Piano Summit presented by The CGOA
June 20 @ 7:00 pm
The Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association
20th Anniversary Season
Piano Summit
Gorge Sinfonietta with Kathryn Apland and Mitchell Jett Spencer, soloists
Thursday and Saturday, June 18 and 20 at 7 PM, Sunday June 21 at 2 PM
Wy’east Middle School Performing Arts Center
Over the past twenty years, the Gorge Sinfonietta has presented hundreds of concerts featuring a wide spectrum of music, from beloved classics to exciting new compositions. Two of the most memorable concerts featured Kathryn Apland playing the Grieg Piano Concerto, and Mitchell Jett Spencer performing Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. For its final concert of the 2025-26 Season, the Sinfonietta has invited both soloists to return in a concert called “Piano Summit.”
Conductor Mark Steighner said that the concert’s title has two meanings. “In the world of geopolitics or business, a summit brings together talented people to share ideas. But of course the other meaning is the apex, the top of the mountain. This music is the absolute summit of late 19th century Romanticism and piano virtuosity.”
Steighner said that having two piano concertos on one program is pretty rare, and something the Sinfonietta has never done. Mitchell Jett Spencer will be performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, which takes the listener on a complex, dazzling musical journey that’s filled with romance, drama and humor.
Kathryn Apland will perform Franz Liszt’s Totentanz, which is also a theme and variations, but based on an ancient Gregorian chant melody, the Dies Irae, or “Day of Anger.” Totentanz is one of the composer’s most dramatic, progressive and genuinely surprising works. In many ways it foreshadows later 20th century composers like Bartok.”
Steighner said, “I am in awe of both Kathy and Mitch’s technical skills, their deep musical understanding and their willingness to take on these incredibly difficult challenges. I guarantee audiences will be impressed.”
The program will be rounded out by Johannes Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture and an excerpt from Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony.
“Mahler is one of my absolute favorite composers,” Steighner said. “I’ve been listening to his music since I was in high school or before. The Sinfonietta has never played any music by Mahler because it’s too big, usually requiring an immense orchestra. But I couldn’t step away from the podium without doing at least a little bit.”
The Piano Summit concerts will be Steighner’s last performance with the orchestra. He will be retiring after founding CGOA and its ensembles twenty years ago. Steighner’s replacement will be Lars Campbell, recently hired after an exhaustive search. Campbell is the longtime director of the Clackamas Community College Wind Ensemble and a professional trombonist, having performed with the Oregon Symphony and Seattle Symphony.
“Lars will helm the Sinfonietta for an exciting new chapter in its development,” Steighner said. “I’m pleased he was willing and able to join us.”
The recent performances of Roads Not Taken were entirely sold out, so Steighner urges audiences to buy tickets well in advance. The concerts will be Thursday, June 18 and Saturday, June 20 at 7 PM, and Sunday, June 21 at 2 PM. Concerts will be at the Wy’east Middle School Performing Arts Center at 3000 Wy’east Rd in Odell. Tickets are available at gorgeorchestra.org. Adults $25; CGOA members $20; students/youth FREE (HS & college students show ID at the door). Also, $5 tickets are available at the door for SNAP card holders through the Arts for All program.
The Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and presenting musical performances of the highest quality in the Columbia River Gorge region. With a commitment to artistic excellence and education, CGOA brings the joy of music to audiences of all ages.
