Portland Chamber Music Festival: Illuminations

The New York Times extols the East Coast Chamber Orchestra for “mixing the transparency and coherence of a string quartet with an orchestra's warmth and heft,” praising their “luminous” performances and “sheer exuberance.” This evocative program centers around the surrealistic song cycle Les Illuminations by Benjamin Britten, for which ECCO will be joined by American tenor Nicholas Phan, described by the Boston Globe as “one of the world's most remarkable singers.” The program also features William Grant Still's Danzas de Panama, based on a collection of Panamanian folk tunes, and Hanna Benn's introspective Where Springs Not Fail, weaving text and melody in an ethereal, meditative style. Finally, John Adams' iconic Shaker Loops, a masterful musical “epiphany of physical and spiritual transcendence,” brings PCMF's 2025 Winter Warmer season to a rapturous close. More info + tickets at pcmf.org.