Artpark & Company announces lineup for 'New Music in the Park Series'

Artpark & Company has announced the 2023 “New Music in the Park Series.” Six performances will be held in various locations throughout Artpark’s scenic grounds, curated by Artpark staff and award-winning conductor and composer Brent Chancellor.

A press release stated, “The series offers an eclectic snapshot of music, performance and collaboration happening now with works by living, female, and underrepresented composers, alongside iconic and legendary figures that broaden and enrich the musical conversation around creativity, social unity, and identity.”

Tickets for all performances are $12 and are available at the Artpark box office (450 S. Fourth St., Lewiston) and online at ticketmaster.com.

‘New Music in the Park Series’ Lineup

Per Artpark:

•Jeremy Dutcher, 7 p.m., Friday, July 7 / Mainstage Theater: Jeremy Dutcher is a classically trained operatic tenor and composer who takes every opportunity to blend his Wolastoq First Nation roots into the music he creates, blending distinct musical aesthetics that shape-shift between classical, traditional and pop to form something entirely new.

Dutcher’s debut release, “Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa,” involves the rearrangement of early 1900s wax cylinder field recordings from his community.

“Many of the songs were lost because our musical tradition was suppressed by the Canadian government,” he said. “I'm doing this work as there's only about a hundred Wolastoqey speakers left. It's crucial that we're using our language because, if you lose the language, you're losing an entire distinct way of experiencing the world.”

•Third Coast Percussion, 4 p.m. Sunday, July 9 / Artpark Emerald Grove Stage: Third Coast Percussion (TCP) is a Grammy Award-winning Chicago-based percussion quartet and Grammy-nominated composer collective. For over 15 years, the ensemble has created exciting and unexpected performances that constantly redefine the classical music experience. The ensemble has been praised for “commandingly elegant” (The New York Times) performances, the “rare power” (Washington Post) of their recordings, and “an inspirational sense of fun and curiosity” (Minnesota Star-Tribune).

TCP’s program for this performance, titled “Perspectives,” invites listeners to embark on an exciting musical adventure, featuring virtuosic repertoire written for TCP by some of today’s leading music creators. Iconic film composer Danny Elfman, innovative electronic music producer Jlin, American legend Philip Glass, and groundbreaking flute/electronics duo Flutronix embody the diversity of 21st century music-making, drawing inspiration from a wide range of influences and points of view.

NPR Music’s Tom Huizenga said, “Third Coast Percussion, with albums like ‘Perspectives,’ continues to push percussion in new directions, blurring musical boundaries and beguiling new listeners.”

•L'Oiseau: Guided walking-concert along the Niagara Gorge, 7 p.m. Thursday, July 13 / Artpark upper park: L’Oiseau is a guided walking-concert set along Artpark’s iconic Gorge Trail that explores the works of contemporary composers Kaija Saariaho, Iannis Xenakis, Brent Chancellor and Messiaen, body movement, and Native American spoken word. Celebrating nature and transformative experience, the performance culminates with Michael Gordon’s “Timber for six 2x4’s.” Performers include Cathie Apple, Tim Stanley and Mantra Percussion.

•CS4: Philip Glass String Quartets, 7 p.m. Thursday, July 20 / Mainstage Theater: Hailed by NPR, Apple Music and Strings Magazine as one of the most noteworthy interpreters of the music of Philip Glass, violinist Chase Spruill leads San Francisco-based CS4 in an all-Glass program celebrating 30 years of the composer’s iconic music for string quartet. This special program includes music from Mishima, Quartet Satz, and the U.S. premiere of Glass’s String Quartet No. 9, “King Lear.”

•John Bacon Quintet, 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6 / Artpark Emerald Grove Stage: The John Bacon Quintet consists of some of the region’s finest jazz artists and composers, including John Hasselback III on trumpet, Elliot Scozzaro on alto saxophone, Jared Tinkham on guitar, Ed Croft on bass and John Bacon on drums. The group is a modern jazz quintet playing original music composed by the members. They are celebrating the release of their first recording in early summer 2023.

•LUX: Vivaldi Redefined – The Four Seasons, 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13 / Mainstage Theater: Vivaldi’s most radical work redefined. Violinist Hee Sagong, conductor Brent Chancellor, and projection artist Nicholas Taboni reimagine Vivaldi’s groundbreaking work in an immersive performance surrounded by audience members on stage, a backdrop of digital projections, and electronic music interludes. “Vivaldi Redefined” blurs the lines between listener, performer, past, and present.

The “New Music in the Park Series” is made possible in part by HSBC Bank. More information on all performances is available at www.artpark.net

Curator & Collaborative Artist

Brent Chancellor is an award-winning conductor, composer and curator recognized for his powerful, dynamic style and direct human communication. A passionate educator and founder of the immersive orchestra project LUX, he has performed throughout the U.S., including at Carnegie Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Symphony Space, DiMenna Center, and New Jersey Performing Arts Center. His music and sound installations have been featured at the Festival of New American Music, Festival of the Arts, Sacramento Film Festival, and New York Fashion Week. Fascinated by the intersectional merging of interdisciplinary arts, performance practice and education, his programming explores collaborations that present important works in new and compelling ways.