Metropolitan Youth Symphony: Just Jimmie
$16-$41 ($11-$22 senior/student/MYS alumni)
- Jimmie Herrod, voice
- Raúl Gómez-Rojas, conductor
Tomás Bretón — En la Alhambra
Luís de Freitas Branco — Alentejana Suite No. 2
Kenji Bunch — she flies with her own wings
Symphony Orchestra's January concert welcomes guest artist Jimmie Herrod. This concert will premiere orchestral arrangements of original songs by Mr. Herrod, including Are You Lonely, Beautiful, I Love You, I Want To Run, Mouche, and Willow Bed. While these pieces were originally written for piano and voice, student composers from The Authentic Voice student commissioning series will work with Jimmie Herrod to create orchestral arrangements. MYS Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Raúl Gómez-Rojas will accompany Jimmie as he sings his songs, now expanded to a full orchestral palette.
Rounding out the repertoire, Symphony Orchestra will perform En la Alhambra by Spanish composer Tomás Bretón; Alentejana Suite No. 2 by Portuguese composer Luís de Freitas Branco; and she flies with her own wings by acclaimed Oregon composer and MYS artistic team member Kenji Bunch.
About The Authentic Voice Series
In 2018, Portland's Metropolitan Youth Symphony launched The Authentic Voice series in partnership with Fear No Music's Young Composers Project, in order to "teaching young musicians to use their artistry to empower others and create joy in the world." (Raúl Gómez, Music Director) Performed within the context of riveting and thoughtfully designed concerts, these new works serve to more fully diversify programming by directly representing this young generation of artists which comprise the orchestra. The partnership gives young, Portland-area composers an opportunity to write for and hear their work performed primarily by Symphony Orchestra, while giving ensemble musicians a chance to play never performed music by their peers.
Led by acclaimed composer Kenji Bunch, Fear No Music educates and trains the next generation of young composers by way of the Young Composers Project. Established in 1997 to answer a call to encourage and cultivate musical curiosity and creativity in the next generation, YCP provides training and mentorship in music composition to students grades 6-12.
https://playmys.org/authentic-voice-series/About Jimmie Herrod, voice
Jimmie Herrod is a singer/songwriter from Tacoma, WA living in Portland, OR. He holds a Bachelors and Masters in Music from Cornish and Portland State University (respectively,) where he also previously taught. Since the fall of 2017 he's toured with the highly celebrated international act Pink Martini, with whom he recorded the EP Tomorrow. In 2021, Herrod was a finalist on America's Got Talent (AGT) and also competed on AGT All Stars in 2023. He's been featured with the San Francisco Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, as well as PBS. In November of 2022, he released his most recent EP, Elated.
https://jimmiebeingjimmie.com/