Featuring Jan Michael Looking Wolf, Robin Gentlewolf, and special guests

An inspirational concert by Kalapuya Tribal Elder and Global Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Recipient Jan Michael Looking Wolf that features beautiful Native American Flutes, Tribal drums, indigenous chants along with acoustic native-folk songs. With a blend of authentic indigenous and contemporary music that shares a story of everyone’s connection to each other and Mother Earth, this is an uplifting experiences for audiences of all ages. Award winning Flutist Robin Gentlewolf and other guest performers will join Jan Michael on stage.

A Kalapuya Tribal Elder from Western Oregon, Jan Michael Looking Wolf is one of the world's most notable Native American musicians with 30 commercial recordings and over 70 awards including the Global Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, Artist of the Year at the Native American Music Awards, and Hall of Fame Inductee at One World Music Radio. In addition to touring his music, Jan Michael instructs Cultural Diversity/Indigenous Music courses at Oregon State University, where he has taught 20,000 students how to play the Native American Flute.

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Spend a summer evening at LaJoie Theatre listening to the Opus13 String Quartet! This highly-praised, Scandinavian ensemble will present a free, hour-long community concert at the Chehalem Cultural Center. All ages are welcome to this exciting FREE community performance!  This concert is presented by Chamber Music Northwest as part of their 2025 Summer Festival.

Praised for their vitality and range of colors, Swedish-Norwegian string quartet Opus13 is one of Scandinavia’s most exciting ensembles. Formed in 2014, the quartet comprises Sonoko Miriam Welde, Edvard Erdal, Albin Uusijärvi and Daniel Thorell. They are 2nd prize winners of the prestigious Banff International String Quartet Competition 2022. In 2023 they received the Norwegian Equinor Classical Music Award, joining a list of previous winners including Leif Ove Andsnes, Lise Davidsen and Vilde Frang.

They have guested concert series and festivals such as the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht in the Netherlands, Chamber Music Northwest in Oregon, East Neuk Festival in Scotland, Yeulmaru and Yonsei Chamber Music Festivals in South-Korea, Rusk Festival in Finland, and most of the major chamber music festivals in Norway, including Bergen International Festival, Stavanger, Rosendal, Trondheim and Risør Chamber Music Festivals.

Opus13 has collaborated with international top musicians such as Janine Jansen, Olli Mustonen, Julian Bliss, Alisa Weilerstein, Tabea Zimmermann, Jonathan Biss and Anne Sofie von Otter. They receive guidance and coaching from Bjørg Lewis and Berit Cardas of the Vertavo Quartet, and Tim Frederiksen.

The Opus13s are founders and artistic directors of Vinterspill på Lillehammer, a chamber music festival in the winter town of Lillehammer.

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Tall Poppy String Band is an Old Time trio featuring fiddler George Jackson, guitarist Morgan Harris, and banjoist Cameron DeWhitt. Drawing from the deep well of American string band music, Tall Poppy String Band approaches tradition with playful curiosity; each performance more a discussion than a statement. Whether they’re chasing the elusive downbeat of a source recording, playing with the pronouns in a bluegrass standard, or challenging the assumed roles of their instruments, Tall Poppy String Band endeavours to prove that tradition is still being written.

Featuring George Jackson, Morgan Harris, and Cameron DeWhitt

Cameron DeWhitt (they/them) is a clawhammer banjoist based in Portland, Oregon, named by R.D. Eno of Banjo Newsletter as being “…among the finest clawhammer banjo players alive.” They are the creator and host of Get Up in the Cool, a weekly old time music and interview podcast featuring conversations and musical collaborations with some of the most influential traditional musicians working today. Cameron also produces PitchforkBanjo.com, an online instructional video series for clawhammer banjo, and teaches private lessons.

George Jackson (he/him) is a New Zealand-born fiddle player based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is known for Time and Place, his acclaimed 2019 album of original old time fiddle tunes (from which sprang the old time viral hit “Dorrigo”) and now Hair and Hide, his new collection of fiddle/banjo duets with some of the brightest stars of the banjo world. George has toured both as a band leader and with such artists as Jake Blount, Front Country, Peter Rowan, Missy Raines, and many more. He is the three-time winner of the Australian National Bluegrass Championship on fiddle, and the recipient of the 2019 Mike Auldridge composition award from the DC Bluegrass Union.

