Cuba Initiative

Hello,


On July 1st, 2015, President Barack Obama formally announced the renewal of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba, following a breach of more than 50 years. In response to this landmark initiative, Oregon’s Cascadia Composers will join leading Cuban composers for the first-ever exchange of composers and concerts between our two countries.


The first trip will be ours. At the invitation of Guido López-Gavilán, Director of the Festival de La Habana, de Música Contemporánea, Cascadia Composers will present at the 29th annual festival (November 14-22, 2016) a concert of selected works by its members, performed by many of Cuba’s leading artists. At this prestigious international festival, eight Cascadia members will represent the US in this first of its kind artistic exchange. Cascadia Composers will in turn invite eight Cuban composers to attend a public performance of their works produced by Cascadia in Portland, Oregon during the third week of May, 2017. 


Cascadia Composers, now over 70 members strong, has — since its founding in 2008 — produced over 50 concerts, bringing to the stage more than 400 works of musical art by local and West Coast members. With scores of performances, educational events, and community outreach programs, Cascadia is well positioned to launch this artistic and cultural exchange between the US and Cuba.


This is such a unique time for our organization. In order to help make this project happen, we are trying to raise funds to cover the expenses of the eight Cascadia composers traveling to Cuba the week of the festival. We have determined the cost for each composer to be $3,000.


Any donation, large or small, will help defray the cost for this incredible opportunity for our composers.


Thank you all so much! 
Jan Mittelstaedt 
President 
Cascadia Composers