Access Project (REAP), our initiative to ensure that all of our concerts are available to the world both in-person and online.

We can’t do it without you.

Providing this vital accessibility also increases the expenses of producing our concerts, so we are asking viewers like you to make a donation in lieu of a ticket purchase, at whatever level you're able, and for our supporters to consider an additional donation to underwrite this access for those who cannot afford to donate. 

The REAP Initiative. Providing free, online access to the music of Resonance Ensemble.

About Resonance Ensemble

In its thirteenth season, Resonance Ensemble, a professional vocal ensemble based in Portland, Oregon, creates thoughtful programs that promote meaningful social change. Resonance Ensemble works to amplify voices that have long been silenced, and they do so through moving, thematic concerts that highlight solo and choral voices, new and underrepresented composers, visual and other performing artists, and community partners. 

Under Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon, Resonance Ensemble has performed challenging and diverse music, always with an eye toward unusual collaborations with artistic partners from around the country: poets, jazz musicians, singer-songwriters, painters, dancers. The Resonance Ensemble singers are “one of the Northwest’s finest choirs” (Willamette Week), with gorgeous vocal tone, and they also make music with heart. 

The groundbreaking work that Resonance Ensemble has been producing over the last few years has been noted by local media and national arts organizations. In Oregon Arts Watch, Matthew Andrews described Resonance as “Part social commentary, part group therapy, and part best damn choir show in town" (June 2019). Chorus America honored Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon in the summer of 2019 with the Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal for her work rededicating Resonance to promoting meaningful social change, and for the meaningful community partnerships she creates. For the tribute to Dr. FitzGibbon, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaJMVozrcPo. 

About Freddy Vilches

Freddy Vilches Meneses is a composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and educator based in Portland, OR. Originally from Santiago, Chile Freddy has recorded and performed extensively throughout the US and Latin America. He received his PhD in Romance Languages from the University of Oregon, specializing in Latin American Literature of the 20th and 21st Centuries. His research interests include Latin American literature, music, and film. At Lewis & Clark College, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of World Languages and Literatures, and instructor of several traditional instruments (charango, cuatro, and Afro-Cuban percussion) and director of the Latin American Ensemble in the Music Department. 

As a scholar, he has published several articles on Latin American poetry, fiction, film, and music. As a producer, in 2021 Freddy released a documentary film on the Abakua Secret Society in Cuba, and is currently producing the 75th anniversary album of Conjunto Chappottin, one of the most emblematic Son bands in Cuba. 

As a composer, he has written  music in a wide variety of styles from Latin America and the Caribbean. He has also composed several symphonic works including his recent “Suite Latinoamericana,” a work consisting of five movements which features music, styles, and instruments of the Andes, Colombia and Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, and Cuba.   “Suite Latinoamericana” is scheduled to be performed in Cuba and Bolivia in 2022. Abya Yala Choral Suite is his second major composition dedicated to the indigenous people and cultures of Abya Yala.

About Mari Esabel Valverde

Award-winning composer and singer Mari Esabel Valverde (b. 1987) has been commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Seattle Men’s and Women’s Choruses, and Boston Choral Ensemble among others and has appeared with Dallas Chamber Choir, Vox Humana, and EXIGENCE (Detroit). Fluent in Spanish and French, she actively studies Brazilian Portuguese and Swedish. She has translated numerous vocal works and documents including a phonetic guide of Ravel’s opera L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. Based in North Texas, she taught voice at the high school level for over six years. Her former students have participated in All-State Choirs and State Solo Competition. She currently teaches singing and transgender voice training with Your Lessons Now.

marivalverde.com/long

About Matices Latin Ensemble

Under the direction of Freddy Vilches, Matices Latin Ensemble plays an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary music from Latin America and incorporates a variety of elements from Latin music, Brazilian Bossa Nova, Cuban Son, and Latin Jazz. 

facebook.com/Matices-Latin-Ensemble

About Nancy Ives

Composer and cellist Nancy Ives has “built a career of such spectacular diversity that no summation will do her achievements justice.” (Artslandia) Deemed a “local treasure” by the Portland Mercury, Ives enjoys an illustrious performance career which informs her eloquent and enduring compositional style. By way of an adventurous and multifaceted career, which includes more than 20 years as Principal Cellist of the Oregon Symphony, performances and collaborations with virtually all of the region’s premier performance organizations, and a history of service to enrich the local cultural community, Ives is a gracious and essential cornerstone of musical life in the Pacific Northwest.

nancyives.com/biography

About Joe Cantrell

“I am a member of the Cherokee tribe, raised in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, which may, or may not, have something to do with this.

