Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association

Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association, Nonprofit Organization, PO Box 1019, Hood River, OR.

CGOA is a nonprofit organization that provides exceptional performing arts for the cultural enrichment, learning, engagement and enjoyment of audiences and participants in the Columbia Gorge region.

06/20/2026

So much fun last weekend at the Jazz Collective concert and dance at Columbia Gorge Toyota and Honda in The Dalles! We so appreciate the support of this generous sponsor! More fun and great music coming next season - gorgeorchestra.org

🎹 Tonight, the Gorge Sinfonietta opens Piano Summit—the final concert of CGOA's 20th Anniversary Season.It will also mar...
06/18/2026

🎹 Tonight, the Gorge Sinfonietta opens Piano Summit—the final concert of CGOA's 20th Anniversary Season.

It will also mark the beginning of conductor Mark Steighner's final weekend on the podium with the orchestra he has conducted for twenty years.

Since 2005, Mark has helped shape a thriving musical community in the Columbia Gorge, leading hundreds of performances, championing new works, and creating opportunities for musicians and audiences alike.

For this season finale, he has assembled a remarkable program featuring returning soloists Kathryn Apland and Mitchell Jett Spencer, along with music by Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, and Mahler.

As we celebrate twenty years of music-making, we invite you to join us for this special weekend of performances—and to help honor the legacy of a conductor whose vision helped make it all possible.

🎹 Piano Summit
🗓 Tonight at 7 PM, Saturday at 7 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM
📍 Wy'east Middle School Performing Arts Center
🎟 gorgeorchestra.org
Students & Youth FREE
Arts for All tickets available

🎹 Returning to the Sinfonietta stage for Piano Summit this week is pianist Mitchell Jett Spencer.A familiar face to Colu...
06/17/2026

🎹 Returning to the Sinfonietta stage for Piano Summit this week is pianist Mitchell Jett Spencer.

A familiar face to Columbia Gorge audiences, Mitchell is a composer, pianist, and engineer based in New York City. As a pianist, he frequently collaborates with the Gorge Sinfonietta and has become a favorite guest artist with local audiences.

For Piano Summit, Mitchell will perform Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, a dazzling work that takes listeners on a musical journey filled with romance, drama, humor, and extraordinary virtuosity.

Beyond his work as a pianist, Mitchell is also an accomplished composer. His music reflects both a reverence for the traditions of classical music and an appreciation for the energy of American folk, rock, and punk. He frequently writes for communities and ensembles he knows personally, including Folktales for the Hood River String Quartet, which premiered earlier this year, and Sermon, a new work that will premiere this summer.

In 2024, Mitchell toured Oregon, Colorado, and Utah with his solo piano program, Sound of Movement, featuring works by Guillaume Connesson, Karol Szymanowski, and Thomas Adès.

By day, Mitchell develops aircraft collision avoidance technology for a company local to the Columbia Gorge. When not behind a keyboard, he can often be found rollerblading through the streets of Manhattan.

🎹 Piano Summit
🗓 June 18 & 20 at 7 PM | June 21 at 2 PM
📍 Wy'east Middle School Performing Arts Center
🎟 gorgeorchestra.org

🎹 Returning to the Sinfonietta stage for Piano Summit this week is pianist Kathryn Apland.Kathryn's love of music began ...
06/16/2026

🎹 Returning to the Sinfonietta stage for Piano Summit this week is pianist Kathryn Apland.

Kathryn's love of music began at home. Growing up in a musical family, she was inspired by her father, a professional violinist with the Oregon Symphony. As her first teacher, he nurtured her love of music, and the two performed together in numerous recitals.

A winner of many awards, Kathryn earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Oregon and pursued graduate studies at Indiana University. Throughout her career, she has performed with organizations including the Oregon Symphony, Portland Opera, Eugene Symphony, Grossmont Symphony, and Opera and Ballet Company. In 2016, she received a Tholen Fellowship through Portland Piano International to study with renowned pianist Tatiana Loudenitch.

For many in the Gorge, Kathryn is also a familiar face within the orchestra itself. She has performed with the Sinfonietta as an oboist and English horn player for the past 30 years and returns to the keyboard for Piano Summit as one of two featured soloists.

Kathryn will perform Franz Liszt's Totentanz, one of the composer's most dramatic and technically demanding works.

When she's not performing or teaching music, she enjoys raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. And while music is her passion, she says her greatest joy is her supportive family—her children, grandchildren, and husband, whom she calls her heroes.

