PYP OPENS LANDMARK 95TH SEASON WITH ‘THE FAR WEST’ BY WILLIAM GRANT STILL
Posted on September 11, 2018
The American Scene | Saturday, November 10, 2018 | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
PORTLAND, OR – Hearing is believing! Portland Youth Philharmonic opens its historic 95th season on Saturday, November 10, 2018, in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, with distinguished composer William Grant Still’s The Far West from The American Scene. Known as “the Dean of African-American composers,” Still’s work captures themes that depict the age-old cultures and natural beauty of America’s West Coast.
“William Grant Still was an outstanding American composer who overcame tremendous obstacles to produce bodies of work in many genres,” says PYP Musical Director David Hattner. “Although Still’s Far West is a little further south than Oregon, it juxtaposes nicely with the music of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, who came to this country and encouraged American composers to find local inspiration for their art. William Grant Still is one of the finest examples of this philosophy.”
Soon to be the first U.S. organization for young musicians to reach its 100th anniversary, PYP commemorates 95 years of fearless artistry by presenting a movement from Still’s much larger and rarely-performed work The American Scene. Still, who was of African-American, Spanish, Native American, Irish and Scots ancestry, envisioned a proudly multicultural America, as harmonious in race and ethnic relations as his music. The result was his American Scene: Five Suites for Young Americans (1957), beautifully illustrating his vision of a unified country for future generations of Americans.
Single tickets start at $5, with ticket packages for multiple performances at $27 and up. Tickets are available now at www.portlandyouthphil.org/concerts.