Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium
As ever, opportunities abound at the Grammy Award-winning Oregon Bach Festival—and especially this summer, when the focus of the Composers Symposium will be the performance of music by ALL of the participants in three series of public events: concerts (“New Beginnings”); readings (“Virgin Ears Workshops”); and improvisation sessions (“Wild Nights Cafes”). The performers will be the symposium’s American Creators Ensemble (ACE) under the mentorship of the Fireworks New Music Ensemble and Beta Collide.
Esteemed conductor Helmuth Rilling of Stuttgart is the artistic director of the Oregon Bach Festival, and more than 30,000 people attend to take advantage of an exciting mix of choral/orchestral masterworks, chamber concerts, talks, a conducting master class, and social events. Although the festival is known for its concerts, education is at its core. This year will mark the tenth Composers Symposium (Robert Kyr, founder and director), which has featured George Crumb, Arvo Part, John Harbison, Krzysztof Penderecki, Lou Harrison, Martin Bresnick, R. Murray Schafer, Veljo Tormis, Tan Dun, Judith Weir, Osvaldo Golijov, Linda Bouchard, and Steven Jaffe, as its previous composers-in-residence.
