Short film bares Portland’s history through art and activism
Resonance partners with Third Angle New Music and EDPA2 to bare Portland’s redlining history and present a sneak peek at Darrell Grant’s soon-to-be-premiered chamber opera Sanctuaries
On Wednesday May 5, 2021 at 3:00pm art and activism intersect for the premiere of the 4th episode in Resonance Ensemble’s popular series, Under the Overpass. The free, online film features critically acclaimed jazz pianist Darrell Grant, Oregon Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani, celebrated bass-baritone Damien Geter, and members of EDPA2, a group of survivors and descendants.
Viewers can expect to hear music and poetry written for Grant’s forthcoming chamber opera Sanctuaries, commissioned by Third Angle New Music. Along with the performances will be a roundtable discussion that showcases a multidisciplinary reflection on redlining, gentrification, and the displacement of Black families in Portland.
“Under the Overpass was created to highlight Portland’s beauty, but in this episode, we look at some hard truths about Portland, which is the only way things can really change,” Resonance Artistic Advisor Damien Geter says. “That is ultimately where the real beauty lies.”
“In 1971, Portland condemned and razed several blocks of Black-owned homes and businesses in the Central Albina District at the request of Emanuel Hospital to make room for a hospital expansion which never happened,” says Katherine FitzGibbon, Artistic Director of Resonance Ensemble. “Resonance invited EDPA2, a community based group composed of survivors and descendants of those displaced, to collaborate on this poignant episode.”
“In addition to the fulfillment of a Federal Restitution Agreement, EDPA2 works hard to keep this history alive.” said Byrd, a founding member of EDPA2, who goes only by one name. “This particular artistic expression will heighten awareness not only of the story, but the ongoing work to resolve an uncompleted past.”
Artists involved with Sanctuaries, a chamber opera about this historic displacement, also worked alongside Resonance Ensemble and EDPA2. Sanctuaries composer Darrell Grant emphasizes, “I believe that it is this community connection that compels audiences to truly listen to and acknowledge marginalized voices —not in the abstract — but in a personal and transformative way.”
“We are thrilled to be part of this project,” Third Angle Artistic Director Sarah Tiedemann says. “Both Sanctuaries and this episode of Under the Overpass will hopefully be catalysts for local and national conversations about racial justice and the role of art in the fight for systemic change across the country and at home in Portland.”
Viewers can view the premiere starting May 5, 2021 at 3:00pm on Resonance Ensemble’s Youtube channel: youtube.com/c/ResonanceEnsemble
Sanctuaries is commissioned by Third Angle New Music, Portland, Oregon.
Special thanks to Resonance sponsors Ronni Lacroute, Oregon Cultural Trust, Oregon Community Foundation, Miller Foundation, Collins Foundation, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council, and to our individual donors.
Darrell Grant at Dawson Park
Note to Journalists: Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon and Artistic Advisor Damien Geter, Artistic Director Sarah Tiedemann, and representatives from EDPA2 are available for print, online, and broadcast interviews. If you would like more information on our season or would like to schedule an interview, please contact Liz Bacon Brownson at liz@resonancechoral.org or by calling 971-212-8034.
FOR CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS
EVENT: Resonance Ensemble Presents: Under the Overpass Episode 4: Sanctuaries in Dawson Park
DATE: May 5th, 2021
TIME: 3:00pm
PRICE: FREE
FOR MORE INFO:
Liz Bacon Brownson
Email: liz@resonancechoral.org
Phone: (503) 427-8701
YOUTUBE LINK: youtube.com/c/ResonanceEnsemble
About Resonance Ensemble
In its twelfth season, Resonance Ensemble, a professional vocal ensemble based in Portland, Oregon, creates thoughtful programs that promote meaningful social change. Resonance Ensemble works to amplify voices that have long been silenced, and they do so through moving, thematic concerts that highlight solo and choral voices, new and underrepresented composers, visual and other performing artists, and community partners.
Under Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon, Resonance Ensemble has performed challenging and diverse music, always with an eye toward unusual collaborations with artistic partners from around the country: poets, jazz musicians, singer-songwriters, painters, dancers. The Resonance Ensemble singers are “one of the Northwest’s finest choirs” (Willamette Week), with gorgeous vocal tone, and they also make music with heart.
The groundbreaking work that Resonance Ensemble has been producing over the last few years has been noted by local media and national arts organizations. In Oregon Arts Watch, Matthew Andrews described Resonance as “Part social commentary, part group therapy, and part best damn choir show in town" (June 2019). Chorus America honored Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon in the summer of 2019 with the Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal for her work rededicating Resonance to promoting meaningful social change, and for the meaningful community partnerships she creates. For the tribute to Dr. FitzGibbon, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaJMVozrcPo.
About Third Angle New Music
The music of our time creates a soundtrack to contemporary life, existing at the intersection of musical forms from jazz and classical to rock and electronica. For more than 30 years, Third Angle New Music has played outside the lines of the expected with the creation of dynamic musical performances and multi-disciplinary collaborations that defy the boundaries of the traditional concert hall and reflect the spirit and vitality of our community.
Third Angle’s mission is to perform and record the masterworks of the twenty-first century while commissioning new works from regional and nationally recognized composers. Its bold and innovative programming, high artistic standards, and tireless efforts to bring music of the 20th and 21st centuries to a diverse audience have earned it abundant critical acclaim.
With the organization’s focus on creating a soundtrack for our time, Third Angle has created and presented more than 125 programs of contemporary music, commissioned more than 66 new works, and released 12 recordings to critical acclaim. Sound of the Five: the chamber music of Chen Yi, was named a top 10 recording for 2009 by National Public Radio.
Third Angle’s roguish programming crafts experiences that are mind-altering by design, including concerts created to work in harmony or dissonance with their environment, wildly divergent repertoire, and a blending of the arts that redefines the genre. At a Third Angle performance, you never know quite what will happen next, but one thing is certain:
Third Angle New Music is anything but ordinary.
For more information about the Fall 2021 premiere of Darrell Grant’s jazz opera Sanctuaries:
About EDPA2
The Emanuel Displaced Persons Association 2, EDPA2, is an ad hoc, community-based social justice organization consisting of survivors and descendants whose family homes and businesses were demolished. They are fighting to make the City of Portland, Prosper Portland, Home Forward and Emanuel Hospital live up to their responsibilities and fulfill the Relocation Housing Policy and Cooperative Agreement which they adopted in response to findings of a federal complaint handed down by HUD in 1971.
EDPA2 has met with Mayor Wheeler for more than 3 years and recently presented a plan to the Mayor for current appropriate restitution under the Agreement, including long-term economic development of the vacant lot at the corner of N. Williams and Russell. As of now, the city has indicated a total lack of willingness to consider the proposals of the survivors and descendants or to work with EDPA2 in any constructive way. EDPA2 is asking for community support.
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