Inspired by Goethe’s quote, “music is liquid architecture, and architecture is frozen music,” the Portland new music ensemble Third Angle will team up with the choir group Cappella Romana to transform one of Oregon’s most famous buildings — one you might not even know exists — into an interactive soundscape.

The Mount Angel Abbey library in St. Benedict, Oregon, is one of only two buildings in the U.S. designed by noted Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. From its facade, it looks like an unassuming, one-story structure on the edge of a hill. But as you enter, the building opens up like a giant fan, two floors spreading out in a big arc with each aisle radiating from the circulation desk. And despite the “Quiet” signs, it’s no stranger to music: Duke Ellington and his orchestra played its opening in 1970.

“We love context and we love telling stories,” said Ron Blessinger, the artistic director of Third Angle. “ We love the way that music can function at the center of all these disciplines and enrich the experience of a visual space.”

Read the full story: http://www.opb.org/news/article/third-angle-and-cappella-romana-collaborate-to-merge-sound-with-architecture

No one debates that Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in the English language. What is debatable is just how much today’s audiences actually understand that language.

“I'll be really honest to say I can't understand all of it all the time,” says Lue Douthit, the director of literary development and dramaturgy at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival — and she makes her living studying theater.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced today it plans to bridge that comprehension gap with an unprecedented project underwritten by the foundation of tech entrepreneur David Hitz. “Play On” will commission 36 dramatists to translate the Bard’s entire canon of 38 plays into contemporary modern English. Ranging from award-winning playwrights to up-and-comers and translators, the writers represent a wide diversity of voices: more than half are women and more than half people of color.

“The goal is to keep all of the structure of the language intact, and the setting intact,” says artistic director Bill Rauch. “But to actually take words that may have lost their meaning or may have different meanings today and look at translating those words.”

Read the full story: http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-shakespeare-festival-to-modernize-shakespeares-entire-canon

Where the Wonderful talk about doing what they do!

00:45-02:58Blitzen Trapper's about to drop a new record! Here's a preview, with Eric Earley telling us about remaining an old logging town for one of the songs, "Cadillac Road".

02:59-12:07Denny Swofford, the co-founder of Cavity Search Records, talks with Matt Drenik (Battleme, Lions) about the label's early days. Their conversation is being released as an opbmusic podcast this week.

12:08-20:20Elizabeth Gilbert talks about coming back from a creative slump, and kicking her creativity in the gear. Her new book is called "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear". Check her out in Portland October 4th.

21:25-27:44Oregon Art Beat's Robe Imbriano gives us the lowdown on an ambitious new musical from Artists Repertory Theatre, "Cuba Libre" — a collaboration with playwright Carlos Lacamara, and Grammy--Nominated Afro-Carribean band Tiempo Libre.

27:45-36:10An opbmusic session with Wild Ones, who are showing some ferocious on "Heatwave"

37:13-45:11What do buildings sound like? Third Angle New Music creates a new performance for the library at Mt. Angel Abbey. The building was designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, and the work draws on both Finnish tradition and the ethos of the building. But Third Angle takes it one step further - they're actually using the building as an instrument.

Where the Wonderful talk about doing what they do!




Where the Wonderful talk about doing what they do!


01:18-03:31Blitzen Trapper's about to drop a new record! Here's a preview, with Eric Earley telling us about remaining an old logging town for one of the songs, "Cadillac Road".

03:31-12:39Denny Swofford, the co-founder of Cavity Search Records, talks with Matt Drenik (Battleme, Lions) about the label's early days. Their conversation is being released as an opbmusic podcast this week.

12:40-21:00 Elizabeth Gilbert talks about coming back from a creative slump, and kicking her creativity in the gear. Her new book is called "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear". Check her out in Portland October 4th.

21:50-28:10Oregon Art Beat's Robe Imbriano gives us the lowdown on an ambitious new musical from Artists Repertory Theatre, "Cuba Libre" — a collaboration with playwright Carlos Lacamara, and Grammy--Nominated Afro-Carribean band Tiempo Libre.

28:10-36:40An opbmusic session with Wild Ones, who are showing some ferocious on "Heatwave"

37:38-45:37What do buildings sound like? Third Angle New Music creates a new performance for the library at Mt. Angel Abbey. The building was designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, and the work draws on both Finnish tradition and the ethos of the building. But Third Angle takes it one step further - they're actually using the building as an instrument.

45:38-52:30Just hanging out with a living legend. Soul jazz giant Les McCann, on his 80th birthday, stops in to talk to Derek Smith of KMHD's Morning Shift, to talk about his music and photography.

When most Americans think of bonsai — the craft of pruning and shaping small trees — they probably think of an ancient gardening craft practiced by lovers of Japanese culture.

Ryan Neil thinks it’s anything but.

