Face the Music: Where to see jazz in Portland
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD 8/29/2022 BY AIMSEL PONTI Hit up an informal weekly session or see accomplished musicians in concert.
Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Contemporary Dance Award
The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, in partnership with Portland Ovations, announces a $40,000.00 award for contemporary dance
Commission accomplished: Portland performances to showcase new work funded by pandemic program
Musician Samuel James and dance choreographers Riley Watts and Heather Stewart were among the recipients of commissions from Portland Ovations meant to put artists to work.
From Bamako to Birmingham: Blind Boys of Alabama, Amadou and Mariam bring music of heart to Portland
By Jean Noel Mugabo On April 29, Portland Ovations will host two internationally celebrated musical groups from distinct yet related worlds at Merrill Auditorium in Portland. These are the five-time Grammy Award-winning and Gospel Hall of Fame inductees, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and the renowned Amadou and Mariam, on tour in the U.S. from … Read more
Orchestra of top Black, Latinx classical musicians coming to Maine
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD 3/21/2022 BY ERIC RUSSELL An 18-piece chamber orchestra featuring some of the top Black and Latinx classical musicians in the country is coming to Maine next week. The Sphinx Virtuosi will perform at Merrill Auditorium on Thursday, March 31, as part of Portland Ovations’ Seeking Resonance series, a partnership with Indigo Arts … Read more
Portland Ovations brings Toto Kisaku’s Requiem for an Electric Chair to Maine
By Jean Noël Mugabo The seven days that Toto Kisaku spent as a kidnapping and torture victim – and his subsequent rescue by his own assailant, who shot and killed his three friends – led to the creation of Requiem for an Electric Chair, a solo, multimedia theater piece, with a performance at Westbrook Performing … Read more
Maine actress tells her migration story in touring play’s stop in Portland
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD 11/14/2021 By Bob Keyes
Portland Ovations previews season centered on theme of ‘home’
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD 9/8/2021 BY BOB KEYES Aimée Petrin, executive and artistic director of Portland Ovations, programmed the 2021-’22 performance season around the idea of coming home. “I keep thinking of the season ahead as a welcome back, or a welcome home,” she said. “I think COVID has made the idea of home more pronounced. … Read more
Musicals at Ogunquit and Merrill, a premiere at Portland Stage and Good Theater returns
The Ogunquit Playhouse continues its season into the fall in its 25,000-square-foot outdoor pavilion. Beginning Wednesday, the playhouse premieres “Mystic Pizza: A New Musical,” based on the 1988 movie. It tells the story of a trio of young working-class women who figure out the complexities of life while dishing up slices of pie in a … Read more
Major Portland music venues adopt vaccine requirements
The State Theatre and Thompson’s Point in Portland will require vaccination proof or a negative test starting this weekend, while the Portland House of Music will do the same starting Aug. 26. Three major Portland music venues announced Wednesday that they will require audience members to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19, or a negative … Read more