As a child, I thought all things in nature had a Spirit. I broke rocks open to discover what lay inside them, but I always felt a pang when I did it, a little prayer asking forgiveness of the rock and the order that had placed it with me. Plant life was the same way, flowers looked and smelled beautiful, but the changes in their geometry as they passed through the life cycle were more enticing. Zen seemed to have more answers than science for me. Now approaching age seventy, digital photography makes those explorations visible for others. I’m just a valve. I point the shiny side of the camera at something, push the button, and things pass through so you can see them, too. Often, I don’t even “see” what I’m photographing, rather, I feel it and am thoroughly surprised when the final image appears.

So as you look here, these are YOUR images. You are participating by seeing them in your mind, from your perspective, and that invokes all that you are. The object, photograph, viewer and photographer become a single thing. We sense things relative to ourselves, according to human perspective based on an average size of, say, 170 cm. tall, 75 kg. So, something that is the size of a fingernail seems “small,” and an automobile seems “large.” Yet in a universal perspective (whether we are aware or not, the one in which we all exist) our entire planet seems microscopic, and we, with all our “achievements,” and superstitions and egos, an insignificant, self-destructive nothing. BUT, we are part of All That! See!”

www.agiyo.thecolorpixels.com/#text_about

About Cerimon House

Cerimon House is a cultural arts organization that presents performance, visual arts, and community programming. Led by Artistic Director Vin Shambry, we envision a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community in Portland that embraces the arts, culture, history, story, and ceremony. Cerimon House programs a variety of performances, workshops, and art installations, and we make our building available as a convening space for performance art, community events, conversations, and experiences that bring about a better world. 

www.cerimonhouse.org

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For more information: 

Website: /resonancechoral.org
Youtube: /c/ResonanceEnsemble
Facebook: /resonanceensemblepdx
Instagram: /resonanceensemblepdx
Twitter: /resonanceensemblepdx

Hashtags: #resonanceensemblepdx #Resonance #ABYAYALA

A Quick Note of Thanks from Cerimon House Board Chair Will Patton!

Meet Will Patton...

Will is the Board Chair from Cerimon House. With his generous spirit and big smile, Will has always been someone we look forward to seeing each time we enter their beautiful building. Will is a shining example of Cerimon's mission-in-action as he "empowers artists to create, connect to, and elevate communities."

We especially appreciate his willingness to sing for you today!

Located in NE Portland, Cerimon House is a place Resonance performs frequently because of its beautiful acoustic, welcoming energy, and supportive community. Visit their website today and get to know more about this unique offering in our city.

Thank you Will Patton and everyone at Cerimon House for helping us KEEP THE MUSIC GOING!

JOIN WILL, AND HELP RESONANCE KEEP THE MUSIC GOING!

Help us support amazing community venues like Cerimon House this year and beyond! We are currently raising funds for a wide array of exciting new projects, including newly commissioned works, like our premiere of theAbya Yala Choral Suiteby Freddy Vilches. In addition to the Cerimon House premiere in March, the work is also being featured later this spring on the ACDA Northwest conference. Supporters like you help to not only fund the commission of new works, but allow us to showcase the incredible talent of Portland in other cities.

Support Resonance Ensemble with your gift today. Now through December 31, when you contribute $25 or more you will automatically be entered into a drawing for Resonance merch and other fabulous prizes!

TICKET GIVEAWAY: Can you guess the melody before the BIG REVEAL on Friday, December 31, performed by the Resonance Team? Email us with your guess and you will be entered into a drawing for two free tickets to ABYA YALA!

Name that Tune and Help Resonance Keep the Music Going!

To add some fun to our year end fundraising campaign, we have invited several mystery Resonance supporters to help us KEEP THE MUSIC GOING.

Each mystery supporter has submitted a video either singing or playing a “quick note of thanks.” With each video, we will reveal a new note of a (possibly) familiar tune! Over the next few weeks, the song will reveal itself. Can you guess the melody before the BIG REVEAL on Friday, December 31, performed by the Resonance Team?

IT ALL STARTS TOMORROW!
We can’t wait to introduce you to the first mystery supporter who will sing their quick note of thanks...

So. Much. Fun.

…and speaking of fun…

LET’S HEAR IT FOR FUN GIVEAWAYS!
The first person to correctly identify the melody on Facebook and on Instagram will each win two free tickets to our March concert.

You can also win prizes by donating! For every $25 you donate, you will be entered into our Donor Drawing. Each week, we will draw one winner who will receive two tickets to the March concert as well as some exciting Resonance branded merch! (Tshirt! Baseball Cap! Notepad! Oh! My!)

A Letter from Artistic Director, Kathy FitzGibbon

Creating innovative ways to make music safely, foster community, and share powerful stories. 

Dear friends of Resonance Ensemble:
 
As we say goodbye to 2021, we see signs of hope for the world we have been re-imagining. With vaccination and mask requirements in place for our singers and audiences, the Resonance team continues to create innovative ways to make music safely, foster community, and share powerful stories.
 
