OPB's State of Wonder

Awards Granted For Bend Cultural Tourism Fund

$125,000 in grants to help market arts and culture events. The endgame? Getting heads in beds during Bend's shoulder season.

PIGSquad Challenges Gamers To Make A New Game In 48 Hours

We're up late with game developers large and small for Ludum Dare, a global 48-hour challenge. This year, Portland Indie Game Squad hosted a Ludum Dare event at Urban Airship. Take a listen.

Triangle Productions Revisits Portland's Anything-Goes Theater Heyday

Triangle Productions is closing its 25th anniversary season with a tribute to another long-running Portland theater institution: Storefront Theatre. During its twenty year run, Storefront was infamous for productions that pushed every boundary imaginable. They put on over-the-top shows involving nudity, drugs, and a fabulous DIY aesthetic of glitter and glue guns—shows that ranged from Sam Shepherd (who came out to work with the theater) to a radical sex play about a porn store called “Quarters”...

State Of Wonder: May 2, 2015 - PDX Gamers, Katherine Boo, Guster & Willie Nelson...In Vancouver?

This week we're mashing up past and present. 2:07 - A Triangle Productions world premiere, "Storefront Revue: The Babes Are Back," tells the story of the anything-goes creative maelstrom that was Portland's Storefront Theater in the 70s and 80s. 12:30 - Video game developers large and small come together for a PIGSquad challenge: build a game in 48 hours. Sleep? Who needs it? 21:17 - Katherine Boo talks about revealing the hidden world of a Mumbai slum in "The Beautiful Forevers" on "Think Out L...

Changing Of The Guard - Nancy Ives & Portland Cello Project

Nancy Ives, our Cellist-in-Residence, introduces us to the outgoing and incoming artistic directors of Portland Cello Project. We talk about transitions, and favorite moments from the group's repertoire. This segment originally aired April 25th 2015.

Nancy Ives On The Music Of Louis Andriessen

Preparing for a performance with Fear No Music, our Cellist-In-Residence introduces us to an influential but little-known European composer.

Nancy Ives On Music To Get You Through Winter

We talk with Nancy about what kind of sounds sustain us through the long dark nights, and the joys of finding new and challenging music. This broadcast first aired January 31st 2015.

Nancy Ives: On Composition

In this segment (initially broadcast December 20th 2014), our cellist-in-residence talks about composing for the Portland Cello Project's new record, "to e.s." She also shares thoughts from colleagues about what happens during productive composition.

Portland Cello Project Plays Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" - Exclusive Listen

Our cellist-in-residence, Nancy Ives, invited in outgoing Portland Cello Project artistic director Doug Jenkins and incoming director Skip vonKuske to discuss the passing of the baton (bow?). While talking about some of the music they love covering (Skip loved playing Pantera, to his own surprise), they shared with us this unreleased track of their arrangement of Taylor Swift's massive hit "Shake It Off." If you're feeling gloomy, nothing will lift your spirits like this will. Listen to the full...

Nancy Ives: On Composition

In this segment (initially broadcast December 20th 2014), our cellist-in-residence talks about composing for the Portland Cello Project's new record, "to e.s." She also shares thoughts from colleagues about what happens during productive composition.

State Of Wonder: Apr. 25, 2015 - Grimm, Etsy, Portland Cello Project, Jackson Pollock & More

Today's show feels a bit rough around the edges — in a good way, like rugged-smelling aftershave or good-quality field-dressed jerky. OK, maybe it's not quite so chewy as all that, but every bit as satisfying. For links and more details about the stories below, visit our page: www.opb.org/radio/programs/stateofwonder/segment/state-of-wonder-apr-25-2015/ 1:21 - Etsy's IPO roils the waters among makers and sellers. Check out the great story our friends at "Rendered" produced about this! 4:02 - A p...

Nancy & Friends - Innovation And Classicism

Nancy Ives brings Oregon Symphony pals Greg Ewer and Joe Berger along for a conversation about innovation and classicism in music. This segment originally aired in November 2014 (Photo cred. Wikimedia Commons)

Nancy Ives On Auditions + More

Nancy Ives, Principal Cello for the Oregon Symphony and State of Wonder's Cellist-in-Residence, regales us with scary stories of Symphony auditions, parity in musical hires, and takes your questions. This segment originally aired in October 2014.

Chin-Sun Lee Reads From The Ravine

Here's a longer excerpt from Chin-Sun Lee's chilling, evocative short story, inspired by the landscape at Summer Lake. She wrote this on her first residency at PLAYA. You can learn more here: http://www.opb.org/radio/programs/state-of-wonder/article/the-earth-says-have-a-place-visiting-playa-at-summer-lake/

Ben Percy On State Of Wonder

Must be heard to be believed: a great Oregon-born writer and definitely one of our favorite voices. Ben Percy's new book is The Dead Lands. He'll read at this event Wednesday night. April 22nd: http://latenightlibrary.org/allfines/ (Photo cred. Jennifer Percy)

Get ready for Ben Percy on State of Wonder

A Visit To PLAYA At Summer Lake

This place blew us away - the scenery, the creative vibe, the conversations between resident artists and scientists. Take a listen.

