In concert with the Oregon Symphony Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Co-Presented with the Oregon Symphony
"Antony is a ghost-white giant with a voice of singular majesty—an instrument of delicacy and rapture in which Nina Simone, Morrissey and Joni Mitchell seem to inhabit the same breath." - Rolling Stone
Dreamlike, melancholy, and hopeful for redemption, Antony and the Johnsons—winners of Great Britain’s 2005 Mercury Prize—join the Oregon Symphony for a one-of-a-kind concert. For this special evening, Antony and the Johnsons will unite with a full orchestra to produce a wall of exotic and extraordinary sound. Antony’s voice—a fusion of Nina Simone and Elvis—will journey through landscapes both natural and psychological via the band’s favorites and perhaps a few soulful surprises.
Antony and the Johnsons, former artists in residence at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater (NY), have performed at the Bloomsbury Theater in London, the Warhol Museum, the Wexner Center, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Antony has also worked extensively with Lou Reed and Björk and was featured in the 2004 Whitney Biennial with a Charles Atlas collaboration entitled TURNING. Antony and the Johnson's new album, The Crying Light, will be released by Secretly Canadian this fall.
Since its founding more than a century ago, the Oregon Symphony has been recognized for its internationally acclaimed music directors, skilled performers, diverse programs and outstanding community services in education and regional touring. The Oregon Symphony currently has 76 professional musicians on contract, and is led by Music Director Carlos Kalmar. Each year it engages dozens of guest conductors and artists, both popular and classical, to perform with the orchestra. The Oregon Symphony produces more than 80 concerts a year, mostly at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland. It program a wide range of music to suit many tastes and preferences. It presents two end-of-summer out-door concerts in Portland and travels regularl for performances in Salem, Newberg and smaller communities elsewhere in the state. It also provides an award-winning program of educational and community engagement activities. The Oregon Symphony’s programs serve more than 225,000 people annually, and at the start of its 112th season, is the oldest orchestra west of the Mississippi.