Join Portland Ovations and pianist Miki Sawada for Gather Hear Portland, an afternoon of free music in downtown Portland’s Congress Square Park on Saturday, September 28 at 2 PM. Gather Hear both celebrates and re-imagines Ovations’ 94-year history of presenting the finest in classical and chamber music. Featuring a program tailored specifically to Portland, Gather Hear Portland is at the beginning of the larger Gather Hear Maine tour. Come experience this unique classical music concert experience with an upright piano in the middle of the city, where everyone is encouraged to be part of the music making.
Gather Hear is Sawada’s signature project, traveling the country visiting all 50 states with a piano in a van performing classical music in community gathering spaces. Her mission is to connect people across socioeconomic and political boundaries through music, and to foster human connection and dialogue with music as the catalyst. “Gather Hear Tour was founded in 2016 as a direct response to that year’s presidential election,” says Sawada. “Having explored this country through classical music for two presidential cycles since then, Fall 2024 feels like a significant marker for this project. I can’t think of any place I’d rather be performing than in Congress Square Park, which stood out to me as an exceptional community space. It will be another high-stakes, emotionally turbulent election season, and I hope the concert will be a much-needed opportunity for meditation, reflection, and coming together around music.”
This concert features a special appearance by musicians from Listen Up! Music, a Portland-based nonprofit day program and music studio that supports musicians with intellectual uniqueness in making music. Ahead of the concert Sawada will visit and rehearse with the participating artists, spend time together making music and prepare for a special joint performance during Gather Hear Portland.
“Portland Ovations is so excited to bring Miki’s Gather Hear program to Portland,” says Katelyn Manfre, Ovations Director of Community Programs & Partnerships. “It’s always thrilling to bring our community to the art, but it’s rare that we have the opportunity to bring the art directly into our community in such a unique way.”
Gather Hear Portland is a free, one-hour outdoor concert presented in collaboration with Friends of Congress Square Park. Guests are invited to bring blankets, chairs, and anything they need to make the concert comfortable. No RSVP is required but encouraged to receive email updates about the concert. RSVP for free at PORTLANDOVATIONS.ORG. Thank you to the New England Foundation for the Arts and Friends of Congress Square Park for your support and partnership of Gather Hear Portland.
Following Ovations’ Portland concert on September 28, Sawada stays in Maine travelling north to more Maine communities. Below is the full list of performances in the 10-day Gather Hear Maine tour.
- Sep 26 – Preble Street Elena’s Way wellness shelter, presented by Portland Ovations
- Sep 27 – Long Creek Youth Development Center, presented by Portland Ovations
- Sep 28 – Congress Square Park, Gather Hear Portland presented by Portland Ovations
- Sep 29 – Center Theatre, Dover-Foxcroft
- Sep 30 – School performance at a Piscataquis County school, presented by Center Theatre
- Oct 1 – Presque Isle High School public concert, presented by AMHC
- Oct 2 – Washington County Community College, Calais, presented by AMHC
- Oct 3 – SPACE on the River, Skowhegan, presented by Main Street Skowhegan
- Oct 4 – Looking Ahead Clubhouse, Lewiston, in partnership with Bates College
- Oct 5 – Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, Lewiston, in partnership with Bates College
ABOUT PORTLAND OVATIONS
Portland Ovations is a nonprofit cultural organization based in Southern Maine dedicated to gathering communities to share in the power of live performance. Ovations connects artists and audiences both onstage and off — making the arts an integral part of community life. Learn more at portlandovations.org.
ABOUT GATHER HEAR
Gather Hear Tour delivers professional quality, live, inclusive classical music experiences to audiences who may otherwise not have access to the art form. Specifically, touring widely across all 50 states with a piano in a van and perform in community gathering spaces, free to the public. Gather Hear goes to locations that lack access to the arts – whether it is a rural town or a disadvantaged neighborhood of a city. Gather Hear Tour’s mission is to foster human connection and dialogue across socioeconomic and political differences and to capture an honest, intimate, and ultimately hopeful portrait of America through documentation of its tours amidst a national climate of division and violence. Learn more at gatherhear.com
Gather Hear Tour delivers professional quality, live, inclusive classical music experiences to audiences who may otherwise not have access to the art form. Specifically, touring widely across all 50 states with a piano in a van and perform in community gathering spaces, free to the public. Gather Hear goes to locations that lack access to the arts – whether it is a rural town or a disadvantaged neighborhood of a city. Gather Hear Tour’s mission is to foster human connection and dialogue across socioeconomic and political differences and to capture an honest, intimate, and ultimately hopeful portrait of America through documentation of its tours amidst a national climate of division and violence. Learn more at gatherhear.com
