45^th Parallel Universe kicks off their Friday night series with a performance of Terry Riley’s iconic In C.

Portland’s own Pyxis Quartet performs string quartets by Glass, Crumb, and a rousing bit of Danish folk music.

Arwen Myers, James Shields, and Maria Garcia perform music of Schumann, Bach, and Schubert.

Flute duos by W.F. Bach, Muczynski, and Kuhlau, performed by Martha Conwell Long in Portland OR, and Tim Hagen in Chicago IL.

Music from the Great American Songbook, performed by Portland musicians John Nastos (saxophone) and Greg Goebel (piano), joined by Chicago bassist Clark Sommers.

Duets by Portland composer extraordinaire Kenji Bunch, performed by Greg Ewer and Ron Blessinger.

Duets by Portland’s own 20 Digitus Duo, performing works of Bach, de Abreu, Sollima, and Piazzolla.

Poet Micah Fletcher and the Pyxis Quartet perform music of Bonnie Miksch and Kenji Bunch.

Portland-based duo John Nastos (woodwinds) and Clay Giberson (keyboards) are veterans of the digital world of music collaboration. In 2009-10, they composed and recorded a new original duet every week for a year under the project name Duo Chronicles. In 2011-12 they repeated the project, this time releasing songs every month instead of every week, but adding a special guest artist each time. For their first streaming concert ever, they will be joined by NYC-based bassist Martin Nevin.

Oregon Symphony principal flutist Martha Long performs works for solo flute and electronics.

Emily Cole, Keith Hamm, Laura Metcalf, and James Shields perform works by Bach and Crusell, and premiere a new work by James Shields.

A bicoastal ensemble of musicians from Portland, Santa Cruz, Albuquerque, and New York perform Gerald Finzi’s Romance (from Five Bagatelles) and Morton Feldman’s masterpiece, Clarinet and String Quartet.

Brass REALM, an intercontinental quintet of brass virtuosi, perform everything from Gabrieli to Bernstein.

The quintet of Steve Ahearn, Andrew Brown, Lou DeMartino, Alicia Lee, and James Shields perform a potpourri of all-clarinet delights.

The violinists of 45^th Parallel Universe perform Bach’s magnificent Partita No. 1 in B minor.

45^th Parallel Universe’s own Arcturus Quintet perform August Klughardt’s delightful Wind Quintet in C major.

Oregon Symphony principal percussionist Michael Roberts and Omaha Symphony principal percussionist Robert O’Brien perform marimba duos by Bach, Mysior, and Reich.

Convergence, a live multi-continental chamber music concert performed by pianist Maria Garcia (Portland), violinist Tom Norris (London), and cellist Jozef Lupták (Bratislava) present piano trios by Joseph Haydn, Astor Piazzolla, and “Talizman” by Slovak composer Vladimír Godár, performed in honor of 9/11.

45^th Parallel Universe joins forces with Chatter ABQ to perform Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together.

The Pyxis Quartet performs the world premiere of Reconnect, a new work by Aeryn Santillan featuring guitarist Andrew Noseworthy, along with works by Gabriela Lena Frank and Shelley Washington.

John Nastos returns with friends Clay Giberson and Michael Davis for another fine evening of original jazz compositions and improvising brilliance.

Zach Galatis and Maria Garcia dazzle us with works from both the concert hall and the Great White Way.

Taking on big challenges is how we roll, and Steve Reich’s Triple Quartet is as big as they come. Mendelssohn’s gorgeous Andante, from his Octet for Strings (composed when he was 16 years old), is the perfect amuse-bouche for this musical feast.

The Arnica Quartet pays homage to Beethoven on his 250th birthday year with a performance of his bright and sunny Op. 18 No. 2 Quartet in G major, and his deeply emotional Cavatina from his Op. 130 Quartet in B-flat major.

Composer Kirsten Volness introduces her brilliant little tiny stone, full of blue fire, performed by flutist Martha Long, clarinetist James Shields, cellist Marilyn de Oliveira, and violinist Ron Blessinger. The program also includes duos by Robert Muczynski and Jessie Montgomery.

Cellists Marilyn de Oliveira and Trevor Fitzpatrick “cell-out,” performing duos for cello from their lovely home.

A reunited mousai REMIX joins flutist Martha Long for music of Amy Beach and Shelley Washington.

Clarinetist James Shields, violinist Emily Cole, cellist Trevor Fitzpatrick, and pianist Maria Garcia present works by Louise Farrenc and Portlander Andy Akiho.

Members of the Oregon Symphony brass section perform holiday classics for brass quintet.

Members of the Oregon Symphony cello section perform the suite from Tchaikovsky’s Christmas classic.

45^th Parallel Universe presents​ CURRENTS, a collaborative project featuring film, dance, and the 15th Symphony of Shostakovich.

On this week’s show, Joe Berger and His Merry Band lead us on a musical quest for the One True Horn.

This week we’ll have some fun with Bach’s iconic Cello Suites, performed by bassoonist Steve Vacchi, violist Charles Noble, and cellists Pansy Chang and Trevor Fitzpatrick. Each performer will pair their suite with their favorite dessert recipe, and share those recipes with you. Bach Sweets: They’re not just for cello anymore.

This week’s program features the Pyxis Quartet performing music of Beethoven, Florence Price, and Randy Woolf, accompanied by original animation from Stephen Malinowski, Portlander Zak Margolis, and Ladislas Starevich’s 1912 classic The Camerman’s Revenge.

In honor of Black History Month, Fridays with 45^th Parallel presents four programs of music by black artists, starting this week with Unvanishing Evocations, featuring music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Keyla Orozco, performed by James Shields, Emily Cole, Greg Ewer, Charles Noble, Marilyn de Oliveira, and Maria Garcia.

