Holiday Sounds and More
Great-plosion of talent to finish the year
by Brett Campbell
Politically paralyzed, economically bankrupt but always musically bountiful, Zimbabwe is sending its newest generation of musical stars to seek success in the West. One of the most promising is Bongo Love, making its second visit to Eugene this year. The upbeat band of 20-somethings uses the traditional instruments of the Shona people — marimba and mbira (the metal, harp-like thumb piano) — to create original, contemporary, extremely danceable “Afro-coustic” songs, and sings them in English, Shona and Ndebele.
 |
| Thomas Mapfumo |
This concert represents a kind of torch passing, since their guest is Afro-pop pioneer Thomas Mapfumo, who rose to stardom in Zimbabwe in the 1960s and ’70s, singing revolutionary songs that formed the soundtrack to the anti-apartheid revolution that eventually overthrew then-Rhodesia’s white government. Mapfumo found his way to Eugene when he wrote songs criticizing the creeping totalitarianism of dictator-president Robert Mugabe, who retaliated with economic and physical threats and reprisals, including killing a couple of Mapfumo’s band members. His brilliant, danceable blend of American R&B and Southern African mbira music have earned him a permanent place in the musical history books; he’s unquestionably the most famous musician in Eugene and one of the greatest in the world. It’ll be fascinating to see two generations of Zimbabwean musicians combining African and American musical forms at the WOW Hall on Nov. 28.
Speaking of the next generation, you can hear Oregon Children’s Choirs and Marimba Bands playing holiday music from various cultures, including Zimbabwean music. Students from local elementary through high schools will be performing at the Festival of Trees at Valley River Inn on Nov. 30 and at the UO Holiday Concert on Dec. 14. Music director Randall Moore started it all with a single choir 26 years ago and it’s become a Eugene musical institution worth celebrating.
Another holiday musical tradition, the Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble’s English Madrigal Dinner, featuring Byrdsong Early Music Consort, returns Dec. 5 and 6 at St. Paul’s Parish Hall, 1201 Satre Street. And so does the Oregon Mozart Players’ annual Candlelight Concert, which features some of the most famous music of the Baroque era, Handel’s majestic Water Music, J.S. Bach’s equally opulent first orchestral suite and an early-20th-century imitation of 17th century music, Respighi’s Ancient Airs and Dances, which only shows how much grander the originals were.
Pre-classical music is also on the menu at what’s bidding to become another tradition: the Aulos Ensemble’s Dec. 7 visit to the UO’s Beall Concert Hall. Soprano Julianne Baird has been leading the period-instrument pioneers’ touring Baroque holiday program for years — this will be a new version — and, over three-plus decades, it’s become a popular perennial. So has the University Gospel Ensembles holiday show, which usually sells out; it’s Dec. 6 at Beall. And that same afternoon, there’s still more early music at the UO Collegium Musicum’s Collier House concert, featuring music of composers who inspired J.S. Bach: Schutz, Schein, Buxtehude and others. Beall hosts the school’s happily unconventional holiday choral concert, featuring the UO Chamber and Concert Choirs and University Singers in music from Africa, Brazil and other lands, along with a few traditional carols, on Dec. 5.
The UO does offer some non-holiday sounds. On Dec. 1 at Beall, the Hunsberger-Wilson Trio presents the unusual combo of tuba, horn and piano in music by the great film composer Alec Wilder, Bach (Jan, a modern composer, not any of those old guys), Trygve Madsen and the great jazz composer Roger Kellaway. Student chamber groups will play music by another jazz great, Paquito D’Rivera, by the great Brazilian composer Heitor Villa Lobos, and music from the Cuban avant garde at a Dec. 3 concert at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. On Dec. 6, the University Percussion Ensemble plays music of the great West Coast ultramodernist pioneer, Henry Cowell, and other works, including a world premiere.
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519