** MEDIA ADVISORY – April 23, 2012 **

Click here for a .pdf of this media release. 

Media Contacts:
Charith Premawardhana T: 415-797-8331 E: charith@classicalrevolution.org
Scott Sheckman T: 310-741-7617 E: miami@classicalrevolution.org

Classical Revolution Holding First International Conference in Chicago April 28 & 29

Chicago, IL & San Francisco, CA – Classical Revolution (CR), a grassroots chamber music phenomenon that has spread like wildfire across North America and Europe, will be holding its first international conference in Chicago, April 28 & 29, 2012. The unique conference will include twelve-hours of round-table group conversations, and evenings filled with CR-Style music at popular local venues.

Over 25 classically-trained musicians leading CR chapters in the United States, Canada and Europe will converge in downtown Chicago with related professionals to discuss best practices, case studies, and options to create a formal Association of Chapters to help advance the cause. Those unable to make the journey to Chicago will be able to join the conference via the Internet. The goal is share positive experiences that can help each market become more fully developed, and formalize a network of chapters that can work together to pursue opportunities mainly available on regional, national, or international scope and scale.

“With the increasing financial and marketing challenges facing institutional orchestras and symphonies, Classical Revolution provides a home for musicians who want to play for the love of the music in just about any city or town,” said CR Founder, Charith Premawardhana. “This first international conference is a critical step in Classical Revolution’s overarching mission to bring chamber music to everyday people in bars, cafes, galleries, and other non-traditional venues in the 21st Century. The sharing of personal experiences,best practices and possibilities to form a more cohesive organization will hopefully not only increase CR’s activities in markets of all sizes, but will raise awareness and the overall quality of our united mission.”

While registrations for the daytime discussions are reserved for people currently involved with CR due to space limitations, the evening entertainment, highlighting the unique talent in town, is open to the public. The Saturday evening event will be held at Uncommon Ground (1401 W. Devon Ave) and the Sunday evening event will take place at Cole’s Bar (2338 N. Milwaukee Ave). Both evenings will be structured in CR’s signature “Chamber Jam” format, featuring musicians from Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Ann Arobor, Detroit, Pittsburgh, New York, Toronto, Baltimore, Miami and more! The program for these events will include chamber music by classical masters Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, as well as original groove-oriented chamber music composed by members of the organization.

Classical Revolution is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in San Francisco in 2006 by professional viola player Charith Premawardhana. The unprecedented success in the SF Bay Area inspired over 30 chapters to rise in major markets in the USA, Canada, UK, and other European countries. CR strives to bring high-quality chamber music (classic and modern) to the public for free at non-traditional venues such as bars, cafes, restaurants, and galleries. CR is mainly supported by the will of the participating musicians, support of the public, and Patrons of the Arts. For more information, please visit: www.classicalrevolution.org.

CONTACT: For more information about Classical Revolution and the Conference ahead of the event or during the weekend, please contact
Charith Premawardhana T: 415-797-8331 E: charith@classicalrevolution.org

To receive video or images after the conference, please contact
Scott Sheckman T: 310-741-7617 E: miami@classicalrevolution.org

Classical Revolution PDX, a Portland-based nonprofit organization, is currently searching for an upright studio or spinet piano. This piano will be given a public home at the Waypost, which is the location of the group’s monthly CHAMBER JAM, a unique community-driven classical “open mic”.

Our beloved piano-to-be will be played by musicians of all skill levels. It will be used for piano solos, art song accompaniments, piano trios, quartets, quintets and beyond – all the music that the community brings to these wonderful chamber jams each month.

Maybe you are upgrading your piano and have a decent one you would like to donate? Or perhaps your parlor is decorated by a worthy instrument you never play, which you would love to see and hear in capable, devoted hands?

We are not looking for just any piano – there’s a very old piano with “character” at our venue, but we need one which will stay in tune, has a mellow tone for chamber work, and with fast action for difficult passages.

If you have or know of a piano that might be donated to this cause, please contact the revolution!

email: classicalrevolutionpdx (at) gmail.com
web: http://www.classicalrevolutionpdx.org/
forum: http://groups.google.com/group/classicalrevolutionpdx

CONTACT: ClassicalRevolutionPDX@gmail.com

For Immediate Release:

2^nd Annual Composed String Quartet Competition

WHAT:      A competition and performance featuring new string quartet compositions by local  composers

WHO:         Classical Revolution PDX String Quartet, DTQ String Quartet

WHEN:     March 18th, 2012. 7PM

WHERE:   The Community Music Center  – 3350 SE Francis, Portland OR 97202 – (503) 823-3177

COST:      $5 – $20 Suggested Donation

Ten composers have submitted newly composed string quartets to be performed by the Classical Revolution PDX and DTQ string quartets to be on March 18th at 7pm at the Community Music Center. The compositions will be judged by a expert panel including Paloma Griffin, (Artistic Director, Fear No Music) Brett Campbell, (Music Journalist, Willamette Week, Oregon Arts Watch) and Bonnie Miksch. (Professor, Portland State University, 2011 OMTA Composer of the Year)

The following composers have submitted one movement of a string quartet to be performed:

Daniel Hansen

David Leetch

Robert Linnemann

Louise Nedela

John Paul

Matthew Pollock

Paul Safar

Harold Sheppard

Larry Tsao

Brandon Woody

“It is our goal to help foster and perform new classical music being written locally” says Executive Director of Classical Revolution PDX, Mattie Kaiser. “There is so much exciting music being created in this town everyday and we want to give our local composers a chance to shine.” The winner will receive a professional recording of the work he or she submitted.

This concert is sponsored by The Friends of the Oregon Symphony, Willamette Southwest Chapter, and Dan Rasay.