With your support, we share bold new music globally. Your contributions have allowed us to develop the Resonance Ensemble Access Project (REAP), providing FREE high-quality live-streamed concerts. REAP fosters partnerships with local filmmakers and ensures that all of our concerts are accessible to the world.
 
With your support, we present music that inspires reflection and creates change. Our 13th season continues with dynamic new Resonance commissions, showcasing both long-time collaborators and powerful new voices. This spring will see two premieres: the Abya Yala Choral Suite (a commission by Chilean-born Portland composer Freddy Vilches) and the highly anticipated work An African American Requiem (composer Damien Geter’s bold response to violence against African Americans in the United States.)

With your support, you help create new art. Our goal is to raise $30,000 by December 31st—and we can’t do it without your help. We thank you for your ongoing support and ask you to consider a gift to Resonance today.

With your support, we continue. Our commitment to inclusive programming, presenting new music by living composers, engaging nationally-recognized storytellers from across artistic disciplines, and tackling complex issues with empathy and nuance is unwavering.

Along with our artists, staff, and board, I thank you for your commitment to Resonance Ensemble.

Sincerely,

Katherine FitzGibbon
President and Artistic Director

We can't do this without you.

Single Tickets for “HOME” on sale now!

"I hope you all will come and be a part of this conversation about creating a new radical hospitality and help those who are the most vulnerable."
—Alexander Lloyd Blake

THIS SATURDAY! Resonance Ensemble presents a concert of works curated by Alexander Lloyd Blake, —the highly-regarded conductor of the Los Angeles vocal ensemble Tonality. Tonality’s mission parallels Resonance’s, seeking to “deliver authentic stories through voice and body to incite change, understanding, and dialogue.” This exciting event is taking place at the beautiful Cerimon House for a limited audience, and streamed live for listeners everywhere. ONLY 50 tickets will be sold - don't wait - buy yours today. 

Resonance Ensemble presents their season opener, “HOME,” a concert of contemporary works focused on displacement.

Resonance partners with Operation Nightwatch and Tonality conductor Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake to present “HOME.”

PORTLAND, OREGON — On Saturday October 2, 2021 at 7:30 pm, Resonance Ensemble presents a concert of works curated by guest conductor, Alexander Lloyd Blake—the highly-regarded conductor of the Los Angeles vocal ensemble Tonality. Tonality’s mission parallels Resonance’s, seeking to “deliver authentic stories through voice and body to incite change, understanding, and dialogue.” This exciting event is taking place at the beautiful Cerimon House for a limited audience, and streamed live for listeners everywhere.

Resonance Ensemble, under the direction of Founder and Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon, presents HOME as part of its new 2021-2022 season: RECLAIM—featuring visionary guest artists, inspired new commissions by celebrated composers, and a safe return to in-person performances.

Dr. Blake will lead Resonance in contemporary works by Reena Esmail, Ted Hearne, Melissa Dunphy, Saunder Choi, Cristian Larios, Nathan Heldman, Ysaye Barnwell, and others.

“I have chosen a program exploring displacement, sharing the stories of poets and composers writing about houselessness, refugee experiences, and immigration.” says Dr. Blake, “I hope everyone will join us to be a part of this conversation that explores how we can create a new radical hospitality and help those who are the most vulnerable in our communities feel uplifted and validated.”

Alexander Lloyd Blake

Vin Shambry, a local writer, actor, and storyteller ls also featured on the program. “My impact Is to inspire audience members to connect with the “human-ness” of one another.” says Shambry. “Perhaps the next time they encounter a homeless youth, a survivor of domestic violence, or a black teenage boy, they’ll remember my story and see them with curiosity as a whole, a complex person much like themselves.”

“Perhaps the next time they encounter a homeless youth, a survivor of domestic violence, or a black teenage boy, they’ll remember my story and see them with curiosity as a whole, a complex person much like themselves.”

— Vin Shambry, writer, actor, storyteller

Resonance is also proud to partner with Operation Nightwatch, a Portland nonprofit organization which provides nighttime hospitality for Portland’s unhoused population—committed to promoting dignity, community and social connection. Founded in 1981, Operation Nightwatch provides not only a safe place where those on the streets can find food, socks, clothing, blankets, and medical care, but also caring staff and volunteers who will listen to their stories and welcome them as friends.

Libby Allen, the Program Manager at  Operation Nightwatch’s downtown hospitality center

“We were both inspired and delighted when Resonance reached out to us to partner with Operation Nightwatch on this project,” said Libby Allen, the Program Manager at  Operation Nightwatch’s downtown hospitality center. “Our missions overlap beautifully, both centering a creative approach to social change. Resonance through arts and music, and Operation Nightwatch through radical hospitality. We look forward to contributing ideas and tangible ways folks can join us in providing our unhoused neighbors with dignity, community, and connection.”

