Selected Performances
My work is not constrained by genre or medium, characterized rather by depth of inquiry, intention, and shared experience.
You Cannot Liberate Me: Only I Can Do That For Myself
for amplified harpsichord and two Ebows (2016) performed with live-cam projected cymatics display.
Performed at Crazy Jane in Technicolor, November 2016 @ Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.
for amplified harpsichord and two Ebows (2016) performed with live-cam projected cymatics display.
Performed at Crazy Jane in Technicolor, November 2016 @ Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.
Dream, Evolve, Flourish, Die for dance, hand pan drum, colored sand & amplified sacred objects (2022)
This work was developed in collaboration with Laura Cannon, founder of ProLab Dance. The premiere performance took place on 2.27.2022 at "this is the place!" performance festival presented by Heidi Duckler Dance NW at PLACE Studios in Portland, OR.
Wild and Varied Empires Have Inhabited This Place for solo hand pan drum (2020)
This piece is a musical land acknowledgement composed in honor of the Keller Fountain, a massive Brutalist concrete sculpture in Portland, Oregon designed by architect Lawrence Halprin. The Keller represented a revolution in urban public space design when it opened in 1970, when America was reeling with revolutionary energy. I recorded the live video below in the fountain on June 23rd, 2020, the 50th anniversary of the park’s opening. As street protests in support of Black Lives Matter unfolded daily and the federal government’s occupation of Portland incited violence only blocks away, the park and surrounding streets were nearly deserted: in stark contrast to the vibrant crowds that came out for its opening, the Keller's half century birthday passed in near silence, the water shut off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keller Fountain Park inhabits a space that was formerly one of Portland’s oldest neighborhoods, comprised predominantly of Jewish and immigrant residents. In its quest for urban renewal, the City of Portland designated the area as a slum, relocated more than 1500 residents, and razed it to construct the park. This piece is an offering to all those whose daily dramas had unfolded in those city blocks, to the timber-harvesting European settlers before them who christened Portland “Stumptown”, and the First Nations people who preceded them for millennia; a reflection upon the rise and fall of each subsequent empire through the ages, knowing that what seems so monolithic now shall one day similarly pass away.
Keller Fountain Park inhabits a space that was formerly one of Portland’s oldest neighborhoods, comprised predominantly of Jewish and immigrant residents. In its quest for urban renewal, the City of Portland designated the area as a slum, relocated more than 1500 residents, and razed it to construct the park. This piece is an offering to all those whose daily dramas had unfolded in those city blocks, to the timber-harvesting European settlers before them who christened Portland “Stumptown”, and the First Nations people who preceded them for millennia; a reflection upon the rise and fall of each subsequent empire through the ages, knowing that what seems so monolithic now shall one day similarly pass away.
* = Graphic design by Jennifer Wright
Julius Eastman's "Evil N****r" for multiple pianos
Julius Eastman was a tremendously talented Black musician/composer, who on occasion gave his compositions such intentionally inflammatory and controversial titles that their names are literally unprintable, as in this case. I arranged this piece - a torrential outpouring of passion that lasts for over 20 minutes without stopping to take a breath - for four pianos and performed it at my show "Piano Bizarro" in 2014 with Paul Safar, Ted Clifford, and Art Resnick.
Julius Eastman was a tremendously talented Black musician/composer, who on occasion gave his compositions such intentionally inflammatory and controversial titles that their names are literally unprintable, as in this case. I arranged this piece - a torrential outpouring of passion that lasts for over 20 minutes without stopping to take a breath - for four pianos and performed it at my show "Piano Bizarro" in 2014 with Paul Safar, Ted Clifford, and Art Resnick.
When we presented "Piano Bizarro", the only score available was Eastman's handwritten sketch manuscript, which inspired me to spend countless hours crafting a version in musical notation software that would aid us in producing an authentic performance. At that time, only one recording of Eastman's piece was available. It is satisfying to observe how many recordings and fresh interpretations of Eastman's work have been made in the years since, drawing well-deserved attention to Eastman's singular vision. If you'd like a complimentary copy of my arrangement, feel free to email me at jenniferawright (at) yahoo.com.
Magic Chicken for dance, found sound, & rubber chicken
Polaris Galaxy Dance Festival, Director Park, Portland, Oregon August 2019
For this outdoor festival, dance whiz/frequent collaborator Conrad "Icon" Kaczor and I cooked up a fun-loving, audience-interactive piece entitled Magic Chicken. The story: an unsuspecting, newspaper-reading fellow tries to ignore a colorful, attention-seeking street performer, to no avail, since it turns out that she possesses a very special rubber chicken, whose squawk compels a person to dance, whether they like it or not! The fellow also ends up having a tiny toy piano stashed in his rollie bag, for mysterious reasons. Much silliness ensues!
Polaris Galaxy Dance Festival, Director Park, Portland, Oregon August 2019
For this outdoor festival, dance whiz/frequent collaborator Conrad "Icon" Kaczor and I cooked up a fun-loving, audience-interactive piece entitled Magic Chicken. The story: an unsuspecting, newspaper-reading fellow tries to ignore a colorful, attention-seeking street performer, to no avail, since it turns out that she possesses a very special rubber chicken, whose squawk compels a person to dance, whether they like it or not! The fellow also ends up having a tiny toy piano stashed in his rollie bag, for mysterious reasons. Much silliness ensues!
