What a delightful way to begin!

The Classical Up Close organizing committee met on Thursday, September 22 to discuss the 2017 series of concerts.

The Oregon Symphony 2016-17 season is underway, and that means that the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall will be ringing to the rafters with music of all styles for months to come. It also means that it’s time for the Classical Up Close committee to start planning the next festival of free chamber music concerts! 

We had our first meeting last week (pictured above) between Symphony rehearsals. The first task is always to nail down the dates. The Oregon Symphony schedule generally makes it pretty clear when the musicians of the orchestra will be able to find the time to perform their favorite chamber music all over the Metro area for Classical Up Close, and this year was no exception. We won’t announce dates until we have the venues confirmed, but expect a Springtime festival again. The number of concerts and blitzes will be about the same as last Spring, and the popular concerts for children will continue. 

The next order of business is discussing which venues we want to approach. We aim for a mix of old and new as well as geographic distribution. Returning to a previous location helps build on neighborhood awareness created by the previous visit, and new places offer new opportunities. This approach fits with our twin goals of thanking old friends and making new ones for classical music. Speaking of new places, we would love your help with suggestions for venues in NE Portland, both for a full-length concert and for a blitz to create neighborhood buzz for it. Let us know via comments or email if you have any ideas, and thanks!

One agenda item was especially delightful. A wonderful couple, Jim and Linda Hamilton, approached us with a generous offer wrapped around a great idea: their offer to sponsor a concert in their neighborhood! In their own words: 

“Enclosed is our check for $2,500 to support the wonderful work of Classical Up Close. We sincerely    appreciate your efforts to provide exposure to classical music for people in Portland who would not otherwise have this opportunity. 

The presence of a symphony orchestra and classical music station in Portland was a major factor in our decision to move here four years ago. Music is important to both of us and we support your efforts to make it available to a wider audience.”

Music to our ears! Thank you, Jim and Linda! The vote of confidence in our mission from people like the Hamiltons who understand the value of classical music to the community is a real inspiration to us. With this financial support from them and from many others, we are working to make Classical Up Close sustainable into the future.