Morgan Harris (she/they) is a Colorado-based guitarist specializing in traditional North American stringband (or ‘old time’) music. In contrast to the purely accompanying role the guitar often occupies in this space, Morgan’s distinctive playing technique allows the guitar to shine as an old time melody instrument, creating a rhythmic drive and a multi-layered resonance that is unique in the world of flatpicked guitar. On Morgan’s new record Alone Will Tell (released Nov 1st, 2024), she performs a collection of traditional tunes and songs with just her guitar and voice, drawn from historic source recordings of driving fiddle breakdowns, hypnotic banjo pieces and austere mountain ballads. This is the music she has continually found herself drawn to in quiet, solitary moments, and it has been shaped by long familiarity and patient questioning. Morgan’s first release as an out trans musician, Alone Will Tell is a meditation on the transformative potential of looking inward.

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Rosebud String Quartet and Chatter PDX perform Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet and more!

Featured Musicians: James Shields, Clarinet | Aaron Schwebel, Violin | Emily Cole, Violin | Michael Gurevich, Violin | Keith Hamm, Viola | Leanna Rutt, Cello

The Rosebud String Quartet (violinists Aaron Schwebel and Sheila Jaffé, violist Keith Hamm, and cellist Leana Rutt) was formed in 2013 in Rosebud, Alberta at the inaugural Rosebud Chamber Music Festival, an annual summertime chamber music showcase in the Alberta Badlands. Comprised of principal players from the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company and National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, the RSQ is one of Canada’s most exciting string quartets with a unique voice and a special love for the quartets of Haydn. In February ‘23, the RSQ released it a recording of Haydn and Mozart on Leaf Music. This debut garnered widespread acclaim including a five-star review in La Scena Musicale.

The RSQ performs regularly in various Toronto-based series, including Stereo Live, Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre Chamber Music Series, Echo Chamber Toronto, Pocket Concerts, Xenia Concerts, Off Centre Music Salon, and Music Mondays. The quartet is regularly heard on CBC Radio including a recent performance on In Concert.

The RSQ has performed at Ottawa ChamberFest, Stratford Summer Music Festival, Music by the Sea in Bamfield, British Columbia, and Sweetwater Music Festival among others. Upcoming performances include Toronto’s Off Centre Music Salon, the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and Sunday Chatter in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

The RSQ had their chamber music education at the Domaine Forget, where individually they performed with members of the London Haydn Quartet, Chilingirian Quartet, Elias Quartet, ARC Ensemble, Florestan Trio and the Smithsonian Chamber Players.

CHATTER:

Chatter began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a groundbreaking chamber music organization dedicated to blending classical masterpieces with contemporary compositions and spoken word interludes. Over the years, it has expanded its vision while staying true to its roots of exploring innovative repertoire and fostering accessibility and audience engagement. Originally founded in 2008 as The Church of Beethoven by cellist Felix Wurman, Chatter quickly became a hub for boundary-pushing chamber music, embracing experimental programming and intimate, unconventional venues. In June 2025, Chatter expanded to Portland with the launch of Chatter PDX, bringing its unique concert experience to a new city. Each concert lasts one hour, weaving together chamber music, poetry, and a moment of silence, all in a welcoming atmosphere where audiences can enjoy free coffee and a shared artistic experience. Their thoughtfully curated concerts create intimate, community-focused environments where artistic excellence and experimentation go hand in hand, inspiring both longtime classical enthusiasts and newcomers alike.

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LaRhonda Steele, a Blues and gospel singer and songwriter, is recognized as one the region's best rhythm and blues vocalists. She has been dubbed "The First Lady of Portland Blues”—a title of leadership that she lives up to as she shares songs that carry forth directly from her soul and spiritual life-force.

She currently fronts the LaRhonda Steele band, is music director of the non profit Portland Interfaith Gospel Choir, music director of Portland Center for Spiritual Living.

2021 Recipient of Oregon Folklife Networks Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program award

2020 inductee into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame (ceremony delayed COVID 19);

2018 Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame.

