Tabor Bread

Our last performance for this year was at Tabor Bread on 12/5 Thursday night. You should visit this lovely bakery with a house mill and kiln. Their soup is a healing food. 

We had Maria Olaya on our team; she played beautiful South American guitar music for the audience. With our friends and the people who are supporting our music, we were blessed with a warmness that surrounded us.

Season of Lights on December 7th

I would like to share the poster of this year's Season of Lights Concert.

Phone # of First Christian Church : 503-228-9211    Website: FCCPDX.COM

Upcoming December Performances

Hope you are enjoying the season. Gentle reminder we have three upcoming December performances:

West Slope Library
3678 SW 78th Ave
Portland, OR 97224
Wednesday, December 4th, 7:00-8:00 pm
(503)-292-6416

First Christian Church

SW Park Avenue Columbia Street

Saturday, December 7th, 7:00 -9:00 p.m.

(503) 228-9211

Tabor Bread (Dinner & Music Event)

5051 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97215

December 12; Event: 5-8; music 6:00-7:30 pm

(971) 279-5530

Look forward to seeing you there.

A La Carte Noon Concert

Peter and LeeAnn performed as a duo "Zisa and McKenna" at Oregon State University in Corvallis on October 11th. The program - "Bach to the Future" - was a great hit. The opening overture began with an Bach invention and ended with Alexander Courage's Star Trek theme. They covered the music of Bach, Narvaez, Mozart, Piazzolla, Tedesco, Dettori, the Beatles, and Lady Gaga.

“I listened to Zisa’s performance at OSU yesterday and knew I was listening to a very good musician...of world class level...” J.M. Oregon State University

“Greatly enjoyed Zisa & McKenna engaging program...particularly the Piazzolla, who had a knack for writing music that works well with guitar and flute; it was great to hear some of his less familiar works.” J. S. Oregon State University

Walters Cultural Arts Center

We performed two hours of eclectic world music for a great audience at the Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro. They always have excellent oil painting exhibitions in their beautiful historic building. They must have nice art classes to take; this is good for Hillsboro's residences. 

Chamber Music on the Mountain

We attended a concert at the Crystal Chamber Hall in Camas, Washington. The concert hall was in the home of a nice couple who are music friend of another special couple we met in Portland. It was a pleasure to listen to the music of Telemann, Schubert, Mozart, Bulow and Britten performed by fine classical musicians. 

We went to Izakaya-Japanese tapas after coming back to Portland. The warm tasty food was a treat for the soul.  

Hillsboro Public Library

On August 23rd 2013, we performed at Hillsboro Public Library with its beautiful backdrop of natural scene with a pond and a walking path. We were welcomed by a enthusiastic audience; some of them were attendees from our previous concert in Tigard. The crescendo of the audience's applause throughout the program prompted us to play an encore. 

The library sells sesame donuts: it's a good place to visit and read books : )

"The Thousand Waves concert was the most well attended concert we had this summer. Our library patrons were captivated by the musical blend of the percussion, koto, flute, and Spanish guitar. Peter Zisa’s introduction to each piece added a nice educational component. I would definitely have them back! Again, thank you for sharing your wonderful music with our patrons."

----Elizabeth Lopez, Performance Event Coordinator - Hillsboro Library

Tigard Public Library

We performed at Tigard Public Library on August 14th. The event coordinator Eric was very supportive and professional throughout the concert event. He sent us great letter of review and a concert DVD. As you can see, the venue was excellent with its sound and lighting system. We shared our music and a Japanese story with an enthusiastic and welcoming audience. LeeAnn's skirt was special that night too.

Private Party

We provided music for a private party at Heidi's house in Dundee on August 5th. Heidi owns an extraordinary restaurant. Some of her dishes include special mushrooms her husband Jack picked in the mountains. She previously owned a bakery too. Can you imagine how great the food was? The barbeque salmon and steak were delicious; all the food tasted as if it was catered food for a wedding. 

We met some winery owners in the area, and special individuals who are friends of Heidi and Jack.  

We enjoyed sampling the wines from the local vineyards. What a great way to spend a beautiful afternoon - making new friends, enjoying delicious food, and sharing a magnificent view of the vineyards.  

Back to the blog

It's been a while since our last update. Yukiko was completing her graduate school this summer so she needed to take a break from the blog. These pictures are from our concert at Chehalem Cultural Center on 6/15. It was a very cool venue with great acoustics inside an old brick building. It was also the day after Yukiko's hooding ceremony.  

From Lake Oswego Library Concert

Next Performance: Lake Oswego Library

Hope to see you there!

June 12th 1:00~1:45 pm
Lake Oswego Library

TWaves

http://thousandwavesmusic.com

House Concert

We had a pleasant and enjoyable Sunday afternoon of music, food, and conversation with friends at the home of Amy and Michael in East Moreland. Among the memorable moments of the concert were  Tanner's (Amy and Michael's dog) attentive listening throughout the program, and Peter's new tupperware foot stool, which he borrowed from Amy's kitchen. Thank you Amy and Michael for your kind hospitality in hosting this concert. Thank you Mark for the great photos you took.

