After what continues to be a challenging year for the arts, Portland’s Resonance Ensemble introduces “Commissions for Now,” an exciting new video series that premieres commissioned works from three nationally recognized composers performed by Resonance artists and collaborators and captured by Portland filmmaker Kenny Hamlett. 

The series opens Wednesday, April 21st at 3:00pm Pacific, with a piece by the notable choral composer Jasmine Barnes, whose multifaceted works frequently address questions of race and religion. Here she sets the powerful words of social activist and writer Sonya Renee Taylor, in “Normal Never Was,” the words that reached thousands of readers in the early pandemic and that Resonance has adopted as its theme for this season, with the permission of Sonya Renee Taylor. 

Viewers can view each pre-recorded episode as it premieres on Resonance Ensemble’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/c/ResonanceEnsemble. For more information, visit resonancechoral.org/commissions-for-now. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Prepare for this concert by listening to our interview with Katherine FitzGibbon, Damien Geter, Darrell Grant, and Sarah Tiedemann on our podcast.