News Archives
January, February 2005

Open House Friday, February 4, 4:30 PM

The Wallowa Valley Music Alliance will be holding an Open House Friday afternoon at 4:30 PM at The Woodshed, their headquarters at 705 South River Street in Enterprise. The public is invited to stop by and say hello, have a cup of coffee, and find out more about the WVMA.

Columbia Trio performs for Wallowa Valley Music Alliance Fundraiser
February 11, 2005 7:30pm at The Woodshed

The Wallowa Valley Music Alliance is proud to present The Columbia Trio in concert Friday, February 11 at 7:30 PM as a general fundraiser for the young non-profit group. A rare musical treat for Wallowa County, this talented chamber ensemble is comprised of Matt Cooper (piano), Lisa Robertson (violin), and Edward Dixon (cello).

The concert will be held at The Woodshed, which is the WVMA’s headquarters in Enterprise (705 S. River Street, just off the Hurricane Creek Rd. turnoff from Hwy 82). Tickets for this special fundraising event are available for free at The Bookloft in Enterprise and the Joseph Bookshop. Seating is extremely limited, so first come, first served. The suggested donation is $10 per person.

The classical trio will be performing a trio by Antonín Dvorák. In addition, the individual performers will play solo pieces by Dvorák, Fauré, and George Gershwin. Taking its name from the river whose tributaries connect the three cities where the trio performers live, The Columbia Trio was formed in 1998, and is one of the few concertizing chamber ensembles in the Inland Northwest. These fine musicians are faculty members from the music departments of Eastern Oregon University and Whitman College.

Cooper earned his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master's degrees at the College-Conservatory of Music of the University of Cincinnati, and his Bachelor of Music summa cum laude from the University of Oregon, and currently teaches piano and music theory and directs the Jazz Ensemble at E.OU.

Robertson (B.M., M.A., University of Iowa, D.M., Florida State University) was a pupil of Allen Ohmes at the University of Iowa, Nicholas Chumachenco at the Zurich (Switzerland) Conservatory, Eliot Chapo at Florida State University, and has performed in master classes taught by Zino Francescatti and Christian Ferras. As Artist-in-Residence for Violin at Eastern Oregon University, Robertson teaches violin and viola, coaches chamber music, and is co-director of the fiddle ensemble. She is also a presenter in the Oregon Chautauqua Program and is concertmaster of the Grande Ronde and Oregon East Symphonies
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Dixon, the trio’s cellist, received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Southern California and his doctorate from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He currently conducts the Whitman College Symphony and teaches low strings, music history/literature, conducting, and chamber music
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The Music Alliance will be using funds raised by this event to help support its Musical Expressions for Youth program, (currently in progress on Fridays at The Woodshed) along with other musical education workshops. More information about The Columbia Trio and the WVMA can be found at www.wvmusicalliance.org. Contact the WVMA at 541-426-3390, or info@wvmusicalliance.org. (The Wallowa Valley Music Alliance is an Oregon non-profit corporation registered under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as a public charity.)

December 22, 2004

Music Alliance starts Musical Expressions for Youth program

Beginning January 7, 2005, the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance will be presenting music workshops for kids on Fridays at The Woodshed, 705 S. River Street in Enterprise.

The first program offered in the Musical Expressions for Youth series will be Introduction to Orchestra, taught by Lisa Robertson. Robertson was a member of State Theater Orchestra of Mainz, Germany, and Mainz String Quartet and is currently Artist-in-Residence at Eastern Oregon University and Violinist of the Columbia Trio. She is also the founder and director of the Wallowa Lake Chamber Music Festival. The workshop focus will be on learning the first skills necessary for young string players (violin, viola, cello, bass) to play in an orchestra. Some note reading skills are helpful.

In February, the subject will be Songwriting, taught by Janis Carper. Carper’s work was praised in Nashville’s Performing Songwriter magazine has earned numerous awards at songwriting festivals and contests around the country. At the workshop, Carper will guide students through the creative process as they learn the basics of popular songwriting, resulting in their own group-written original song. Note reading is not necessary for this class, but some musical skills are helpful.

Kids of all ages are encouraged to register by contacting the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance. Cost of the workshops is $15 per four-week program, with a discount for multiple family members. January classes will be held one hour each Friday at 1:00 PM, and in February, classes will be held Fridays at 10:00 AM.