“HOME explores the idea of reclaiming space in the world and maintaining one’s sense of home even after being displaced or houseless,” Resonance Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon says. “It’s no secret that Portland’s housing crisis has been worsened by the pandemic, and refugees from around the world are fleeing their ancestral homelands in search of safety and basic rights. Resonance hopes to shine light on these stories with the help of our incredible guest conductor, Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake, who is an artist of vision and purpose, and our new community partners at Operation Nightwatch.”

A panel discussion will follow with Dr. Blake, artists, and community partners speaking on the music, their experiences, and opportunities for the audience to take action in their communities. In addition to tickets for a limited audience at Cerimon House, Resonance is also proud to present a livestream of the concert for donations only, thanks to Resonance’s new REAP Initiative.

Subscriptions are on sale now. Single tickets available starting September 28, 2021.

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Introducing the REAP Initiative: Resonance Ensemble Access Project

The world looks a lot different now, but artists are still finding a way to safely create, foster community, and share powerful stories. Last year showed us at Resonance Ensemble the incredible global demand for free, online access to our programming - which is why we are proud to present the Resonance Ensemble Access Project (REAP), our initiative to ensure that all of our concerts are available to the world both in-person and online.

We can’t do it without you.

Providing this vital accessibility also increases the expenses of producing our concerts, so we are asking viewers like you to make a donation in lieu of a ticket purchase, at whatever level you're able, and for our supporters to consider an additional donation to underwrite this access for those who cannot afford to donate. 

The REAP Initiative. Providing free, online access to the music of Resonance Ensemble.

Note to Journalists: Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon, Artistic Advisor Damien Geter, guest conductor Alexander Lloyd Blake, and Libby Allen, Program Manager for Project Nightwatch are available for print, online, and broadcast interviews. If you would like more information or would like to schedule an interview, please contact Liz Bacon Brownson at liz@resonancechoral.org or by calling (503) 427-8701.

FOR CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS

EVENT TITLE: Resonance Ensemble Presents: HOME - a reclamation of space
DATE: October 2nd,  2021
TIME: 7:30pm
LOCATION: Cerimon House / Livestream
PRICING:  Single tickets to the first two concerts at Cerimon House will be made available after September 28, if space remains. Single ticket prices for those two performances will be priced at $35/adult, $30/senior, $10/student, and $5/Arts for All members. Access via video livestream is free thanks to generation donations to the Resonance Ensemble Access Project (REAP). Further information can be found online at resonancechoral.org, including information on Season Subscription options and pricing which range from $60 -$300.

FOR MORE INFO:
Liz Bacon Brownson | Email: liz@resonancechoral.org | Phone: (503) 427-8701

YOUTUBE LINK: youtube.com/c/ResonanceEnsemble

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About Resonance Ensemble

In its thirteenth season, Resonance Ensemble, a professional vocal ensemble based in Portland, Oregon, creates thoughtful programs that promote meaningful social change. Resonance Ensemble works to amplify voices that have long been silenced, and they do so through moving, thematic concerts that highlight solo and choral voices, new and underrepresented composers, visual and other performing artists, and community partners. 

Under Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon, Resonance Ensemble has performed challenging and diverse music, always with an eye toward unusual collaborations with artistic partners from around the country: poets, jazz musicians, singer-songwriters, painters, dancers. The Resonance Ensemble singers are “one of the Northwest’s finest choirs” (Willamette Week), with gorgeous vocal tone, and they also make music with heart. 

The groundbreaking work that Resonance Ensemble has been producing over the last few years has been noted by local media and national arts organizations. In Oregon Arts Watch, Matthew Andrews described Resonance as “Part social commentary, part group therapy, and part best damn choir show in town" (June 2019). Chorus America honored Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon in the summer of 2019 with the Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal for her work rededicating Resonance to promoting meaningful social change, and for the meaningful community partnerships she creates. For the tribute to Dr. FitzGibbon, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaJMVozrcPo. 

About Alexander Lloyd Blake

Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake works as an award-winning conductor, composer/arranger, vocal contractor, singer, and music activist. Named Musical America’s 30 Professionals of the Year in 2019 and the Louis Botto Award for Innovative actions and Entrepreneurial Zeal from Chorus America, Blake was recently featured in both the NY Times and LA Times for work in diversity and anti-racism within classical music.

Blake is the Founding Artistic Director of Tonality, an award-winning choral ensemble focused on spreading a message of unity, peace, and social justice through a culturally diverse choral setting. He also serves as the Choir Director at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA). He also serves in Los Angeles and New York City as a Principal Associate Conductor of the National Children’s Chorus. As an arranger, Blake’s “Wade in the Water” was a featured arrangement at the North Carolina Music Educators Association convention in 2013 and is published with Santa Barbara Music Publishing. His arrangements of “Deep River” and “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” are published by Alliance Music Publishing and Walton Music Publishing, respectively.  Other musical activities include an opera conducting premiere at the 2019 Prototype Festival in New York City and preparing choirs for live performances with UCLA Center for the Art of Performance.