2 concerts at the 31st Annual Festival de la Habana Musica Contemporanea in Havana, Cuba
Un Segundo Abrazo: Cascadia Composers regressa a Cuba (Cascadia Composers Return to Cuba)
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Sala Teatro, Edificio de Arte Cubano, November 6, 2018
The world premiere of my collaboration with Daniel Brugh Listen to the Earth (Daniel Brugh, fixed media; video art, Jennifer Wright) and a rollicking performance of my Firebrand piano duet with Paul Safar (featured on Cuban National TV!)
Cascadia Composers at FAC (Fábrica de Arte Cubano) Fabrica de Arte Cubano (FAC), November 8, 2018
Featuring Side Hustle for fixed media & toy piano plus the world premiere of 90 Miles for spoken-word fixed media & piano belly percussion, both pieces featuring Cuban modern dancers Daniela Ponjuan, Tamara Venero, and Aneli Perdomo.
Un Segundo Abrazo: Cascadia Composers regressa a Cuba (Cascadia Composers Return to Cuba)
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Sala Teatro, Edificio de Arte Cubano, November 6, 2018
The world premiere of my collaboration with Daniel Brugh Listen to the Earth (Daniel Brugh, fixed media; video art, Jennifer Wright) and a rollicking performance of my Firebrand piano duet with Paul Safar (featured on Cuban National TV!)
Cascadia Composers at FAC (Fábrica de Arte Cubano) Fabrica de Arte Cubano (FAC), November 8, 2018
Featuring Side Hustle for fixed media & toy piano plus the world premiere of 90 Miles for spoken-word fixed media & piano belly percussion, both pieces featuring Cuban modern dancers Daniela Ponjuan, Tamara Venero, and Aneli Perdomo.
"90 Miles" at the Fabrica de Arte Cubano, probably the world's coolest performance space, 2018
Sound and Fury concert series: Guest Solo Artist
Art Share Theater, Los Angeles, CA, June 2, 2018
Featuring Looper for piano 8 hands, Firebrand for (dangerous!) piano duo, solo arrangements of Incognita & One Hot Mess
and works by Christian Dubeau and Christine Lee.
"Incognita" at the Sound and Fury concert series, 2018
With Christian Dubeau, Sound and Fury co-founder and fellow pianist/composer/adventurer
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Looper for piano 8 hands with Christine Lee, Christian Dubeau and Jo Zhou
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The infamous performance of "Firebrand" wherein my duet partner Jo discovered how dangerous a musical life can be!
Side Hustle for 3 toy pianos, fixed media & dance
Mt. Tabor Park amphitheater, Portland, Oregon (2018)
Featuring the fabulous moves of Conrad Kaczor & Kiel Moton, who devised the original choreography around my crazy ideas & danced from a deep place of knowing what a side hustle feels like. Filmed live at “Caldera: A Fiery Festival of New Music”, Cascadia Composers’ 10th anniversary season kickoff concert, a show I co- produced with composer Daniel Brugh in association with Cascadia Composers.
Mt. Tabor Park amphitheater, Portland, Oregon (2018)
Featuring the fabulous moves of Conrad Kaczor & Kiel Moton, who devised the original choreography around my crazy ideas & danced from a deep place of knowing what a side hustle feels like. Filmed live at “Caldera: A Fiery Festival of New Music”, Cascadia Composers’ 10th anniversary season kickoff concert, a show I co- produced with composer Daniel Brugh in association with Cascadia Composers.
Crazy Jane Collaborates! *
Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church, Portland, Oregon (2012)
Featuring the world premiere of Women's Work for dual toy pianos, amplified typewriter and dance.
Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church, Portland, Oregon (2012)
Featuring the world premiere of Women's Work for dual toy pianos, amplified typewriter and dance.
With the talented Grace Shimer on amplified typewriter.
Postcards From Afar
Summer Series concert in the historic stone church in Karjalohja, Finland (2008)
Featuring my solo piano pieces The Winter They Starved and Tune for Sparkie.
"[On] "Malagueña", by the famous Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, Jennifer Wright was able to put such heat into the piece that the audience could feel the warm Spanish nights and the applause was equally warm."
- Karjalohja newspaper review
Summer Series concert in the historic stone church in Karjalohja, Finland (2008)
Featuring my solo piano pieces The Winter They Starved and Tune for Sparkie.
"[On] "Malagueña", by the famous Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, Jennifer Wright was able to put such heat into the piece that the audience could feel the warm Spanish nights and the applause was equally warm."
- Karjalohja newspaper review
The swallows nesting and fluttering in the high reaches of the church rafters created an unexpected aerial audience!
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Cascadia Ventures Forth
Mago Hunt Recital Hall, University of Portland, Portland, Oregon (2015)
Onstage in cowgirl boots as a straw-chewin' narrator on Susan Alexjander's Buffalo Bill's Defunct.
Mago Hunt Recital Hall, University of Portland, Portland, Oregon (2015)
Onstage in cowgirl boots as a straw-chewin' narrator on Susan Alexjander's Buffalo Bill's Defunct.
Crazy Jane Misbehaves *
Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon (2013)
Performing with soprano Vakare Petroliunaite on Susan Alexjander's Two Songs on texts by Hafiz.