The Oregon Composers Forum at the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance hosts a celebration of life for longtime Eugene arts advocate Gary Ferrington at 4 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 19, in Beall Concert Hall on the UO campus — a venue where Gary spent many hours enjoying and often covering concerts for Oregon ArtsWatch. 

As we noted in an appreciation after Gary’s death in July at age 83, Ferrington, “a photo artist himself, was also one of Eugene’s most valuable arts boosters, one especially devoted to expanding opportunities for young composers. As both journalist and advocate, in his retirement years after a three-decade career as a University of Oregon faculty member, Ferrington did more for arts and artists than most will do in a lifetime.”

Along with writing about music, dance, online concert streaming, and more, Gary also created ArtsWatch’s Oregon ComposersWatch website and served as editor of the international Journal of Acoustic Ecology. An Oregon native, after retiring from his longtime faculty position in the UO’s College of Education, Ferrington became one of the arts advocates who made Eugene’s late, lamented DIVA center for the arts so valuable.

Toward the end of his generous life, Ferrington turned to fiction and memoir. His most significant contribution to Oregon arts was showcasing the works of emerging young Oregon composers, including many who passed through the University of Oregon, where he’ll be honored.

After the celebration, a reception will follow at 5:30 p.m. in Room 190 (Aasen-Hull Concert Hall) in the School of Music building, 961 E. 18th St., Eugene. The ceremony, concert and reception, which are open to the public, are coordinated by UO composer Robert Kyr, who also directs the Oregon Composers Forum.

Residential Honors

Portland’s All Classical Radio has named violinist Emily Cole and clarinetist James Shields as its 2024/2025 Artists in Residence. 

From the station’s press release: “Participants in All Classical Radio’s Artists in Residence program enjoy access to the station’s world-class studios, research database, digital music archives, and industry contacts and network. With these powerful tools at their fingertips, artists can develop their portfolios; share their work on All Classical Radio’s wide-reaching radio and digital platforms; and deepen their engagement with audiences regionally and around the world. They have ample ability to record and produce in-studio, create digital content, and perform on the air and in the community. Artists also receive a financial award to support their creative and career development.”

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Shields said in the release that one goal would involve an ongoing composition project to expand the repertoire for violin and clarinet.

The Oregon Symphony members performed and talked about their new positions (one of the nation’s only radio station artist residencies) on the station’s valuable Thursdays@Three program last week, and you can hear them on the archived version through Oct. 23. Read James Bash’s ArtsWatch double profile. 

The married couple succeeds previous resident artists pianist María García (2022-23), flutist Adam Eccleston (2020-21), and pianist Hunter Noack (2019).

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Speaking of resident artists, Portland Opera just named its next set. Returning collaborative pianist Claire Forstman, soprano Ginaia Black, mezzo-soprano Erin Roth Thomas, tenor Nathaniel Catasca, and baritone Matthew Maisano will study with guest faculty, visiting artists, and company members, and perform in a pair of free community performances, including at 7 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 18, at Alberta House.

Classical Kudos

Speaking of All Classical, one of its on-air hosts, Portland State University School of Music & Theater choral music professor Coty Raven Morris, has been named fo the second consecutive year as one of 25 semifinalists for the Grammy 2025 Music Educator Award. The winner will be honored at the Grammies in January. 

The award “honors music educators from across the United States who have “made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools,” according to the announcement.

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As we wrote when she received last year’s finalist nomination, she’s “also (deep breath here) featured author for All Classical Radio’s Arts Blog; contributor to ICAN Radio, All Classical’s 24-hour arts and music network for children, their families, caregivers, and educators; and Hinckley Hinckley Assistant Professor of Music Education and Social Justice at Portland State University. She is the Northwest Choral representative for the National Association for Music Education, Community Choir Chair for the Northwest region of the American Choral Directors Association, and founder of Being Human Together, a community rooted in music education striving to normalize difficult topics – like mental health, systemic oppression, diversity, and inclusivity – through conversation and connection. Somehow she also finds time to sing with Mirabai, a professional women’s ensemble that aims to enhance the artistic expectations of women’s choral singing by connecting powerful music of women, past and present.” Since then, Morris has also taken over as host of the seasonal program Sound in Print. Read James Bash’s ArtsWatch profile. 

Morris will lead her students in a “community sing” with Morris and her students at “Threads of Harmony,” a concert featuring the PSU University Choir and Community Chorus, Friday, December 6.

Continuing the classical conductor carousel …

• The Beaverton Symphony Orchestra appointed Pierre-Alain Chevalier its new music director, succeeding the late Travis Hatton. The Willamette University alumnus has held various positions in orchestras around the country, and conducted several orchestras in Oregon and Texas.

• Former Eugene Symphony music director Giancarlo Guerrero has been named artistic director and principal conductor of Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival. The six-time Grammy winner with a deep commitment to contemporary music succeeds Carlos Kalmar, the Oregon Symphony’s conductor laureate, who just completed his quarter-century tenure at the summer festival. Now in its ninth decade, the festival’s Oregon connection also includes its President and CEO, Paul Winberg — who moved there from his similar position at the Eugene Symphony (where he worked with Guerrero) in 2011. 

• Xian Zhang has been named the next music director of the Seattle Symphony, beginning in September 2025. Zhang, a Grammy and Emmy-winning conductor who was born in China, she will be the first woman and person of color to lead the orchestra. 

• Finally, check out this spiffy New York Times profile of one of the great living jazz masters, Lewis & Clark College alum Tim Berne.

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