Recent film and TV credits include singing on the soundtrack of Jordan Peele’s “Us”, Disney’s “Lion King”, and Pixar’s “Spies in Disguise.” Blake also worked as the choral contractor and vocal arranger for Andy Grammer’s performance at the 2019 ARDYs (Radio Disney Awards). Blake recently prepared singers for the 2020 Grammy Awards and performed at the 92nd Academy Awards.

Blake completed the Doctorate in Musical Arts degree at the University of Southern California in 2019. He completed the Master of Music degree at the University of California Los Angeles in 2014 and the Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) in Vocal Performance at Wake Forest University in 2010.

About Operation Nightwatch

Operation Nightwatch provides nighttime hospitality for Portland’s unhoused population to promote dignity, community, and social connection. Under the leadership of its first director, Gary Vaughan, Operation Nightwatch began as a street ministry, its volunteers approaching houseless people in the doorways, loading docks, and campsites where they were bedded down for the evening. In time, a Hospitality Center was established, to which houseless and other low-income people could gather with others for the evening, socializing, sharing stories, and playing games over coffee and sandwiches. The downtown Hospitality Center has since become the hub of Nightwatch's activities, from its foot care clinics to its monthly Birthday Nights and Comedy Movie Nights. It also is a place where people can be supplied with blankets, clothing, and personal hygiene items at a time of day when no other helping agency is open.

About Cerimon House

Cerimon House is a community-based public benefit nonprofit corporation, focused on the cultural arts, as well as a convening space for the kinds of community events, conversations and experiences that bring about a better world. Cerimon programs year-round: a variety of civic events, performances, workshops, and conferences, and make our building available for rentals, public gatherings, and a variety of life celebrations and ceremonies.

The idea for Cerimon House (“…a sanctuary for the Humanities…a place to be restored…”) began in 2009 when founder Randall Stuart assembled a group of his colleagues and proposed the idea of acquiring a building in Portland, specifically to renovate it into a space where humanities-related ceremonies and programming could take place.

Cerimon is pronounced “serra-mon”, and is relatable to the word “ceremony”. 

Randall Stuart named the organization after a beloved character (named Cerimon) in an ancient Phoenician tale, a story also re-purposed by Shakespeare in his late-career play Pericles. 

In his final years Shakespeare wrote tales of yearning including the nautical epic romance Pericles. Early in that story, young Thaisa of Cyrene (northern Africa) embarks on a sea journey with her love Pericles of Tyre (Lebanon), where they encounter a ferocious storm. Thaisa is nearing childbirth, and goes into early labor, and then perishes after delivering their baby. The child is named Marina, and her mother’s body is ceremoniously prepared and tossed overboard. 

Thaisa is then met with a remarkable fortune when her body is discovered on the shores of Ephesus (the coast of Western Turkey), and brought into the welcoming house of a healer named Cerimon, where she is miraculously revived.  In the fourteen years that follow, Pericles is adrift, and the bereft Thaisa seeks comfort as a novitiate at the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. And then another miracle ensues: a chance reunion at that temple with both her sea-tossed partner and long-lost daughter. Hope is restored for this family, the gods are lauded, and bounteous praise is offered to the humble sage Cerimon.

Cerimon is a great neighbor, friend and citizen, and from our center in Portland, we welcome friends into our vision from everywhere.

For more information: 

Website: /resonancechoral.org
Youtube: /c/ResonanceEnsemble
Facebook: /resonanceensemblepdx
Instagram: /resonanceensemblepdx
Twitter: /resonanceensemblepdx
Hashtags: #resonanceensemblepdx #ResonanceRECLAIM #ResonanceHOME

Resonance Ensemble announces its 2021-2022 season: “RECLAIM,” featuring new commissions by celebrated composers and a safe return to in-person performances.

Resonance Ensemble, under the direction of Founder and Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon, announces its new 2021-2022 season: RECLAIM.

Featuring visionary guest artists, inspired new commissions by celebrated composers, and a safe return to in-person performances. 

“There is immense power in who tells history and how. Resonance will work this season to recover the stories of marginalized voices that have been traditionally cut out of the narrative,” says Resonance Ensemble Artistic Advisor Damien Geter. “Our concerts will offer perspectives that allow us all to reclaim a deeper understanding of our shared histories. Only through this reflection will we have the opportunity to build a more just and hopeful future.” 

A season of reclamation:

The season will premiere new music from dynamic composers that explores the gap between housed and houseless communities, celebrates the identities of indigenous people, and honors past and present victims of racial violence.

