Portland Ovations and the State Theatre will present the Ukrainian music group DakhaBrakha on Nov. 28. Photo by Helen Bozhko, courtesy of Portland Ovations.
Classical music in Maine this fall will feature some artists who are local to Portland and others who are touring around the world.
“Dimensions in Jazz,” Portland Conservatory of Music, Sept. 16-Nov. 11
The Portland Conservatory of Music is again hosting Dimensions in Jazz this fall. The recurring series is organized by local jazz promoter Paul Lichter to bring the best contemporary jazz to Maine.
The 2023 lineup includes: the Brooklyn-based New Old Timers (Sept. 16); the Dana Saul Trio (Sept. 23); the Eastern Boundary Quartet, a collaboration between Hungarian master musicians Balazs Bagyi and Mihaly Borbely and New York musicians Joe Fonda and Michael Jefry Stevens (Oct. 14); the Barb Truex Project, headed by a Portland-based musician (Oct. 28); the trio Oceans And (Nov. 3); and a trio of pianist and poet Eliot Cardinaux, double bassist Will McEvoy, and drummer Max Goldman (Nov. 11).
Tickets are $5 for students, $15 for seniors, $20 in advance and $25 at the door. For more information, visit pcm.org/dimensions-in-jazz.
Portland Symphony Orchestra Opening Night: Visual Sounds, Merrill Auditorium, Sept. 30-Oct. 1
The classical season begins at Portland Symphony Orchestra with the theme “Visual Sounds.” The program includes work by George Gershwin, Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Giuseppe Verdi and Modest Mussorgsky.
The orchestra will also perform a program titled “Musical Landscapes” on Oct. 17 and another called “Symphonic Seasons” on Nov. 12.
For more information and tickets, visit portlandsymphony.org or call 207-773-6128.
Jerusalem Quartet, Portland Ovations, Maine Jewish Museum, Oct. 7
The renowned Israeli quartet will perform a program of Felix Mendelssohn, Paul Ben-Haim and Claude Debussy. The musicians – Alexander Pavlovsky and Sergei Bresler on violin, Ori Kam on viola, Kyril Zlotnikov on cello – balance individual expression with their presentation of the composer’s work.
Tickets ($65) are going fast. Visit portlandovations.org or call the PortTIX box office at 207-842-0800 for more information.
Portland Symphony Orchestra Pops! Kings of Soul, Merrill Auditorium, Oct. 21 and 22
The first Pops! concert of the 2023-24 season will feature legendary artists of classic soul, such as Marvin Gaye, James Brown, The Temptations, Al Green and Otis Redding. The orchestra will be joined by “American Idol” contestant Michael Lynche and Broadway performers Chester Gregory and Darren Lorenzo.
On Nov. 4 and 5, members of the orchestra will perform a tribute to singers and songwriters such as Paul Simon, Neil Diamond and James Taylor. The musicians will be joined on vocals by Michael Cavanaugh, made famous for his performance as Billy Joel in the Broadway musical “Movin’ Out,” which was nominated for both Grammy and Tony awards in 2003.
For more information and tickets, visit portlandsymphony.org or call 207-773-6128.
Ustad Shafaat Khan Trio: “Music to Heal the Soul,” Portland Ovations, Hannaford Hall, Oct. 26
Ustad Shafaat Khan is a master sitar player who has performed around the world. His concerts include Indian classical and folk music, as well as styles ranging from jazz to pop to African rhythms.
In Portland, he will be joined by Ryan Shah on tabla and Anawim Avila on guitar saxophone.
Visit portlandovations.org or call the PortTIX box office at 207-842-0800 for tickets ($45, $20 for students) and more information.
DahkaBrakha, Portland Ovations and State Theatre, Nov. 28
DakhaBrakha comes to the State Theatre from Kyiv. The quartet experiments with Ukrainian folk music and adds influences from around the world. They described their own style as “ethnic chaos” with “a trans-national sound rooted in Ukrainian culture.”
Tickets ($25-$50) are available online at portlandovations.org or the PortTIX box office at 207-842-0800.
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