MAINE!

Itinerary

ALL GATHER HEAR EVENTS ARE FREE ADMISSION
Event links will be added as they are made available.

Sep 26 | Long Creek Youth Development Center, presented by Portland Ovations
Sep 27 | Preble Street Elena’s Way wellness shelter, presented by Portland Ovations
Sep 28 | 2pm Congress Square Park “Gather Hear Portland” presented by Portland Ovations [event link & RSVP]
Sep 29 | 3pm Center Theatre, Dover-Foxcroft [event link & RSVP]
Sep 30 | School show at a Piscataquis County school, presented by Center Theatre
Oct 1 | 10am Presque Isle High School public concert, presented by AMHC [event link]
Oct 2 | 4pm Washington County Community College, Calais, presented by AMHC [event link]
Oct 3 | SPACE on the River, Skowhegan, presented by Main Street Skowhegan
Oct 4 | Looking Ahead Clubhouse, Lewiston, in partnership with Bates College
Oct 5 | Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, Lewiston, in partnership with Bates College

MAINE…you might think that it’s a state saturated with classical music. Portland is a vibrant arts city, and the coastline of Maine is dotted with some of the best classical music festivals in the country, all the way up to Canada. But, as with most states in the United States, there is a big gap in arts accessibility within a state, and within a city.

We focused on the lowest income counties and cities in the state, which brings us to the inland portion of Maine and as far as Presque Isle, which is close to the Northeastern tip of the country. In a state with the slogan “Vacationland” and most known for its cutesy coast towns, lobster rolls, and lake house retreats, we are looking to get to know Maine residents beyond that. We found that substance abuse is a prominent issue in the more remote counties, and partnered with Aroostook Mental Health Clinic, who will host us in Washington and Aroostook Counties. We wanted to give extra love to Lewiston, whose name has now become intertwined with the 2023 tragic mass shooting. Maine is the whitest state in the country, but Lewiston is a hub for immigrants and refugees, with longtime Somali immigrants at the core of the community.

Our residency at Portland Ovations is the most robust partnership we’ve had yet with any presenting organization, and we are so grateful for an organization whose vision really complements Gather Hear’s. The culminating September 28 concert will be a concerted effort to bring together pockets of the Portland community who may not normally interact with each other, gathering at Congress Square Park which is an incredible public space smack in the middle of downtown.

Tour will coincide with the peak of presidential election campaign season. Gather Hear Tour was founded as a response to the 2016 presidential election - Miki came up with the idea for the project just days after Donald Trump was elected. 8 years later, two presidential terms later, it feels like Gather Hear has come full circle in many ways and the touring concert program captures this reflective mood.

The concert program, titled “Maine the Beautiful,” is inspired both by the state of Maine and by the current feeling of living in America. It features music inspired by the woods and the ocean, as well as music that offers commentary on America’s past and present. The audience’s reflection on these topics will be weaved into the concert experience. A centerpiece is Huang Ruo’s “Meditation on ‘America The Beautiful.’” Maine-based composer Conrad Winslow will also be featured - he’s originally from Alaska, and we performed his music on our very first tour, Gather Hear Alaska! Additional works are by Amy Beach, Frederic Chopin, Alexander Scriabin, Jean Sibelius, and William Grant Still.