🗓 June 18 & 20 at 7 PM | June 21 at 2 PM
📍 Wy'east Middle School Performing Arts Center
🎟 gorgeorchestra.org

The 7-foot Steinway has arrived, courtesy of Portland Piano Company, and the final dress rehearsal is tomorrow. Do you ...
06/16/2026

The 7-foot Steinway has arrived, courtesy of Portland Piano Company, and the final dress rehearsal is tomorrow. Do you have your tickets? Don't delay, as they are going fast! You will want to hear Kathryn Apland and Mitchell Jett Spencer play this beauty with the Gorge Sinfonietta! 🎶

🎹 Piano Summit concerts:
Thursday, June 18, 7pm
Saturday, June 20, 7pm
Sunday, June 21, 2pm

Wy'east Middle School Performing Arts Center, Odell
Tickets at gorgeorchestra.org
Students are free with ID, but please reserve your ticket ahead.
⭐ Plan to arrive 30 minutes ahead of the performance, to get parking and find your seat.


Why call it Piano Summit?A summit is where talented people come together to share ideas. It's also the highest point of ...
06/16/2026

Why call it Piano Summit?

A summit is where talented people come together to share ideas. It's also the highest point of a mountain.

For conductor Mark Steighner, both meanings apply.

"Piano Summit" brings together two remarkable pianists—Kathryn Apland and Mitchell Jett Spencer—for a rare concert featuring two major piano works on one program.

And the music itself? Steighner calls it "the absolute summit of late 19th-century Romanticism and piano virtuosity."

Whether you're a longtime classical music fan or simply love hearing musicians perform at the highest level, this season finale promises something special.

🗓 June 18 & 20 at 7 PM | June 21 at 2 PM
📍 Wy'east Middle School Performing Arts Center
🎟 gorgeorchestra.org
Adults $25 | CGOA Members $20
Students & Youth FREE
Arts for All tickets available

This Sunday, the Jazz Collective Big Band takes over the showroom floor for Jazz Under the Hood.For one evening, the sh...
06/12/2026

This Sunday, the Jazz Collective Big Band takes over the showroom floor for Jazz Under the Hood.

For one evening, the showroom will be filled with the sounds of a live 17-piece big band performing favorites from Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, and more.

Come to dance. Come to listen. Come because it's not every day you get to hear a live big band surrounded by polished chrome and summer evening light.

Bring a friend, bring the family, or make it a date night.

🗓️ Sunday, June 14 • 7 PM
📍 Columbia Gorge Toyota & Honda, The Dalles
🎟️ FREE Tickets

A one-night-only concert. We hope you'll join us.

As the Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association's 20th Anniversary Season draws to a close, there are just two opportunities...
06/10/2026

As the Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association's 20th Anniversary Season draws to a close, there are just two opportunities left to join us for an unforgettable season finale.

🎷 June 14 – Jazz Under the Hood
The Jazz Collective Big Band brings the sound of the swing era to the Columbia Gorge Toyota showroom in The Dalles. Dance, listen, and enjoy an evening of big band favorites performed by a 17-piece ensemble surrounded by brand new cars and polished chrome. Admission is free, but tickets are requested. (gorgeorchestra.org)

🎹 June 18, 20 & 21 – Piano Summit
The Gorge Sinfonietta closes the season with a musical event years in the making. Acclaimed pianists Kathryn Apland and Mitchell Jett Spencer return to perform works by Grieg and Rachmaninoff—two of the most celebrated piano concertos ever written. It's a rare chance to hear both artists on the same program and a fitting finale to CGOA's 20th season.

From the energy of big band jazz to the grandeur of Romantic masterworks, these concerts showcase the incredible range of music that has defined the past twenty years.

Join us as we celebrate the end of a remarkable season—and help us send our 20th Anniversary year out on a high note.

🎟️ Tickets and information: gorgeorchestra.org

Visit Hood River

Some songs never go out of style.Take the A Train, In the Mood, Chattanooga Choo Choo, New York, New York, Brazil, Mambo...
06/09/2026

Some songs never go out of style.

Take the A Train, In the Mood, Chattanooga Choo Choo, New York, New York, Brazil, Mambo Caliente, and the Count Basie classic Moten Swing…

On June 14, the Jazz Collective Big Band brings these classics—and more—to the Columbia Gorge Toyota showroom for Jazz Under the Hood.

With a full 17-piece big band performing American Songbook favorites, Latin jazz standards, and swing-era classics, it's a chance to hear the music that filled dance halls and radio waves for generations.

🗓️ Sunday, June 14 • 7 PM
📍 Columbia Gorge Toyota & Honda, The Dalles
🎟️ FREE Tickets

Come hear the songs you know—and maybe discover a few new favorites along the way.

Address

PO Box 1019
Hood River, OR
97031

Telephone

+15413579722

Website

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