With a story ripped from the movie “The Karate Kid,” he founded Bonsai Mirai, a leading international school in the hills outside Portland, and he’s partnered with cutting-edge architects and designers in an effort to make bonsai cool for a new generation.

From Sept. 25–27, they’re staging an ambitious exhibition of bonsai from around the country at the Portland Art Museum called the Artisan's Cup with design help from Skylab Architecture. Their goal: to elevate bonsai into a contemporary art form worthy of, well, museums.

This week: artists get kicked out of Towne Storage, Natasha Kmeto gets vocal, bonsai gets a high design update, vampires get all touristy and so much more.

Hundreds Of Artists Lose Their Studios At Towne Storage - 5:08
Towne Storage has occupied a special place in the Central Eastside arts scene, housing hundreds of artists. But now, Towne Storage’s managers have informed everyone they need to be out by November; the building has been sold.

Q&A: Commission Nick Fish On Artists' Space - 5:25
Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish told us he definitely has some concerns about how development in the Central Eastside is playing out.

The New American Bonsai + The Artisan's Cup - 10:54
When most Americans think of bonsai — the art of pruning and shaping small trees — they probably think of an ancient gardening craft practiced by lovers of Japanese culture. Ryan Neil thinks it’s anything but. With a story ripped from the movie “The Karate Kid,” he has created Bonsai Mirai, a leading international school in the hills outside Portland. And he’s partnered with cutting-edge architects and designers in an effort to make bonsai cool for a new generation.

Now they’re staging an ambitious exhibition of juried bonsai from around the country called The Artisan's Cup at the Portland Art Museum from Sept 25–27. Their goal: to elevate bonsai into a contemporary art form worthy of, well, museums.

What Are You Looking At: Wendy Red Star on "Edward Curtis: Shadow Catcher" - 18:36
This fall, the Bend arts space Atelier 6000 is showing photographs by Edward Curtis in “Edward Curtis: Shadow Catcher.” At the turn of the 20th century, Curtis vowed to record, with his camera, the way Indian people lived. We sent Portland artist Wendy Red Star to check it out for an installment of our series “What Are You Looking At.”

New Film Profiles Afghan Photographers - 26:30
When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001, photography was illegal. Since then, photojournalists have taken cautious steps toward a free press. Local filmmaker Mo Scarpelli went to Afghanistan to see what life is like behind the lens for her new documentary “Frame by Frame,” which follows the lives of four Afghani photgraphers. You can see it at Vancouver's Kiggins Theater on Sept. 21 at 7:30pm.

opbmusic session: Natasha Kmeto - 34:15
Portland-based electronic music artist Natasha Kmeto's record from a couple of years ago, “Crisis,” emphasized mood and sound. But her new one record, “Inevitable,” is all about soul. Her robust vocals dominate the mix, and she’s singing personal lyrics that are more raw and confident than ever.

Tilikum Crossing - 41:09
You’re a person, right? Well, your bridge is ready for you. Tilikum Crossing, literally, “the Bridge of the People,” is carrying its first walkers, bikers and public transit riders between Portland’s South Waterfront and East Side. It’s Bridgetown’s first new bridge over the Willamette River in four decades. Think Out Loud’s Dave Miller spoke with the bridge’s architect, Don McDonald.

Ten Years After "Twilight" Dawned, Forks Remains A Mecca For Vampire Fan - 45:20
Last weekend, vampires were afoot in a small town on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Fans of the bestselling teen vampire romance series flooded into the town of Forks from all over the country to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of the first book in the Twilight Saga. Correspondent Tom Banse reports on the love story that injected new blood into the economy of a once hobbled logging town.

Fish talks about the city's toolbox for dealing with a scarcity of maker space.

We meet a few of the artists in the midst of the Towne Storage exodus, and hear about the forces driving the change.

A collection of Edward Curtis' portraits of Native people are on view through October 31st at Bend's Atelier 6000. We tagged along with visual artist Wendy Red Star to see the show.

00:52 How a white guy from Indiana tricked his way past northwest poet Sheman Alexie, to get published in Best American Poetry 2015.

04:05 XOXO Fest welcomes C. Spike Trotman to town this weekend.

13:05 Dreamy, resonant sounds from Natasha Kmeto. She gives us a taste of her new release, "Inevitable"

16:30 Novelist Patrick DeWitt sharpened his knives on fairy tale archtypes for his new novel, "Undermajordomo Minor".

23:28 An opbmusic session with Bed, a slo-fi trio that's coming off well-received gigs at Treefort and PDX Pop Now.

28:02 Sounds from Holcombe Waller's newest composition, a requiem commissioned by PICA for this year's Time Based Art Festival.

35:23 Oregon Art Beat sits down with poet Primus St. John.

39:44 Hats off: Lou Watson is a finalist for th Seattel Art Museum's Betty Bowen prize!

42:56 Hector Tobar talks about weaving the narrative of the 33 Chilean miners who spent 69 days trapped underground