Curtain Call: Popular orchestra conductor Martin Majkut has added another gig to his already busy schedule. Majkut, the music director of the Rogue Valley Symphony and the Queens Symphony Orchestra in New York, has been appointed the new music director of the Oregon Coast Music Association’s festival orchestra.
Folk singers are lighting up stages in the Northwest, talking about peace and the resistance to war and oppression. On Jan. 12, Rogue Valley residents will have the opportunity to come together to be inspired to work for peace at a special concert called “A Woman’s Song for Peace.”
First Frost, a family friendly community skate event, is set for 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Ashland Rotary Centennial Ice Rink, 95 Winburn Way, Ashland. The evening begins with a Southern Oregon Figure Skating performance from 4 to 4:30 p.m., followed by open skating with music by DJ Tuffshed.
The Israeli Chamber Project, a New York-based music ensemble, came to Ashland for the first time Wednesday, Dec. 4, to give a recital in Southern Oregon University’s Music Recital Hall presented by Chamber Music Concerts, now in its 41st season.
The 32nd annual Festival of Lights parade will light up downtown Ashland this Friday as the beginning of a series of events to continue through the holiday season, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce has announced. The A&M Brass Band will begin the event by playing from the Brickroom Balcony with Santa’s Parade and the Grand Illumination to follow.
Curtain Call: Abigail Mace is the artistic director and conductor of Jefferson Baroque Orchestra, a position she assumed last March. Jefferson Baroque’s upcoming concerts will be December performances of Handel’s “Messiah,” a beloved holiday tradition.
Ashland is set to jingle all the way into the holiday season with a flurry of festive concerts starting this week, designed to bring joy, warmth and a dash of musical magic to the Rogue Valley. From soaring symphonic arrangements and merry choral harmonies to the uplifting, timeless music of Handel’s “Messiah” and a lineup of concerts at SOU, there’s a tune for every holiday mood.
Ashland, Talent and Phoenix will unwrap the magic of the holidays with a variety of events, festivities and activities for the season. Families can catch Santa as he makes his rounds, enjoy festive lighting ceremonies, watch a parade, stroll through holiday markets, and much more. Mark your calendars and get ready to join in the fun, because this holiday season your hometowns are turning up the cheer.
Southern Oregon Burners, a group of Burning Man participants based in Southern Oregon held a “decompression event” known as “Afterburnt” Saturday afternoon, Nov. 2, in Lithia Park. The event is aimed at fostering Burning Man connections and educating others about Burning Man principles.
Anima Mundi Productions, a sublime music and performance-art gift to Ashland since its inception in 2014, just wrapped up another year of invigorating new works by visiting artists and composers, including resident composer Ethan Gans-Morse, evocative and expressive poetry by Tiziana DellaRovere and performances focused on raising awareness of populations that are currently in crisis.
Ashland’s 37th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration is set for noon to 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Historic Ashland Armory in downtown Ashland. The event is free and open to the public.
At its first meeting of the new year Tuesday, the Ashland City Council is expected to sew up loose threads from last year with votes to approve the 2200 Ashland St. Master Plan, formally create an Ashland Parks & Recreation Department and the first reading of an ordinance to mitigate carbon pollution for new residential structures, according to meeting materials.
Ask Strider: Our advice columnist turns to the problems of making friends and keeping them. As usual, he counsels restraint in troubled friendships, and asks the Old Cedar Tree what to do about making friends in the first place. The Old Cedar Tree has interesting thoughts on the subject.
A vandalism incident that left damage from large tire marks in Railroad and Lithia parks will cost thousands to repair and is part of a larger trend of vandalism in the city’s parks, according to Ashland Parks Superintendent Kevin Caldwell.
Ashland residents will have two opportunities to show their solidarity with a national Women’s March at two events on Saturday, Jan. 18, with a formally organized event at Oak Knoll Golf Course following an informal gathering on Ashland Plaza in the morning.
Obituary: During he early 2000s, John Fisher-Smith read short commentaries on JPR’s “Jefferson Daily” about place and value, called “Reflections.” He loved singing with the Peace Choir, and the group’s pilgrimage to Hiroshima, Japan, in 2006 was one of the highlights of his elderhood. A celebration of John’s life will take place at Temple Emek Shalom on April 6, welcoming all who wish to join at 1:45 p.m.
(It’s free)