This survey should take 10-15 minutes, so kick back, put on your favorite thinking music, and click here to get started. 

On a personal note, I’d love to buy everyone who completes this survey a drink! Three lucky winners will be drawn at random on March 6th, 2012 and I’ll buy you a drink at the next CRPDX show you can attend.

Photo credits

Pink Ladies: Covent Garden String Quartet, Peter Johnson Entertainments Agency

Emerson Quartet: James McQuillen/Special to The Oregonian, Chamber Music Northwest

Wedding Music: Cabelle` String Quartet

Street Musician: twosortsofpeople.com

Raving Crowd: Rukes.com, DJ Sebastian Ingrosso at Avalon Nightclub in Los Angeles

Classical Revolution: San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music

…Did we mention this is a global movement? Viva la Revolution!

Another CRPDX comrade, Michael Hagmeier, is going to try to break the world record for circular breathing! The event will take place at The Waypost, on Saturday, January 21st, 2012. The World Record Attempt will start at 1:00 pm. Michael will play solo for the first two hours. After that, musicians are welcome to come jam with him. Musicians should be prepared to play in various modes of D. Please visit Michael’s IndieGoGo page to support his efforts.

Thanks for your support, and Viva La Revolution!

-Mattie

OPB was also kind enough to include this article about our upcoming Bachxing Day Festivities.

“At the end of a month stuffed full of traditional holiday entertainment, Classical Revolution PDX (CRPDX) offers up a palate-cleansing alternative. For their Bachxing Day show, CRPDX musicians will gather to perform their own interpretations of Bach sonatas, cello suites and cantatas in the casual atmosphere of the Someday Lounge.

GO SEE IT!
Classical Revolution PDX: 5th Annual Bachxing Day

December 26, 2011, 9 pm
Someday Lounge, 125 NW 5th Ave, Portland
The fifth-annual event may take its punny name fromBoxing Day, the December 26th English bank holiday, but it really has nothing to do with Christmas. It’s a laid-back celebration of the music of JS Bach and a showcase of the group’s mission to make classical music more fun to listen to and to play.”

Click here to read the full article.

Happy Bachxing Day!

Classical Revolution PDX needs your end-of-the-year gift to broaden our efforts to bring chamber music to everyone. Please click here to donate.

It’s been a big week for Classical Revolution PDX. Our manifesto was prominently featured in the Wall Street Journal, we were named one of the Emma 25, and we appear in American Airlines’ December in-flight magazine. It seems like everything is happening all at once for us, but in reality we’ve had a huge year!

Over last year CRPDX has put on nearly thirty performances and workshops. We started some new traditions including the composer competition, and producing performances of world-renown artists, like Lara Downes. We kept old staples like the chamber jams, Family Friday, and of course Bachxing Day. We received our very first grant, which sparked the idea that maybe we should incorporate as a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. So we did that too.

Looking into 2012 we have exciting plans for more shows and more workshops! We’re looking forward to new collaborations with not-so-traditional classical artists, an evening dedicated to arrangements of Radiohead songs, and our five year anniversary bash.

CRPDX has existed for nearly five years on 100% volunteer efforts. How many people could we turn on to chamber music if we actually had an operational budget? It’s a new concept to us, but we’re excited by the prospect, and are asking for your support. Click here to make a donation to the revolution. It can be as simple as a $10 “stocking stuffer” gift, or a monthly subscription to become a “founding revolutionary”.

Need some more incentive? Donate any amount before December 31st and you will be entered in a raffle to win tickets to one of the following shows:

Live Wire Radio – Two tickets to any Spring 2012 show
Opera Theater Oregon – Two tickets to “Aida vs. Metropolis” + masterclass on silent film improvisation on Feburary 10th or 11th.
Mortified – Two tickets to the Portland show on February 15th.
Oregon Symphony – Two tickets to any classical or pops series concert

Don’t forget that you can write off your donation on your 2011 taxes!

Thank you for your contribution. I wish the warmest holiday greetings, and a very Happy Bachxing Day.

Mattie Kaiser, Executive Director

Any Bach. Any instrumentation. Any interpretation.

12/26 @ The Someday Lounge. 9pm. 21+

Alt-Classical Surge Hits the Northwest
By BRETT CAMPBELL
Portland, Ore.

‘We love classical music. We love playing classical music. We love listening to classical music. We are tired of the elitist and inaccessible nature of the classical world. We believe that there are many that would enjoy classical music if they could access it in a setting that is comfortable for them. We believe classical musicians should be allowed to perform in a setting that is more casual—where the audience is allowed to have a drink, eat a scone, laugh a little, and clap a lot. We believe everyone can enjoy the music that we love.” So began a 2006 posting on Portland’s Craigslist that became the manifesto for Classical Revolution PDX, which today draws on a roster of more than 200 classical musicians for its chamber jams and other performances, including a concert called “Sympathy for the Devil” featuring music associated with you-know-who.

—

The article goes on to discuss all of vibrant “alt-classical” performing organizations that our fair city has to offer.

I didn’t fall over laughing, but I did jump up and down and scream a bit.
- Mattie

Added 12/20/2011 : Brett Campbell just published this “Director’s Cut” version of the article. “Portland has arrived at a rare crossroads: The city now sports an energetic confluence of classically oriented, collaboratively minded creative musicians and composers, open venues, and adventurous audiences. Various factors like low cost of living and a history of musical experimentation are nurturing this nascent artistic culture. But will the city and its leaders do what it takes to make sure it not only continues to thrive, but expands to fulfill its vast potential? That’s a sequel I’d love to tell Wall Street Journal readers a few years from now.”