MUSIC SCENES exist as a series of concentric circles. To use rock and punk as an example, small house and basement shows sit in the center, big arena and stadium events are on the outside, while varying sizes of venues and audiences rest somewhere between the two extremes.
In Portland’s classical community, the focus tends to remain on those larger concerts that take place within the ornate interior of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall or sizeable outdoor spaces like Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The programs for these shows reflect the prodigiousness of their surroundings with performances of juicy, blustery symphonies and concertos that sell a lot of tickets.
But composers writing spare and experimental pieces that demand close listening rarely see their labors of love performed. Luckily, local classical enthusiasts have access to plenty of groups that bring some of these small-scale, adventurous works to their ears, including the Third Angle New Music Ensemble, Cascadia Composers, and one of the latest additions to the cultural universe, Creative Music Guild’s Extradition Series.