“Arts organizations around the world have been challenged in extraordinary ways over the last year,” said Resonance Ensemble Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon. “Resonance responded with innovation and perseverance by creating safe ways to perform important music. We reexamined fundamental priorities, and we now continue our work to forge entirely new paths of music-making. We look forward to presenting this inspiring 2021-2022 season that builds upon all we’ve learned over the last 17 months.”

Resonance will have limited numbers of in-person tickets available for subscribers who are fully vaccinated, in accordance with our Health and Safety protocols.  In addition, Resonance is committed to continuing to offer virtual access to all of our concerts this year, with optional donations requested in lieu of ticket purchases. As Dr. FitzGibbon shares, “We are following the latest scientific research to ensure everyone’s safety, and our vaccination and masking requirements are part of that commitment. We’re also thrilled to be able to livestream our performances, ensuring access for audiences globally.”  Our final concert of the year, An African American Requiem, will be broadcast live by our partners at All Classical Portland and WQXR New York. 

Subscriptions on sale now at resonancechoral.org

THE RESONANCE SEASON: RECLAIM — building a more just and hopeful future

HOME - a reclamation of space

Cerimon House
OCTOBER 2, 2021, 7:30 p.m. 
Alexander Lloyd Blake, guest conductor
Vin Shambry, guest performer

Tickets available for a limited audience; please see our Health & Safety policy. Video access available live and afterwards; donations gratefully accepted 

For this concert, Resonance welcomes Alexander Lloyd Blake, the highly-regarded conductor of the Los Angeles vocal ensemble Tonality. Tonality’s mission parallels Resonance’s, seeking to “deliver authentic stories through voice and body to incite change, understanding, and dialogue.” 

Dr. Blake has chosen a program exploring displacement, sharing the stories of poets and composers writing about houselessness, refugee experiences, and immigration. He will lead Resonance in new music by Reena Esmail, Ted Hearne, Melissa Dunphy, Saunder Choi, Cristian Larios, Nathan Heldman, Ysaye Barnwell, and others.

Resonance is also proud to partner with Operation Nightwatch, a Portland nonprofit organization which provides nighttime hospitality for Portland’s unhoused population—committed to promoting dignity, community and social connection. 

A panel discussion will follow, with Dr. Blake, artists, and community partners speaking on the music, their experiences, and opportunities for the audience to take action in their communities. 

____________________________________

ABYA YALA - a reclamation of place

Cerimon House
MARCH 5, 2022, 7:30 p.m. (Portland, OR)
MARCH 6, 2022, 3:00 p.m. (Portland, OR)
MARCH 12, 2022, performance at the ACDA Northwest conference in Spokane, Washington

Tickets for March 5-6 are available for a limited audience; please see our Health & Safety policy. Video access available live and afterwards; donations gratefully accepted 

The Guna people, members of a sovereign nation in today’s Panama, have a concept called “Abya Yala,” the idea of the “land in its full maturity.” Indigenous cultures in much of North and South America have adopted the term to describe the vision of interconnectedness between many indigenous cultures, and between the cultures and the land. The Bolivian Aymara leader Takir Mamani advocates for indigenous cultures to use this term in their governing documents, arguing, “Placing foreign names on our villages, our cities, and our continents is equivalent to subjecting our identity to the will of our invaders and their heirs.” 

In this concert, Resonance partners with indigenous composers and poets, both locally and globally, who are creating works reflecting on this vision, and the gap between the vision and the reality for many indigenous individuals. Resonance unveils the world premiere of our latest commission, the Abya Yala Choral Suite, by Chilean-born Portland composer Freddy Vilches, co-commissioned with the American Choral Directors Association. This work explores pan-American indigenous experiences in partnership with indigenous poets from across Latin America, with musical accompaniment by Vilches’s own group, Matices Latin Ensemble. The concert also features works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Mari Esabel Valverde, and Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate. 

A panel discussion will follow, with artists, and community partners speaking on the music, their experiences, and opportunities for the audience to take action in their communities.

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AN AFRICAN AMERICAN REQUIEM - a reclamation of truth

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
May 7, 2022, 6:00 pm

The eagerly-anticipated world premiere of An African American Requiem, by Resonance’s Artistic Advisor Damien Geter, commissioned by Resonance Ensemble. Performed jointly with the Oregon Symphony

Broadcast live on All Classical Portland and WQXR New York

The Oregon Symphony and Resonance Ensemble join forces to present the world premiere of An African American Requiem, Portland composer Damien Geter’s bold, thought-provoking musical response to violence against African Americans in the United States. Combining traditional Latin Requiem texts with civil rights declarations, poetry, and the famous last words of Eric Garner and now George Floyd, “I can’t breathe,” this performance will honor past and present victims of racial violence and spur reflection on how to build a more hopeful future. Originally set to premiere in May of 2020, An African American Requiem will now debut at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on May 7, 2022  beginning at 6:00 pm.

