A Mid-Week event of the 25th Annual William Byrd Festival
Wednesday, August 7, 2024 – 7:00pm
St. Michael & All Angels Church – 1704 NE 43rd Ave, Portland
Online Video Premiere – Saturday, August 24, 2024 – 2pm on the WEKA YouTube Channel
A contemporary ode to William Byrd reads: “None suche I feare shall rise that may be calde his sonne.” Besides his monumental choral output, William Byrd was also widely renowned in his time for his role in the development of a uniquely English style of keyboard music, one that was abandoned in the decades after his death.
Harpsichordist Eugene Petrushansky explores the music of Byrd, his immediate antecedents, his late 17th-century successors, and the 20th-century resurgence of interest in the old repertoire, including Orlando Gibbons, John Roberts, Herbert Howells and Lennox Berkeley.
Eugene S. Petrushansky (born in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia) studied harpsichord at the University of California with Davitt Moroney and Katherine Heater while pursuing a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering, with subsequent instruction in the form of masterclasses and private lessons with Arthur Haas, Alan Curtis, Jacques Ogg, James Johnstone, Bertrand Cuiller, and Ed Parmentier. Residing in Fremont, California, he has appeared around the San Francisco Bay Area in solo recitals and as continuo harpsichordist with professional ensembles. He serves as Organist at St Joseph of Arimathea Chapel in Berkeley and at St Francis of Assisi in Livermore and is a member of the board of directors for MusicSources. He also maintains an atelier for restoration of historical keyboard instruments.
General Admission $20 payable at the door
Free to 18 and under, and college students with ID
The 25th Annual William Byrd Festival
The renowned William Byrd Festival is held annually in Portland, Oregon. Established by Dean Applegate and Richard Marlow, it is now in its 25th year, with the theme, “Canticum Novum.” For the first time in its history, Festival programming will include British composers of the past century in addition to Byrd, whose music will be presented alongside works by Britten, Finzi, Howells, MacMillan, and others. Liturgical performances of Byrd’s three mass settings, Choral Evensong, and other long-standing festival traditions, including three public lectures, and four concerts, will remain and provide context as Byrd’s legacy is explored.
For full information see 25th Annual William Byrd Festival
- Mark Williams, Artistic Director
- Blake Applegate, Festival Director
- Cantores in Ecclesia, Festival Choir
- Kerry McCarthy, Festival Lecturer
- William Mahrt, Festival Lecturer
- Ross Duffin, Guest Artist
- Eugene Petrushansky, Guest Artist