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It’s such a weird thrill going to Oregon Symphony concerts, looking down into the string section with its fifty-odd neatly seated performers, and seeing 45^th Parallel Universe Executive Director Ron Blessinger, buried in the violins, attentively warming up his bow with the rest of the office.

Black Angels… a monstrosity of deconstructed chants and songs and drones and noises and large helpings of frankly gorgeous music, all of it performed, on this rainy night, by an ensemble comprised of Portland’s best string quartet (there, we’ve admitted it) making sounds on a wide variety of instruments, some of which include strings.

Hearing a piece of music played in total darkness is a truly singular experience. From sounds like a car engine revving to a subway car screeching, sirens, a machine and music similar to “Psycho,” the thrilling, transfixing performance of George Frederich Haas’ String Quartet No. 3 performed by the Pyxis String Quartet at the Liberty Theatre on June 21 was exceptional.

A concert is never about only the music. Otherwise we’d just listen to a recording on headphones. At Pyxis Quartet’s Feb 15 concert at Portland’s Old Church, which on that rainy evening felt like the most consequential performance I’ve attended in Portland, the music offered some splendid moments.

Micah Fletcher, a survivor in the 2017 MAX train stabbings, teamed up with Oregon musicians for a poetic and musical collaboration Friday night. The performance, titled “I Spat in the Face of Hate and Lived,” was held at the Old Church concert venue and organized by the 45^th Parallel Universe chamber series.

Joseph Bologne (Chevalier de Saint Georges), Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price, and Daniel Bernard Roumain. None of these composers are household names but all are finally starting to get the attention they deserve. On Friday, in celebration of Black History Month, 45^th Parallel Universe presents Sons of the Soil, a concert featuring music by these black composers performed by the all female string quartet mousai REMIX.

When the classical music organization 45^th Parallel reached its 10th birthday this season, it expanded its ranks and artistic vision. Renamed 45^th Parallel Universe, it completed its evolution from an artistic director-driven model, led by founder and violinist Greg Ewer, to a collectively run umbrella organization comprising five ensembles.

This year, 45^th Parallel goes through a double shift, as the Portland-based classical music organization enters its 10th season and adds “Universe” to its appellation, reflecting a broadening of its roster and repertoire. This happens just as founder and long-time artistic director Greg Ewer passes the reins to his old pal and fellow Oregon Symphony violinist, former Third Angle artistic director Ron Blessinger, now 45^th Parallel interim executive director.