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Season subscriptions are on sale now. Subscription packages offer savings off single ticket prices, exclusive benefits and personalized customer service. Regular full-season subscriptions are available for $150 and $200 and include reserved seating tickets to all of the Resonance Ensemble concerts for vaccinated individuals, plus a ticket to the Resonance Ensemble “Building Bridges” Gala (date to be determined.) Also available are VIP Subscriptions for $300 which offer all the subscriber benefits PLUS a guest pass to bring a friend to one of the first two exciting concerts of the season, plus reserved seating to all concerts, plus a tax credit for a $75 donation and more! For more information about subscriptions, visit resonancechoral.org or contact RE’s Box Office, (503) 427-8701. 

Single tickets to our first two concerts at Cerimon House will be made available after September 28, if space remains. Single ticket prices for those two performances will be priced at $35/adult, $30/senior, $10/student, and $5/Arts for All members. 

Single ticket prices for the “Building Bridges” Gala will be $125/ticket. 

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Introducing the REAP Initiative: Resonance Ensemble Access Project

The world looks a lot different now, but artists are still finding a way to safely create, foster community, and share powerful stories. Last year showed us at Resonance Ensemble the incredible global demand for free, online access to our programming - which is why we are proud to present the Resonance Ensemble Access Project (REAP), our initiative to ensure that all of our concerts are available to the world both in-person and online.

We can’t do it without you.

Providing this vital accessibility also increases the expenses of producing our concerts, so we are asking viewers like you to make a donation in lieu of a ticket purchase, at whatever level you're able, and for our supporters to consider an additional donation to underwrite this access for those who cannot afford to donate. 

The REAP Initiative. Providing free, online access to the music of Resonance Ensemble.

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It's Your Choice How You Join Us.

We are creating safe options that will allow you to make the best choice on how you want to enjoy our concerts.

1. Live Stream. With the magic of live-streaming, we can provide an option that brings Resonance Ensemble's concerts into the safety and comfort of your homes.

2. In-Person. Because of vaccinations (thank you, science!) we are now able to provide a safe, in-person option for those of you who are vaccinated and feel ready to come to live events.

Resonance has access to a limited number of discounted tickets for the African American Requiem; patrons may select their seats and make their purchases by calling the Resonance box office at 503-427-8701, or by emailing info@resonancechoral.org, prior to April 1, 2022. After that time, please visit or call the Oregon Symphony box office. 

Special thanks to our sponsors Oregon Cultural Trust, Oregon Community Foundation, Miller Foundation, Collins Foundation, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Note to Journalists: Katherine FitzGibbon and Damien Geter are available for print, online, and broadcast interviews. If you would like more information on our season or would like to schedule an interview, please contact Liz Bacon Brownson at liz@resonancechoral.org or by calling 971-212-8034

HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY

Resonance Ensemble is thrilled to be part of the Portland Performing Arts Vaccine Coalition. Find other arts organizations that are requiring proof of vaccination HERE.

We are excited to be back in action with the possibility of in-person rehearsals and live performances. We are also sensitive to the need to be responsive to public health conditions and official guidelines, as they evolve. 

Resonance Ensemble will require all guests who attend Resonance sponsored events to be masked and fully vaccinated for COVID-19. All patrons will be required to show proof of vaccination, as well as a matching photo ID, to enter the performance or event space.

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Resonance features poetry of Portland's beloved James DePreist in final "Under the Overpass" film

JUNE 25, 2021— Today at 3:00 pm (PDT) Resonance Ensemble's "Under the Overpass" series culminates in the world premiere of a new commission by Damien Geter for 16 voices, piano, and flute: “After Time Has Gnawed Away the Shield of Dreams.”

Geter sets a poem about memory and hope for a phoenix rising by the beloved late American conductor and honored laureate music director of the Oregon Symphony, James DePreist.

In addition to marking this moment of transition from our pandemic time into what we hope will become a more just new normal, this work is dedicated to the victims of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, that we may remember that appalling violence of 100 years ago and dedicate ourselves to combating racism in our own time.

Thank you to Ginette DePreist for the rights to set “After Time Has Gnawed Away the Shield of Dreams” and thank you to Damien Geter for setting it to your incredible music.

THE MUSICIANS
Cecille Elliott
DeReau Farrar
Shohei Kobayashi
Dee McDuffey
Derrick McDuffey
Vakare Petroliunaite
Adrian Rosales-Casillas
Madeline Ross
David Saffert (pianist)

THE PRODUCTION CREW
Production Company: Oh! Creative
Liz Bacon - Director/Producer
Danni Parpan - AD/Set Designer
Mike Marchlewski - DP/Editor
Matt Greco - Sound Engineer
Jordyn Jenkins and Bailey Dean - Production Assistants
BTS Photography - Karen Pride

THE LOCATION
Thank you to Charlene Zidell and the Zidell family for the use of Zidell Yards.