The New Revolution Hall Finds Its Niche — In A Glorious Historic Building

There’s a shining new music venue opening this weekend. Or shall we say, shining old venue. Revolution Hall is in the original auditorium at the heart of Washington High School, has stood empty for years at the corner of Southeast Stark and 14th Avenue. The building is now beginning a second life as home to New Season’s corporate office, a number of creative agencies, two bars, and a new music venue that’s positioning itself to fill a hole in Portland’s live music ecosystem. In a classroom-turne...

State of Wonder Apr. 18 2015: PLAYA Summer Lake, Rick Bartow, Revolution Hall

00:40 A Wonderful tour through PLAYA - Summer Lake. it's a residency program for artists and scientists, the kind of place where time stops and ideas hit the ground running. 34:00 Revolution Hall, a new music venue that hits the sweet spot on Portland's music venue map. 43:50 Rick Bartow gets a retrospective at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

Essential Van Sant On State Of Wonder

Mario Falsetto is the author of the recently-published, "Conversations with Gus Van Sant". He's teaching a new class at the Northwest Film Center focusing on Van Sant's features and influences. We also hear from film critic Shawn Levy, who's interviewed and written about Van Sant for decades.

Sleater - Kinney In The OPB Studio

Nothing but awesome here, as Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker, and Janet Weiss breeze in to talk about powering up for their reunion, and recording the new record, "No Cities to Love".

Joined Voices Brings Together The Camas High School Choir With Indie Acts Sama Dams and Adam Singley

It’s 7:05 a.m. on a Friday morning, but the students getting ready for choir practice inside the Camas High School theater building are wide awake. Maybe it’s because instead of practicing the same old choir tunes by long dead composers, they’re rehearsing a series of new compositions written for the choir by four composers from around the globe, including local indie rockers Sama Dams and Alan Singley. The 150-student strong choir will join with the two bands on April 18 for a concert called “J...

State Of Wonder: Apr. 11, 2015 – Sleater-Kinney, Essential Gus Van Sant, Samantha Wall, OBT & More!

This is the show you've been waiting for! And we, at least, can't wait any longer: 1:15 - Sleater-Kinney joins us in the studio. All three members. Swoon. 19:35 - The NW Film Center kicks off the festival Essential Gus Van Sant (and His Influences). Film critic Shawn Levy and writer Mario Falsetto, author of "Conversations with Gus Van Sant," join us in the studio to talk about Portland's cinematic bard. 29:07 - A crazy indie-choir crossover strikes April 18 when local musicians Alan Singley and...

Third Rail Highlights Two Of Portland's Most Collaborative Actors

Third Rail Repertory Theatre's production of “Belleville” is a complex, Hitchockian-style psychological thriller by hotshot playwright Amy Herzog. But what caught our eyes was its pairing of actors. Isaac Lamb and Rebecca Lingafelter are both highly respected Portland players who have a growing history of performing opposite each other. They were on-again, off-again lovers in the Apple Family cycle of plays at Third Rail. They were siblings in “Three Sisters” at Portland Experimental Theatre Ens...

Fact+Fiction - Two Perspectives On Photography

Photographers David Hilliard and Colleen Plumb talk about their respective shows at Elizabeth Leach Gallery and Blue Sky Gallery this month. (The image to the side is merely one section of a David Hilliard triptych. We STRONGLY recommend going to see the show to get the full effect.)

Trial Date Set For Forgery Case

An update on the art forgery case that popped up in Portland last month.

State Of Wonder: Apr 4, 2015 - Damien Rice, Portland Photo Month, Third Rail Rep, Lost Lander & More

Wonderous sounds this week! And feasts for the eyes, too. 1:30 - Damien Rice talks about finding his way back to music with "My Favorite Faded Fantasy," a much-anticipated record — and his first in eight years. He's at the Keller Auditorium on April 20th. 8:45 - We drop in on a rehearsal with two of Portland's best known actors, Isaac Lamb and Rebecca Lingafelter. They have a growing body of collaborations (they seem to always play either lovers or siblings), including Third Rail Repertory Theat...

Damien Rice On State Of Wonder

New sounds from Rice - his first record in eight years. We talk with him about getting back int he studio and working with Rick Rubin. He'll be in Portland April 20th. Info's over here! http://www.portland5.com/keller-auditorium/events/damien-rice

Cari Luna Reading From "The Revolution of Everyday"

Novelist Cari Luna reads an excerpt from her debut "The Revolution of Everyday." You can hear our full conversation with Luna here: https://soundcloud.com/opb-state-of-wonder/cari-luna-on-the-revolution-of-everyday .

Cari Luna on "The Revolution of Everyday"

Cari Luna originally started writing her debut novel, “The Revolution of Everyday,” as a Dear John Letter to New York City. She was born there and lived there on and off until 2007, when she just couldn’t afford to stay any longer. But after she moved to Portland and got some distance, the book became a love letter as well. The story is about a group of people squatting in New York City’s Lower East Side in the ‘90s. It was the early days of gentrification, when then Mayor Rudy Guliani was crack...