Curated by Greg Ewer, this Garden Concert series continues with an intimate evening of chamber music in one of Portland’s most inviting backyard settings in the Irvington neighborhood. This concert series features the entirety of Wood Works, a collection of Nordic folk tunes arranged for string quartet by the Danish String Quartet, one of the great ensembles of our time. Published and released in May 2014, this collection quickly captured the hearts of quartets and audiences worldwide, and has already taken its place among the most influential repertoire of the 21st century.

Join us high above the city for a sunset concert featuring wind ensemble repertoire in the breathtaking setting of Lux Perennials. With sweeping views and lush surroundings, this program celebrates the nearly forgotten but thoroughly delightful tradition known as Harmoniemusik. This once-popular concert format featured popular works in arrangements for pairs of reeds and horns, and was often performed outdoors. 45^th Parallel performers James Shields, Kai Rocke, and Joseph Berger will present a program celebrating their shared love of Mozart’s operas.

A playful and accessible evening of audience favorites, this show blends familiar melodies, lighthearted repertoire, and the joyful spirit of live performance. With mixed ensembles you don’t see as frequently, this concert was curated by the brilliant Karen Wagner.

We close out our garden season with one final outdoor gathering before we head indoors for fall. This intimate concert celebrates the connection and community that have made our garden series a Portland favorite, pairing exceptional musicianship with the simple pleasures of a September evening and one of our favorite restaurants in the city. Join us in the Nostrana Garden, adjacent to Nostrana proper, for showstopping music, unparalleled wines, and the last gasp of outdoor wonder before the fall.

As part of the Literary Arts Book Fest, 45^th Parallel Universe joins local musicians who are also writers to embark on a unique concert experience. Music is more than just an aural language - it is a multitude of communication modes and literacies. Sight Reading features world-renowned songwriters translating between dialects in real time: the written language of music (usually expressed on staff), oral / aural traditions and “playing by ear” come together to work with 45^th Parallel Universe musicians as they perform newly-created arrangements of songs by musicians who write their music in a variety of ways.

The Pyxis Quartet’s Portland School III continues an ongoing conversation about what it means to compose from this place. Featuring works by Tomas Svoboda, Charles Rose, and Nicole Buetti, the program also marks the premiere of Habitat, a new short film by animator Zak Margolis and composer Nancy Ives – the first chapter of House of Scordatura’s Animated Oregon anthology. An evening about Portland’s creative inheritance, and where it’s headed.

Celebrate the season with a warm and nostalgic evening of holiday favorites featuring our renowned cello ensemble. From selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker to French Christmas music and beloved traditional carols, this festive concert invites audiences to gather in the glow of familiar sounds and seasonal cheer.

One of our most eclectic evenings of the season, the Variety Show brings together an irresistible mix of artists and styles in one unforgettable night. Featuring cello sextet, klezmer clarinets, vocalists Abbe Drake and Zach Galatis, solo instrumentalists, and special guest Jim Brunberg, this concert celebrates musical curiosity, collaboration, and joyful unpredictability.

Trevor Fitzpatrick leads a swinging holiday follow-up featuring Duke Ellington’s jazz-infused reimagining of The Nutcracker, performed by six cellos and drums. This inventive take on a seasonal classic blends Tchaikovsky’s beloved melodies with Ellington’s unmistakable rhythmic brilliance.

Arcturus presents Janáček’s Mládí and Hindemith’s Septet. This program, featuring the winds and brass of 45^th Parallel, pairs two masterpieces of musical maturity, written by composers at the height of their creative powers. Leoš Janáček’s Mládí (“Youth”), composed at age seventy during the same remarkable late-career period that produced the opera The Cunning Little Vixen, looks inward, recalling childhood with affection, humor, and vitality. Paul Hindemith’s Septet, written after World War II, looks outward, building a musical world from conversation, balance, and cooperation among its seven players. Though strikingly different in style, both works reflect the confidence of artists unconcerned with proving themselves. Instead, Janáček and Hindemith explore memory, community, and the power of individual voices coming together to create something greater than themselves – a perfect opportunity to showcase 45^th Parallel’s performers and creative spirit. Sponsored by Abby and Marvin Dawson

mousai REMIX returns with a bold and imaginative chamber program: string quartets by Eleanor Alberga and Beethoven. Known for inventive programming and dynamic performance, this ensemble continues to champion collaboration, curiosity, and musical discovery. Eleanor Alberga’s String Quartet No. 2 takes listeners on a fast-moving and captivating musical journey. From a single idea heard at the very beginning, the music continually transforms itself, unfolding with energy, momentum, and unexpected turns. Rich in color, imagination, and expressive contrast, the quartet invites audiences into a world where familiar ideas reappear in surprising ways, creating an experience that feels both tightly connected and constantly evolving. Beethoven’s final string quartet takes listeners on a journey that is by turns playful, surprising, reflective, and triumphant. Full of rhythmic games, unexpected twists, and lively exchanges between the four musicians, the work delights in keeping audiences guessing before opening into moments of remarkable beauty and introspection. Centered around the famous question “Must it be?” and the emphatic response “It must be!”, this beloved masterpiece transforms uncertainty into confidence, ending with a spirit of joy, resilience, and celebration.

In partnership with All Classical Radio, this genre-defying program explores experimental sound, performance, and collective listening. Featuring Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together, Tom Johnson’s Failing, a Very Difficult Piece for Bass, and Bora Yoon’s Casual Miracles — music that is provocative, playful, and deeply communal.

For centuries, musicians have been known to develop an occasional wayward eye toward music written for other instruments. Violists play the Bach Cello Suites. Orchestras can’t get enough of Ravel’s orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition, originally written for solo piano. Greg Ewer and Zach Galatis host a program centered around Sergei Prokofiev’s famous Sonata for Flute (wait, don’t you mean violin?) and Piano. Join them for a unique, lighthearted take on the tradition of “musical jealousy.”