Fiddlin’ Away the Year

The Ensemble of Oregon. Photo: Cherie Renae Studios.

If it’s fiddles you fancy, this holiday season will be merry and bright, because we’re seeing a phalanx of fine fiddlers on Eugene stages to close out 2015.

Fiddler extraordinaire Darol Anger has long since left Oregon for the East Coast to teach at Boston’s prestigious Berklee School of Music. But he’s coming back to Hi-Fi Music Hall 9 pm Friday, Dec. 18, to play seasonal acoustic music, and he’s bringing singer-songwriter Emy Phelps (who cut her teeth playing in Ashland at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival), plus cellist Tristan Clarridge (of The Bee Eaters), hammered dulcimer master Simon Chrisman (also of The Bee Eaters) and bassist Ethan Jodziewicz. Anyone who’s followed Anger’s four-decade career through the David Grisman Quintet, Turtle Island Quartet, Montreux and Psychograss knows that his skills and influences span the spectrum from bluegrass through jazz, Americana, roots and beyond.

Like Anger, one-time national fiddle champion Alex Hargreaves has played with the great mandolinist Mike Marshall and the Grisman Quintet. He’s also performed with Anger himself, and studied at Berklee. At 7 pm Sunday, Dec. 20, at Tsunami Books, he’s performing with the Jacob Jolliff Trio, whose namesake mandolinist is the newest member of Yonder Mountain String Band.

Classical fans also have some fancy fiddling in store at the Oregon Mozart Players’ annual Candlelight Baroque concert 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday, Dec. 18 and 19, at First Christian Church. Oregon Mozart Player’s own violin virtuosi Alice Blankenship and Yvonne Hsueh seize the solo spotlight, along with cellist Ann Grabe, in a concerto grosso by Alessandro Scarlatti. The wind players come to the fore in Handel’s Samson overture and J.S. Bach’s first Brandenburg Concerto, while artistic director Kelly Kuo solos and leads Bach’s first keyboard concerto from the harpsichord.

University of Oregon Jazz Ensemble lead alto saxophonist Jessika Smith graduated last year with a master’s degree and took over the Eugene Composers Big Band, leveraging her pre-grad school big band experience in Spokane. At 7:30 pm Saturday, Dec. 19, at The Jazz Station, she’s leading a concert celebrating the release of her splendid debut album on PJCE Records, the Portland jazz composers record label now run by another former UO jazz star, Douglas Detrick. Recorded at the UO with 21 of her favorite players, Tricks of Light is a surprisingly (for a first effort) tight, varied and accomplished debut that’s certain to appeal to fans of straight-ahead, large-scale jazz, while generally steering confidently clear of big-band clichés. Smith is clearly an Oregon jazz star on the rise.

Holiday music and other wintry sounds are ringing in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church. At noon Friday, Dec. 18, soprano and UO prof Laura Decher Wayte sings seasonal music by Reger, Wolff and other classical composers. On Saturday, Dec. 19, at 3 pm, the mighty 130-voice Portland Gay Men’s Chorus travels down I-5 to bring its annual holiday show to the church with songs celebrating the solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and more. At 4 pm Sunday, Dec. 20, the church hosts its annual Messiah Sing, this time adding an orchestra to its performance of Handel’s glorious oratorio featuring the church choirs, Wayte and other soloists.

Another, smaller set of Portland singers arrives next week for what is my top recommendation for all holiday concerts this year: The Ensemble of Oregon consists of some of Portland’s finest singers, all drawn from top choirs in a city internationally renowned for its formidable choral scene. At 7 pm Saturday, Dec. 26, at Central Lutheran Church, accompanied by harpist Kate Petak, the vocal quintet sings 20th- and 21st-century music by Benjamin Britten (Ceremony of Carols) and two of the world’s hottest young choral composers -— Norwegian-American Ola Gjeilo and Brit Tarik O’Regan.

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.

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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!