This Friday our tribute to Black History Month continues with the virtuoso women of mousai REMIX performing Neo Soul, featuring music of Portlander Damien Geter, Nia Imani Franklin, and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson.

Unique differences and common stories, music as meeting place for fellowship and conversation… this is what Fridays with 45^th Parallel has become since our first broadcast last May. This Friday will be our 37th show, and features the Pyxis Quartet performing music of Carlos Simon, Jessie Montgomery, and Florence Price, in honor of Black History Month.

Fridays with 45^th Parallel presents the Arcturus Quintet’s performance of Adoration, in honor of Black History Month, featuring brilliant music by Florence Price, Ed Bland, Valerie Coleman, George Walker), Justinian Tamusuza, William Grant Still, and Adolphus Hailstork.

Zach is back! We’re super thrilled to welcome the return of all-star flutist / piccoloist / singer Zach Galatis and pianist Maria Garcia with Zach 2.0, in a program of classical music and Broadway song that promises to be wildly entertaining!

Musicians in Portland, London, and Bratislava, performing as a unified ensemble via groundbreaking technology… Fridays with 45^th Parallel presents piano quartets of Schumann, Godar, and Piazzolla, performed by violinist Tom Norris (London), cellist Jozef Luptak (Bratislava), pianist Maria Garcia (Portland), and violist Ron Blessinger (Portland).

For our 41st concert, we’ve invited Boston-based drummer Cristián Tamblay to join the Pyxis Quartet for a unique performance of the finale from Bartok’s String Quartet No. 4. The program also features Caroline Shaw’s brilliant Entr’acte, and the piece that inspired her to write it, Joseph Haydn’s marvelously eccentric Minuet and Trio from his String Quartet in F major, Op. 77, No. 2.

When we presented Les Boréades over a year ago, quarantines and social distancing were impossible to imagine, and the joy of creating something fresh and wonderful was exactly the point. We present to you this concert film of our pre-pandemic collaboration with artist Brad Johnson, Glowbox, and the virtuosos of 45^th Parallel Universe, performed on January 17, 2020, at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art.

This week eight virtuoso cellists will create a wall of gorgeous bass clef sound, performing music of Rossini, Mozart, Wagner, and Marquez. If you caught their performance of the Nutcracker Suite last Christmas, you’ll know that this concert is not to be missed!

Classical meets jazz in this program of music performed and arranged by three of Portland’s premiere jazz artists, Clay Giberson, John Nastos, and Bill Athens.

Violinists Greg Ewer and Adam LaMotte bring great virtuosity and Baroque expertise to the wonderful duos of French master Jean-Marie Leclair, which they’ve recorded previously on the Dorian Sono Luminus label. This is sure to be a performance that will raise their wigs!

Clarinetist James Shields joins violinist Emily Cole and pianist Maria Garcia in this all-French concert recorded at the beautiful Liberty Theatre in Astoria, OR. 45^th Parallel is a resident ensemble at the Liberty Theatre, performing concerts and educational events throughout the season.

A year ago, we set out to prove to ourselves that we could safely maintain our creative lives during the pandemic. On May 7th, we’ll celebrate the one-year anniversary since we started broadcasting these weekly concerts with our 47th show (yes, we’re exceedingly proud of this accomplishment)! We've chosen In C by Terry Riley as the piece for this anniversary show, the same piece we performed last year when we began this journey, this time performed by 45 players that have performed on our series this past year.

From day one, the Miller girls were destined for greatness: Fridays with 45^th Parallel proudly presents virtuoso sisters Carin (Oregon Symphony principal bassoonist) and Erica (Ottawa Symphony concertmaster) in a recital of music by Paganini, Marais, and Prokofiev.

This week we feature two brilliant pieces by Scandinavian composers Magnus Lindberg and Louis Andriessen. Lindberg’s evocative Clarinet Quintet is a tour de force of virtuosity, and features clarinetist James Shields, violinists Ron Blessinger and Emily Cole, violist Charles Noble, and cellist Marilyn de Oliveira. Written for “…any loud-sounding group of instruments”, Workers Union by Dutch composer Louis Andriessen springs from his political idealism, his challenge of the status quo, and his belief in struggle.

Our program this week features three brilliant works performed by the virtuosos of the Arcturus Quintet, including music by French composers Jean Francaix and Claude-Paul Taffanel, and American flutist/composer Valerie Coleman.

Our performance is dedicated to the Asian and Pacific Islander musicians who continue to enrich and influence our lives with their consummate artistry. As a largely white organization in a largely white state, we have been the beneficiaries of the contributions and influence from the Asian artistic community, and it is with immense gratitude to our colleagues in the AAPI community that we present tonight’s performances.

Four longtime friends are getting the band back together, forming a formidable string quartet of virtuosos from across the Pacific NW. Elisa Barston, principal second violin of the Seattle Symphony, will join 45^th Parallel all-stars violist Charles Noble, violinist Emily Cole, and cellist Pansy Chang for a special concert featuring string quartets by George Walker, Osvoldo Golijov, and Ludwig Van Beethoven.

Three fantastic pieces composed by three remarkable Parisian women, performed by two outstanding 45^th Parallel virtuosos, flutist Martha Long and pianist Maria Garcia. Their program features rarely performed music by Lili Boulanger, Mélanie Bonis, and Yuko Uebayashi. This promises to be a real tour de force, and not to be missed!

Join us as we look back in words and music at this remarkable year with a video thank-you letter to you, our amazing supporters. From the first show, our goal was to show how creativity was possible even in the most challenging of circumstances. This Friday we bring our season to a close with our 54th show since the pandemic struck. To say it’s been a labor of love is a massive understatement. We are incredibly grateful to have been able to produce this many world-class performances in the midst of mind-boggling circumstances.