VIDEO PREMIERE: Portland Cello Project Plays Radiohead and Elliott Smith

Posted on March 20, 2018 by maestrobeats

Equally at home in rock clubs and concert halls, Portland Cello Project is an ensemble known for pushing the boundaries of the classical cello tradition. The group reimagines classical favorites and contemporary hits alike for their famous choir of cellos, with an expansive repertoire ranging from J.S. Bach to Jay-Z and Kanye West and beyond.

In Seattle last December, the group performed the entirety of Radiohead’s OK Computer in celebration of the album’s 20th anniversary. We caught up with them at the station and filmed a video of one of their favorite Radiohead tracks, “Paranoid Android,” along with their cover of Elliott Smith’s “Tomorrow, Tomorrow.”

Radiohead: Paranoid Android (Portland Cello Project)

Elliott Smith: Tomorrow, Tomorrow (Portland Cello Project)

Catch Portland Cello Project performing LIVE in Seattle on Tuesday, May 15 at 7:30pm at the Triple Door. For tickets and more information, click here.

Concert Preview: Orchestra ROCKS On Stage with KING FM

Posted on April 10, 2017 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Molloy

Photo by Jason Tang

Rock out with Second Inversion this weekend at our next On Stage with Classical KING FM concert: a rock ‘n’ roll reprise of the Seattle Rock Orchestra Quintet performing with the mesmerizing Tamara Power-Drutis!

Back by popular demand after a rousing concert last season, the band is back to transform popular song into art song, performing a program that reimagines both classic and modern songs as intimate and emotional chamber works born for the recital hall.

So how about a preview? Watch our exclusive videos below of the band performing works last year by Radiohead, Beck, and Jeremy Enigk:

Radiohead (arr. Scott Teske): Nude

Beck (arr. Bischoff/Teske): Do We? We Do.

Jeremy Enigk (arr. Scott Teske): Ballroom

Plus, listen to the rest of last year’s setlist on-demand below:

Second Inversion presents the Seattle Rock Orchestra Quintet with Tamara Power-Drutis this Saturday, April 15 at 7:30pm at Resonance at SOMA Towers in Bellevue. Click here for tickets.

Second Inversion’s Top 5 Moments of 2016

Posted on December 30, 2016 by maestrobeats

2016 was filled with lots of fun on our 24/7 stream, video production studios, & blog, but this year we really focused on getting out in the community. While these digital offerings reach people world-wide, we are grateful to connect with our Seattle-area fans and like-minded folks! Here are our top 5 moments/events/milestones/projects/good times listed in chronological order.

This is the final post in a series of Top 5 of 2016 lists (check out our Top 5 Videos,Top 5 Albums, and Top 5 Blog Features).

February 1, 2016: Co-presenting Brooklyn Rider and Gabriel Kahane at the Tractor Tavern

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When we had the opportunity to team up with Tractor Tavern to co-present Gabriel Kahane and Brooklyn Rider, we jumped for joy and hopped aboard. The honky-tonkin’ venue was filled with people from all walks of musical life and a great showcase of how to – as we like to say around here – Rethink Classical. Click here for a review of the performance.

April 9, 2016: Second Inversion Presents: Seattle Rock Orchestra Quintet with Tamara Power-Drutis

Second Inversion moved up and over to the Eastside to close Classical KING FM’s inaugural concert series On Stage with Classical KING FM at Bellevue’s newest concert hall, RESONANCE at SOMA Towers. The Seattle Rock Orchestra Quintet with the inimitable, versatile vocalist Tamara Power-Drutis, transformed popular song into art song, in a program that re-imagined the work of artists such as Radiohead, Beck, Bjork and others as intimate and emotional chamber works born for the recital hall.

Best of all? Back by popular demand, they’ll be performing again next year on April 15, 2017! Tickets are on sale now.

All photos by Jason Tang.

May 26, 2016: Second Inversion Showcase at the 2016 Northwest Folklife Festival

This spring, we came together to celebrate the sounds of the Pacific Northwest in our 2nd annual Second Inversion Showcase at the Northwest Folklife Festival, which featured performances by the bi-coastal brass quartet The Westerlies, the innovative and always-interactive Skyros Quartet, and the boundary-bursting Sound of Late.

