Gorge Sinfonietta Returns to Live, Indoor Performances with World Premiere...and Bigfoot
The Gorge Sinfonietta presents “A Sasquatch Portrait”. Buy tickets here.
After over 18 months of virtual or outdoor performances, the Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association (CGOA) is back onstage. The Gorge Sinfonietta takes the stage again for a pair of indoor performances in The Dalles and Hood River. The family-friendly concerts are themed around music for narrator and orchestra and include a northwest premiere and a world premiere, not to mention an appearance by one of Oregon’s most elusive residents: Bigfoot.
The concerts will be Friday, November 5 at 7 PM at the Discovery Center in The Dalles, and Sunday, November 7 at 2 PM at the River of Life Assembly of God Church in Hood River. For the Friday concert, wine will be available for purchase prior to the concert from 6:15-7 PM.
Artistic Director and Conductor Mark Steighner says that the concerts will include the first Oregon performance of “The Frog Prince,” by Steven Winteregg, who is an Ohio-based composer and professor at Cedarville University. “The Frog Prince” is based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm and includes a part for narrator, tenor (The Frog) and soprano (The Princess). Local singers and actors Kathleen Morrow, Marcos Galvez and Jennifer Miller Harty will join the orchestra.
Local actor and director Tom Burns will narrate a set of four well-known poems by Rudyard Kipling, Robert Frost, Edgar Guest and Lanta Smith in a musical setting by composer Robert Sterling.
Finally, the concert includes the world premiere of “A Sasquatch Portrait” by Steighner.
Divided into four movements, “A Sasquatch Portrait” considers the famous semi-mythological figure from the standpoint of science and anthropology, through a witness account, through First Nations stories and more.
Steighner says that the music was inspired by Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait,” with a difference. “Copland’s music was a setting of famous speeches by Lincoln. While there are recordings of supposed Sasquatch calls and chatter, they’re not quite as articulate as those of the famous President, so instead our narrator talks about Bigfoot.”
Peter Tappert will narrate “A Sasquatch Portrait.”
In anticipation of the concerts, a large statue of Sasquatch will appear in several local businesses around The Dalles, and people can take a selfie, post the picture on social media and have a chance of winning tickets to a future concert. The locations include Shannon’s Ice Cream, The Dalles Wasco County Library, The Discovery Center and Klindt’s Bookshop; instructions will be posted on the CGOA Facebook page and website.
Get Your Tickets Now!
Tickets for the concerts are $20 adults ($15 for CGOA members), $5 Youth (10-17) and free for kids under 10. Tickets are available at the door and in advance through the CGOA website at gorgeorchestra.org.
As per CGOA COVID-19 policy, all audience members must present proof of vaccination OR negative COVID test from no more than 48 hours prior to the concert. All audience members must be masked and will be socially distanced.
Anyone with questions should email info@gorgeorchestra.org
