portland ovations

Our Stories – Meet Dance Artist Riley Watts

Our Stories – Meet Dance Artist Riley Watts

After nearly a decade on the road touring internationally with the Forsythe Company, dance artist Riley Wattsdecided it was time to come home to Maine. For Riley, moving back to Maine was the right thing to do. It’s meant time and space: to heal, to pursue a different lifestyle for his body and mind and, … Read more

Our Stories – Meet Maine Artist Samuel James

Our Stories – Meet Maine Artist Samuel James

We’ve been lucky to get to know musician, storyteller and writer Samuel James this year as one of our Commissioned Maine Artists. This has included winding conversations about music, culture, home and justice, along with impromptu performances over Zoom. And now, through this series, we hope some of you are getting to know this marvelous … Read more

Our Stories – Seeking Belonging

Our Stories – Seeking Belonging

The more than year-long pandemic has taught us much to take into the future together. One of the things many Ovations’ Members have mentioned to us is how our human need to gather and to belong — to groups, to communities, to a place and to each other — have been made more visible by our social … Read more

New York Philharmonic String Quartet Program Notes by Linda Russell

many concert tours to display his prodigious talent. During the next ten years Mozart developed as a composer by imitating and expanding the various styles that he encountered during his travels Mozart’s string quartets span his life—from the earliest at age 15 to the more sophisticated compositions a year before he died. They also trace … Read more

Miwa Matreyek Performance Notes by Aimée Petrin

Dear Friends, I first saw Miwa perform several years ago in LA, her home base. I was immediately mesmerized by the imagery, soundscape and her presence on stage. I was captivated then and remain so. Miwa works at the intersection of performance and media. Her art exists in a dreamlike visual space that makes invisible worlds visible, often weaving surreal … Read more

Malpaso Dance Company Performance Notes by Aimée Petrin

Dear Friends, Inspired by dance lovers in our community, about a year ago we began to think about how to increase our commitment to the presentation of contemporary dance. This comes after more than a decade of consistently bringing to Maine no fewer than three high-caliber companies expressing a variety of aesthetics, styles, traditions, production scale and cultures. Collaborating … Read more

New Orleans Jazz Orchestra Notes by Aimée Petrin

Dear Friends, Thank you for joining us for New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. From Jelly Roll Morton to Louis Armstrong and Fats Domino all the way up to the revered Allen Toussaint – this performance is about the  music and musicians that make New Orleans great. One of the things that stands out about NOJO is their ability to … Read more

Avi Avital & Bridget Kibbey Notes by Aimée Petrin

Dear Friends, After three attempts and at least as many years, it is a thrill to finally bring to Portland Grammy nominated mandolinist Avi Avital. We are doubly fortunate to have with us his equally stellar collaborator Bridget Kibbey, credited as the “Yo-Yo Ma of the harp.” We are grateful you’ve chosen to spend your evening with … Read more

Avi Avital and Bridget Kibbey Program Notes by Linda Russell

court organist and chamber musician to the Duke of Weimar, came just five years later. During his tenure (1717-23) as Music Director at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen, Bach composed the majority of his instrumental chamber music. During this time Bach developed his instrumental style to supreme mastery, writing works for violin, cello, … Read more

MOMIX: ‘Viva Momix’ Notes by Aimée Petrin

Dear Friends, Dance is one of the most beautiful, visceral and expressive art forms. It can also be one of the most intimidating. Viewers often lament “I don’t get it” or “dance is too abstract” or that dance’s embodied form of storytelling doesn’t resonate with our verbal, linear brains. Or finally, “I don’t know how to … Read more