2016-2018 Cascade Blues Association Best Female Vocalist Muddy Award

LaRhonda’s voice can be enjoyed on recordings of national and international artists; Gino Vannelli, Curtis Salgado, Lloyd Jones, Mary Flower, Norman Sylvester to name a few.

LaRhondas Discography: Artistic Differences; My Soul’s Song; Rock Me Baby; Yes Please and Song’s of Freedom

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Join award-winning NYC-based pianist/accordionist Ben Rosenblum and acclaimed Japanese visual artist Yoko Sano on a freely improvised journey through music and art! Sano will paint two canvases while Rosenblum responds to the art with spontaneously created musical accompaniment, influenced by his background in jazz and a variety of world music genres.

Pianist, accordionist and composer BEN ROSENBLUM has traversed a truly unique musical path, one that has seen him perform alongside world-class musicians across more than twenty music genres and fifteen countries, lead bands at prestigious venues across the world, all while maintaining a signature, melodic musical voice. Rosenblum’s journey has taken him on tours with Grammy-winning pop artist Rickie Lee Jones and Juno-winning contemporary Indian singer Kiran Ahluwalia. He’s played Brazilian choro with Ephrat Asherie Dance and Brazilian forró with The Late Night Show’s Nêgah Santos and famed forró band Forró in the Dark. His roots in jazz have led to an over ten-year relationship with Grammy-winning bassist Curtis Lundy, performing at festivals alongside jazz luminaries Bobby Watson, Sean Jones and Warren Wolf. He has appeared with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on accordion, and as a guest soloist on piano at Carnegie Hall’s Stern-Perelman Auditorium with Maestro Reona Ito’s New York Harmonic Band. Throughout it all, Rosenblum has always maintained the same priority - to tell a compelling story with his music, reaching the hearts of his audience and connecting on an emotional, intellectual and spiritual level.

Rosenblum brings this wealth and diversity of experiences to his projects as a leader, overseeing a full tour schedule as a solo artist, with his trio and most recently, with his six-piece ensemble, the Nebula Project. Since his first album as a leader, Instead (4 stars, Downbeat Magazine), he has since released three follow-up records to critical acclaim, including favorable reviews in almost every major jazz publication (Downbeat, All About Jazz, Jazziz, JazzTimes, JazzEd, NYC Jazz Record, JazzLife Japan and many more). Across multiple tours in Japan, Europe, Canada and the United States, Rosenblum has brought his bands to perform at some of the world’s most respected music venues, including Ravinia, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, the Library of Congress, AngraJazz (Terceira Island), Bird’s Eye (Basel) and Yokohama’s Himawari-No-Sato Concert Hall. At any given show, Rosenblum might draw on influences from ten or more countries, with interests going beyond jazz to include various music traditions from South America, Eastern Europe, Ireland, India, the Caribbean and the Middle East.

Facebook/Instagram: @benrosenblummusic / Youtube: @benrosenblummusic 

New York-based visual artist and performer YOKO SANO boasts a two decade career specializing in pastel, acrylic paint and multimedia art. Born and raised in Japan, Sano grew up studying traditional Japanese painting techniques with artists Sayoko Terada and Somei Tsubouchi, before becoming a certified instructor at the Japan Pastel Nagomi Art Association. Since her first exhibition in Kamakura (2012), Sano has sold hundreds of works online and in-person at multiple events across Japan, including in Yokohama, Zushi, Hayama and Kamakura. As a teacher of pastel and other art mediums, Sano has worked with over a hundred students, both privately, online, through her video class on Class 101 and at workshops across Japan.

In 2022, Sano moved to New York City, where she has diversified her artistic output. In addition to her pastel and painting studio, where she has received numerous private commissions, Sano has designed album covers and merchandise for a number of New York musicians, including New York Times acclaimed trumpeter Wayne Tucker and singer Pasqualino Beltempo. With her husband, jazz pianist/accordionist Ben Rosenblum, Sano has an on-going live performance project, featuring live painting with freely improvised musical accompaniment. The pair have performed regularly online and in-person, including at Zushi Bunka Plaza’s Nagisa Hall and in California at the Soper Reese Theatre. Since moving to New York, Sano has also taken an interest in Brazilian forró music, and has performed professionally on percussion alongside Brazilian singer Tarciso Alves and others.