All photos by Maggie Molloy.

July-November: New Music Happy Hours hosted by Second Inversion and the Live Music Project

Second Inversion and the Live Music Project host monthly(ish) Happy Hours at the Queen Anne Beerhall for anyone and everyone with an open mind and a willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue about music and art in Seattle and beyond. Sign up for e-mail alerts to find out when the next one is occurring!

: Andrew and Maggie

: James and Connie

: Group shot! (Table 1)

: We like to laugh!

: Jacob and Brendan

: Group shot! (Table 2)

: Donna and Ursula

: Jon and Connie

: Deep in conversation.

: Shaya and Kevin

All photos by Maggie Molloy.

October 3, 2016: Steve Reich at 80

reichat80 Second Inversion celebrated Steve Reich’s birthday in huge style with a 24 hour marathon of his music on our stream. Our staff and over a dozen community members joined in the fun by contributing recorded introductions to their favorite Reich pieces and by writing mini-reviews. We have more 24 hour marathons planned for 2017, birthday and non-birthday related!

SNEAK PEEK AUDIO LEAK: Kirk Starkey’s “Songs of Sudbury”

Posted on July 20, 2016 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Stapleton

Second Inversion presents new and unusual music from all corners of the classical genre… and we mean NEW. Sneak Peek Audio Leak is your chance to stream fresh sounds and brand new music of note with insights from our team and the artists.

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In advance of its release this Friday, July 22, Second Inversion is pleased to present to your ears for the very first time, Kirk Starkey’s Songs of Sudbury, an autobiographical musical landscape with gorgeously intertwining melodies, pizzicato thumping beats, driving lines, and ambient sonorities. It has enough underlying art-rock flavor to please fans of Radiohead or Muse and enough soaring, sweeping cello beauty to please the traditional classical heads, and the originality to make you question what kind genre, if any, it falls into.

“My father worked in Sudbury in the mines, and I was born and lived there until the age of four. We never returned leaving behind an unattended family trauma. It was the my first time returning since childhood when I performed at the Northern Lights Festival in 2012. At this point my transition from classical performer to sound artist was already well underway.

This album connects the present with the past utilizing my cello as chosen tool of expression. In my record you will find the tracing of fragments that barely exist, and the search for meaning when it’s not clear there is any to be found. It is a personal memoir of my early childhood, a reflection on the loss of my brother, and the reclaiming of a lost chapter.” – Kirk Starkey

Songs of Sudbury was recorded at Catherine North Studios in Hamilton, Canada, following suit with Kirk’s specialization in recording in beautiful spaces. He’s also a frequent television score collaborator, and can be heard on X Company, Flashpoint, and Hannibal.

NEW VIDEOS: Seattle Rock Orchestra Quintet featuring Tamara Power-Drutis

Posted on July 8, 2016 by maestrobeats

by Maggie Stapleton

It’s hard to question Seattle Rock Orchestra‘s reputation as “the coolest orchestra in town.” You may have seen their full orchestra cover sets of The Beatles, Neil Diamond, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Muse, Stevie Wonder, but they’re a flexible ensemble that also likes to show a more intimate side of genre pollination.

Featuring the mesmerizing Tamara Power-Drutis on vocals, here are three examples of the pop-art song fusion, filmed on April 9, 2016 at the gorgeous Resonance at SOMA Towers in Bellevue.

Jeremy Enigk (arr. Scott Teske): Ballroom

Beck (arr. Jherek Bischoff and Scott Teske): Do We? We Do.

Radiohead (arr. Scott Teske): Nude

These videos were filmed in conjunction with On Stage with Classical KING FM, a concert series designed to spotlight brilliant local musicians and a little something extra, whether it’s food, wine, dancing or exclusive talks. If you like those videos and want to hear more, you can stream more selections from this performance below and on our on-demand audio page!

For information about the 2016-17 On Stage with Classical KING FM season, including a reprise performance of SROQ + Tamara, click here!

2016.04.09: Seattle Rock Orchestra Quintet feat. Tamara Power-Dr