Top Ten Reasons to See a Jazz Concert at WOU

Top Ten Reasons to See a Jazz Concert at WOU

10. Concerts at Western Oregon University are extremely affordable, sometimes even free. So there’s no strain on your wallet.

9. The musicians are all extremely talented and some (like Gordon Lee) are very well known within the jazz studies community.

8. You’re helping support the music school at Western Oregon University.

7. Its local. Finding the Rice Auditorium is simple and there is no shortage of parking.

6. Trying to impress someone? Take them on a date to an Oregon jazz concert. It not only makes you appear cultured, but it will also be fun.

5. No reservations are required! Tickets can be purchased at the door, making spur of the moment visits easy.

4. There is a lot of variety within the concerts—there are many different combos and musicians playing. They can be professionals or even students at Western Oregon University.

3. Rice Auditorium (the place where all concerts are held) is a relatively new building. It can hold large audiences without feeling crowded and smaller audiences can sit close to the stage.

2. Remember, it is affordable.

1. It is more enriching than watching another episode of “Desperate Housewives.”

Eugene Jazz (radio interview transcript)

DJ: Hey, we’re live on 106.22 Eugene Bop and today we’ve got a very special guest on today. Everybody put your hands together for Victor Miles, a student at University of Oregon. We keep getting emails asking why the world needs another jazz radio station, so we decided to bring in an expert. Thanks for coming in, Victor.

Miles: Thanks for having me—glad to be here.

DJ: So, you’re studying jazz at University of Oregon?

Miles: That’s right. Eugene actually has one of the best jazz studies programs in the whole U.S. We study the music itself, its history and the music business. It’s really great.

DJ: Sounds like it.

Miles: The goal of the program is… well, I go this excerpt off the university Web site, is it all right if I read it?

DJ: Go ahead.

Miles: It says, “our goal is to create an environment for learning that stimulates, recognizes, and rewards creativity and outstanding achievement in performance, composition, arranging, research, and education.    To this end, we are committed to providing our students with the most thorough education available in jazz and opportunities for personal growth and successes in the field that are second to none.” And that basically sums it up.

DJ: Impressive! I hear you’re from Washington.

Miles: That’s right. I came down here because Oregon has some of the best places to study music. It was a hard choice between University of Oregon and Western Oregon University, because both of them have awesome programs, but in the end I decided I wanted to live in a bigger city.

DJ: (laughing) So Eugene, it was!

Miles: That’s right.

DJ: So back to our listener’s question—why should our station be playing jazz? What’s so great about it?

Miles: Jazz has one of the richest histories of all music genres. It originates from Africa, when slaves were being brought over to America to work in the fields. The music mingled with all of the different European influences that were at work in America, so jazz really is the all-American music.

DJ: Like baseball is the all-American sport.

Miles: Exactly.

DJ: Well, listeners, we’ve got to go to a commercial, but don’t switch off that radio just yet. We’ll be right back.

Eugene Symphony Orchestra (musical crosswords…)

Rachel bit down on her pencil’s eraser, then spat out a few bits. “Okay, this is why I hate crossword puzzles.”

Owen looked up from his newspaper. “I told you that you didn’t have to do that. It’s my homework.”

She glared down at the offending piece of paper. “It was sitting on the table, mocking me. I had to complete it. Now what’s a five letter word that means ‘more than one instrument?’”

Owen thought about it for a moment. “Combo.”

“Perfect,” she muttered, scribbling in the answer. “What kind of professor makes a music-themed crossword puzzle for homework?”

Owen sipped his orange juice serenely. “The kind that doesn’t want to grade 45 papers.”

“Good point.” She frowned at the puzzle. “Okay, instrumental ensemble…?”

“Orchestra.”

“Do we even have one of those around?”

He gave her one of those looks, one that was one part exasperation, two parts good-natured amusement. “Um, yeah.”

“Really?” Rachel chewed on the eraser again. “In Portland?”

“Eugene, actually,” he said mildly. “I went and saw a chamber orchestra concert in Eugene. It was put on by the Oregon Mozart Players. It was really good.”

“An orchestra in Eugene, Oregon?” She stared at him.

“We’re not barbarians,” he laughed. “We have classical music, jazz, orchestras, concertos—the whole shebang.”

“Was it boring?”

He pointed a finger at her. “Orchestras are never boring. Especially when played by really talented and passionate people. The music at this Oregon concert was unbelievable. You would have enjoyed it.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Rachel fell silent, and then looked up again. “Okay, six letter word for stringed instrument?”

Eugene Concerts… chat room dialog…

(Owen_02 has entered chat room)

Owen_02: Um, hello?

(Rach-Rach has entered chat room)

Owen_02: About time.

Rach-Rach: Hey—I’m not late. Right on time. Not my fault you’re freakishly early.

Owen_02: I’ve got other homework to do. I want to get this done. Tara isn’t even on yet.

Rach-Rach: Really? Why not?

(Tara13 has entered chat room)

Tara13: Sense of self-preservation. Hey guys.

Owen_02: Finally.

Tara13: Is he being freakishly punctual again?

Rach-Rach: Yep.

Owen_02: Okay, lay it on me. What have you found?

Tara13: This is what I get for taking a marketing class. Fine, fine. I’ve been looking into ways to advertise Eugene, Oregon, and all I keep getting are concerts.

Rach-Rach: What kind? Rap? Pop?

Tara13: Think older. Symphony Orchestras and choral music choirs and some Bach festival.

Owen_02: We can work with that. Go on.

Tara13: First there are choir concerts—we’ve got the Eugene Jazz Concert Choir…

Rach-Rach: Kind of a self-explanatory name.