Follow Yoko Sano on Instagram @ironomorimoon, or visit her Etsy shop at https://ironomorigallery.etsy.com.

Join us for an evening of musical theatre favorites from classics to contemporary pieces. Three friends, connected by a recent production of Grease and their love of storytelling, explore an evening of pieces created for female voices onstage- both those they've played and dream to play one day. 

MELISSA GALE: Melissa Gale is so excited to be a part of this cabaret! Previous credits include: The Office Holiday Party Musical Extravaganza (Sheila), Church & State (Alex), Evita (Eva), The Hispanic Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote (Nicola), Frida: Un Retablo (Spirit of Frida) at Milagro, Grease (Rizzo) at Broadway Rose, All Shook Up (Ensemble) at Lakewood Center for the Arts. She studied at New World School of the Arts in Miami, Fl and received a BFA in Theatre Performance.  Melissa would like to thank her family and Chase for their unwavering love and support. 

CLARA-LIIS HILLIER was most recently seen with Clackamas Rep (Damn Yankees) and Broadway Rose (Grease), she's excited to share her love of musical theatre with the Newberg community. Beyond acting, she works as a choreographer, director, and dance/theatre teacher. She has appeared onstage with Lakewood, Northwest Classical Theater Company, Corrib Theatre, Shaking the Tree, Theatre Vertigo, Bag&Baggage, and Willamette Shakespeare. She received the Drammy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for Lakewood’s Godspell.  In her non theater life, she runs Education Programming for the Chehalem Cultural Center and teaches Pure Barre. All my love to my family, Heath and my two littles: Rosalind & Jack.

SOPHIE MACKAY is thrilled to be part of the Fall Concert Series! She was most recently seen as Sandy in Grease at Broadway Rose Theatre Company. Some favorite roles include: Rose in Dogfight (Bridgetown), Susie in Snapshots (Broadway Rose), Princess Ember in The Kiss (Lakewood), Skylar in Bring It On! (Muhlenberg Summer Music Theater), and The Witch in Into The Woods (Muhlenberg College). When she's not performing, Sophie works at Northwest Children's Theater, she teaches voice lessons from her private studio, and is a fitness instructor at Pure Barre. Up next, Sophie can be seen as Blanche in Bonnie & Clyde at Bridgetown Theater this summer, and she is looking forward to being able to announce another show in the fall! She gives a huge thank you to Clara-Liis for bringing her on board!

Celebrate the magic of the season and get ready for an enchanting evening of high-energy Irish tunes, Celtic Christmas favorites, and beloved holiday classics. This family-friendly event will also feature a captivating performance by Irish dancers, adding an extra layer of festive spirit to the night.

Known for their dynamic performances blending traditional Celtic music with contemporary flair, they’ll deliver all the fan favorites you love along with holiday melodies that will have you singing along. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to their music, this is a night you won’t want to miss!

KATIE JANE BAND:High-speed Celtic fiddling meets rich vocal harmonies as the energetic Katie Jane Band takes the stage. Known as “Portland’s hottest fiddler,” Katie Jane Lubiens lights up the stage with her blazing fiddle fingers and charismatic smile. 

Each performance blends Irish, Scottish, and French Canadian folk music with Katie Jane’s original compositions to create a one-of-a-kind sound that is an explosion of energy and joy. Combine Katie Jane’s fiddle virtuosity with her sweet, authentic voice, and you’ll easily see why Katie Jane is gaining a reputation as today’s Celtic music darling. 

The Katie Jane Band can be seen performing at Scottish Highland Games, Celtic festivals, ceilis, weddings, and all kinds of concert venues across the United States. Described as “the most fun you’ll ever have with traditional Celtic fiddle music,” the band joins tasty melodies with driving rhythm for an undeniably danceable sound. 

The band’s comradery and obvious love for the music shine through each toe-tapping performance, uplifting their listeners and leaving them wanting more. Come see for yourself why audiences can’t get enough of the Katie Jane Band!

Learn more at www.katiejaneband.com

A Celtic Christmas with The Katie Jane Band and Irish Dancers

A Celtic Christmas with The Katie Jane Band "Christmas in Killarney"

A Celtic Christmas with The Katie Jane Band "Let It Snow" sing-along with Irish flair