Subscribe to our channel to get notified for new exciting videos here: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResonanceEn...

We Can’t Do This Without You

We believe that art is a fundamental human right and must be accessible, now more than ever. Please consider becoming a season supporter today and support the work we are doing right now that will allow us to bring performing art to our community safely and free of charge.

For those who donate $25 or more, you will be recognized in the closing credits of the yet-to-be-released Under the Overpass videos (and you receive other fun thank you gifts!)

Thank you to the continued support from our community.

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► About "Under the Overpass"
This series of videos celebrates Resonance’s hometown of Portland, Oregon, and the space it provides for Resonance artists to continue to create despite the pandemic. Masked, imperfect, together. Starting in the summer of 2020, singers and spoken word artists met in acoustic spaces around the city - six feet apart, masked, and yet together. Viewers will experience music performed in these gritty, hauntingly beautiful spaces. In collaboration with Oh! Creative, the series features Resonance singers and other local artists and musicians all captured under Portland's famous bridges. All five films are now available to view for free here on our YouTube channel.

All Photos by Karen Pride

Panel Discussion for Juneteenth Film premiere features local and national leaders in the LGBTQIA+ Community

This Saturday June 19, 2021, at 5:00 pm, Resonance Ensemble, in partnership with Pride Northwest, presents the world premiere of “We Hold Your Names Sacred'' by award-winning composer Mari Esabel Valverde and author/playwright Dane Figueroa Edidi, the first Trans woman of color to be nominated for a Helen Hayes Award.

The filmed premiere, broadcast online for free to audiences worldwide, features 16 singers and reflects on the lives lost due to violence against trans women of color.

Following the 6-minute film, Resonance will host a live virtual panel discussion, and all who RSVP are invited to attend. Panelists include Valverde, Edidi, and local Portland photographer/videographer Raven Ellaine.

All invitees are welcome to submit questions to the panel as they share their personal thoughts and experiences. Moderated by Resonance Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon, the entire program will run approximately 45 minutes.

To reserve your virtual seat, and receive a link to watch and participate, click here.

Film Production Underway for "We Hold Your Names Sacred"

On Sunday, June 6, sixteen Resonance singers and a film crew of six met at Cerimon House, a local Portland event space, to film “We Hold Your Names Sacred,” a music video that features the work of award-winning composer Mari Esabel Valverde and author/playwright Dane Figueroa Edidi and reflects on 12 lives lost due to violence against trans women of color.

Produced by Oh! Creative with local filmmaker Kenny Hamlett, the music video shows 16 singers all but invisible behind a shroud of fabric, underneath umbrellas displaying the names of twelve trans women of color who have been lost to systemic violence. At the front of the stage, there is an altar of remembrance for these twelve women who are directly named in the piece. All this as we hear the beautiful music professionally recorded and mixed by Portland sound engineer Matt Greco.

Photo Credit: Sarah Wright Photography

An Altar of Remembrance.

Jaquarrius Holland, 18
Chyna Gibson, 31
Ty Underwood, 24
Penny Proud, 21
Crystal Edmonds, 32
Islan Nettles, 21

Angel Rose, 21
Lexi, 33
Layla Pelaez Sánchez, 21
Muhlaysia Booker, 22
Brianna “BB” Hill, 30
Layleen Polanco, 27

“Mari and Dane told us that their goal with this work is to celebrate and remember the lives of all trans women of color, including the 12 women who are featured in this film,” says cinematographer Kenny Hamlett. “This project is important to me and so many others, and I felt an extra push to get this right. Our focus is to honor the memory of these women and highlight Mari Esabel Valverde’s beautiful music set to Dane Figueroa Edidi’s powerful poetry. We do indeed hold these names sacred, and our film will work to remind others to do the same.”

Cinematographer Kenny Hamlett filming a scene for Resonance Ensemble’s upcoming film, “We Hold Your Names Sacred” Photo Credit: Sarah Wright Photography

Viewers are invited to reserve their virtual seat for the premiere, which happens on Saturday, June 19, 2021, at 5:00 pm (PDT) for the world premiere of “We Hold Your Names Sacred'' which will be broadcast for free to audiences worldwide. The premiere will also include a live panel discussion with Valverde, Edidi, and local leaders in the LGBTQIA+ community.

For more information and to reserve your virtual seat, click here.

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ALL OF THIS IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF YOU.

Resonance Ensemble believes that art is essential and must be accessible, now more than ever. The gifts you made in 2020 and your ongoing support in 2021 allow us to bring performing art to our community safely and free of charge. Under the Overpass, Commissions for Now, and all the work we do is made possible because of donors like you.

THANK YOU!

For more information on how you can continue to support our work, head here.

Photo Credit: Sarah Wright Photography