Tara13: Tell me about it. Then we’ve got the Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble. That one has a wide variety of concerts, everything from opera to classic rock.

Owen_02: What about the Bach thing?

Tara13: Happens every summer and put on by University of Oregon. It began in 1970 and has continued on since then. It’s apparently one of Eugene’s biggest events of the year.

Rach-Rach: Like the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.

Tara13: Exactly.

Owen_02: So in our pamphlet, we should focus on music.

Rach-Rach: More original than football.

Tara13: Sounds good to me, as long as someone else does a bit of research. I’m tired.

Owen_02: I’ll look for more stuff in the area. Continue the concert theme, only find places in Corvallis, Monmouth, and Salem. There’s got to be more…

(Rach-Rach has left chat room)

Owen_02: And maybe we could attend an Oregon orchestra concert or something…

(Tara13 has left chat room)

Owen_02: …Or the choir. Sounds interesting to me.

Owen_02: Wait, guys? Guys? Tell me you didn’t log out.

Owen_02: I need better project partners.

(Chat room is empty)

Oregon Jazz… (student dialog)

“Owen, what do you know about Oregon jazz studies?”

Owen looked up from the television. “Why?”

“Research paper.” Rachel flopped down on the couch, brandishing a pencil. “Seriously, the only thing I know about jazz is that it’s usually played in lounges and stuff. So how do you define jazz and why should I care?”

He gave her a disparaging look. “Jazz—a mix of African origins, Southern American and European influences. And you should care because you live amidst jazz legends.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Humble, aren’t you?”

“Not me.” He grinned. “Here—Oregon. And both Western Oregon University and University of Oregon. The former has Gordon Lee, a well-known composer and jazz pianist. And the latter has an award-winning jazz department.”

“So Oregon is basically swimming in a sea of jazz talent?”

He laughed and nodded. “Basically.”

Rachel began scribbling on a notepad. “Okay, what else?”

Holding up three fingers, Owen said seriously, “Three words. Portland Jazz Festival. It takes place every February, during Black History Month, to commemorate both the city and jazz itself. Huge event. You wouldn’t just be swimming in talent—you’d be drowning in it.”

She narrowed her eyes skeptically. “And all this talent comes at the low, low price of…?”

“Actually,” he said, “the tickets aren’t grossly expensive.”

Scoffing, she waved her hand at herself. “Um, hello. Poor college student. I found three quarters in my jacket pocket today and thought I’d hit the jackpot. Can’t imagine what I would’ve done if it had been a whole dollar. My heart might have given out.”

“Fine,” he chuckled. “Western’s jazz is usually free. You can appreciate it here.”

She stood, tucking the notepad under one arm. “Sounds good. Now I’m off to Google ‘Oregon jazz.’”

“He,” he called after her. “Don’t have a heart attack, but I think I saw some pennies on the floor near the stairs.”

“Oh, har, har.”

Portland Jazz… (dear diary)…

Dear Diary,

Okay, so Owen finally got his dearest wish. He convinced me to go with him to the Portland Jazz Festival (actually, he has some pictures of me sleeping, mouth hanging open and drooling and he threatened to post them online—I had no choice). I mean, jazz isn’t really my thing. I’m ashamed to say pop is. And techno—guilty pleasure. Really guilty. But anyway, we drove to Portland (note: drive from Monmouth to Portland isn’t bad so long as the traffic doesn’t suck) and it took forever to find a parking space.

Car parked, we quickly made our way to the festival itself. Owen managed to get his hands on tickets to some evening show. Kind of expected it all to take place outside, because that’s what you think of when someone says ‘festival,’ but it was inside a ballroom. Which was good, because it was raining outside. Typical Portland.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. I didn’t fall asleep. Kind of expected to, because Oregon jazz totally not my thing. But the music was good. Some people famous in the musical world were playing (in other words, Owen knew exactly who they were and I had no idea). But they had saxophones and drums and a lot of other instruments I’m not really familiar with and, wow, did they know how to use them. Didn’t have to fake my interest for Owen, which was a relief. Genuinely interesting.

Not that I’ll ever admit that to Owen. He’s smug enough as it is.

Drive back to Monmouth consisted of Owen raving about how awesome it was and me pleading with him to keep his eyes on the road. Think I’ll drive next time. I think there will be a next time.

Mostly because Owen is already looking into tickets for next year.

Oregon Concerts

When you think about Oregon, the first things to come to mind are usually fir trees, the Oregon Trail, and large areas of rural land. But what you should think is music, music, music. Oregon is home to many musical communities, ranging from jazz to classical. There are countless concerts and musicians performing at all times of the year in many Oregon cities, especially those with universities.

Perhaps the most famous is the Portland Jazz Festival. As its name would suggest, it occurs every year in Portland in February, celebrating both Black History Month as well as the vibrant jazz community in Oregon. Also in Portland are the Portland Baroque Orchestra and the Oregon Symphony.

In mid-summer, the Oregon Bach Festival is held in Eugene; concerts showcase the work of Bach, Purcell, Handel, Haydn, and Mendelssohn. Eugene itself is also home to University of Oregon, which has a superb jazz studies departments.

In Monmouth, Western Oregon University’s musical department is responsible for concerts going on year-round. The concerts themselves vary from soloists to combos and student performances to professional. Tickets are extremely affordable and sometimes even free. There are also concerts nearby in Salem. In the state capitol, there are both the Salem Chamber Orchestra and the Salem Symphony, playing in Salem and other close by venues.

So the next time you’re booking a trip to the Pacific Northwest, take a moment to check out what concerts are playing in Oregon. Because while Oregon does have fir trees, the trail and lots of rural land, there are also concerts, music and festivals.