Our website

Thanks LeeAnn, our website is now available for the public.

Please visit ...   http://thousandwavesmusic.com

Does it look like Yukiko is always resting? Actually I sweat the most. The koto is a physically demanding instrument. The flutist has also her challenges... like not running out of breath. The guitarist needs to juggle playing bass,  chords, and melody all at once. I guess we all work hard to make beautiful music.   

Our Next Performance

From the Particles on the Wall exhibition 

Our next performance is a 5/16 private home concert in East Moreland.  

Particles on the Wall

In the evening of May 3rd, we were invited to perform for the Particles on the Wall Exhibition at the Eco Trust Building in the Pearl District. I encourage you to go see the interesting arts, building structure, and interior. Old and New are blended here. Very cool! There is a cafe on the first floor. 

May 3, 2013 - June 14, 2013

Portland, Oregon

You are cordially invited to join Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) for Particles on the Wall, a multi-disciplinary exhibit combining visual and literary arts, science, and historical memorabilia to explore the lasting impacts of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the nuclear age.

When: Opening Reception on Friday, May 3^rd, 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Exhibit runs from May 3^rd through June 14^th  Open to the public weekdays 8:30-5:30 and Sundays 8:30-2:00.

Where: The Ecotrust Building, 2nd Floor (721 NW 9th Avenue in Portland)

Free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted to support Oregon PSR.

The annual Sakura Festival at Clark College

LeeAnn and Yukiko performed for the Sakura Festival  at Clark College on April 19th. Look at the beauty of the cherry blossoms this year. Clark College produced a You tube video clip of this event beginning with our music- "Spring Sea" by Michio Miyagi.

The Sakura Festival was also featured on the Columbian newspaper. I hope you enjoy reading this beautiful story of friendship between two countries. 

House Concert

Photo by Steve Bilow

Photo by Steve Bilow

Victor playing his piano

Thank you Sylvia Gray and Viktors Berstis for hosting our Spring Concert last night. Their lovely performance venue provided wonderful acoustics, a gracious audience, interesting conversation, delicious refreshments, as well as the opportunity to make new friends.  

Sephardic Concert/Friends of Chamber Music Fundraiser

with Ida Rae Cahana

 Bilow's residence

LeeAnn-photo by Steve Bilow

Peter-photo by Steve Bilow

Another House Concert

Posted by Sylvia Gray:

Please join us for a unique "East-Meets-West" house concert featuring Thousand Waves:  Peter Zisa, guitar;  YukikoYamaguchi, koto; and LeeAnn McKenna, flute .  

These are excellent musicians who are experimenting on the boundaries, both meshing genres and instruments not often placed together.

April 13, Saturday, beginning at 7:30.  Arrive any time after 7:00.
Suggested donation $12.00
Please bring something to eat or drink for chatting time before and/or after (if you'd like!).

At the home of Sylvia Gray and Viktors Berstis:  3026 SE Berkeley Place, Portland, OR  97202  503-659-9956  .  (Note:  there may be an athletic event winding down at the Eastmoreland Courts at the end of the street.  As our guests, feel free to park on the south side of the street or even in their parking lot, if necessary.)

Please let us know if you plan to attend - thanks. 

Please click here to see the bios, pictures, and descriptions of the  Thousand Waves
And here are a few links to former performances to give you an idea: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCri1bxuoyE&feature=em-share_video_user 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDGZ3V7dShw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOgz8cnxg2Y

Also see houseconcertspdx.org  for information on previous and future concerts.

Directions: 
Coming S. on 99E, take the Johnson Creek East exit.  Turn right to pass over 99E, and at the end of the overpass, take a left at the pedestrian/bicycle sign and then a quick right onto Berkeley Place.  We are toward the end of the street facing the turnaround.

Coming N. on 99#, take the Sellwood Bridge exit.  Turn left and at the end of the overpass, take another left at the pedestrian/bicycle sign and then a quick right onto Berkeley Place.  We are toward the end of the street facing the turnaround.

Coming over the Sellwood Bridge east, stay on Tacoma St.  Cross over 99E, and at the end of the overpass, take a left at the pedestrian/bicycle sign and then a quick right onto Berkeley Place.  We are toward the end of the street facing the turnaround .

YouTube - Videos from this email

Friends of Chamber Music Fundraising House Concert

An announcement by Steve Bilow for a house concert on April 7th :

Here's a house concert, one of Sephardic songs beautifully presented by Cantor Ida Rae Cahana, supported by Peter Zisa on guitar and LeeAnn McKenna on flute. See link below for information:

--We are planning our menu today! Kosher tapas is tough :-) Got some good food and wine in the works and Ken Forkish is donating so Ken's Artisan Bakery breads to the cause.

If you have friends / fans / whatever, who would like to come, give them this link to buy tickets:

https://www.boxofficetickets.com/go/event?id=203965

Washougal High School Sakura Festival

We enjoyed performing for the Sakura Matsuri at Washougal High School in Camas, Washington, on April 6th. A great venue and a welcoming community. 

Ready for Spring

Greetings friends,

We are in process of constructing our new website. Look forward to the spring, a new music journey as a group.