Tales & Tunes
Sunday, May 17, 2026
3:00 pm
Hosted by Judy & Jim Jennings
20 guests • $100
Once upon a time in a charming SW Portland home, fairy tales frolicked, fables found their groove, and mischief mingled with music. Join the ever-witty Robert McBride of All Classical Radio fame, spirited clarinetist James Shields, and the dynamic piano duo team of Cary Lewis and Pat Zagelow for a whimsical afternoon of musical storytelling. On the program: Ravel’s delightful Mother Goose Suite, Anthony Plog’s laugh-out-loud Animal Ditties, and Nickitas Demos’s Mythoi, where Aesop’s critters come out to play—all served up with delightful nibbles and drinks.
- More About James Shields
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James Shields joined the Oregon Symphony as principal clarinet in the autumn of 2016. Before relocating to Portland, Shields served as principal clarinet of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto as well as the New Mexico Philharmonic in Albuquerque.A graduate of The Juilliard School, Shields studied with Ricardo Morales, principal clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Shields has appeared as a soloist with the Oregon Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, Interlochen’s World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Albuquerque Philharmonic Orchestra, and as guest principal clarinet with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival, and Santa Fe Pro Musica.
In addition to his orchestral and solo activities, Shields is increasingly becoming known to North American audiences as a dynamic and passionate performer of chamber music, making over 30 appearances annually in intimate settings throughout the United States and Canada. Shields is co-artistic director of Chatter, an Albuquerque-based chamber music organization that presents more than 60 concerts per year, and a core member of the Portland-based chamber music collective 45th Parallel Universe. In addition to his performing activities, Shields holds a Master of Music in Composition from the University of New Mexico, and continues to compose regularly.
- More About Robert McBride
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Robert McBride retired in 2018 from a long career in broadcasting, concluding at Portland’s All Classical Radio. Two of the programs he started there, Thursdays @ Three and Club Mod, are still on the air. Now he enjoys acting, storytelling, narration, and voiceover work. A former percussionist and occasional composer, he marvels at the power of music to make life better than it otherwise would be. - More About Cary Lewis
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Pianist Cary Lewis is in frequent demand as a collaborative pianist for soloists and chamber music groups. He joined William Preucil (concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra) and his wife, cellist Dorothy Lewis, to form the Lanier Trio, whose recording of the complete Dvorak Trios was honored by TIME Magazine as one of the Ten Best Recordings in 1993. With degrees from the University of North Texas as well as a doctorate and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, he was a Fulbright scholar for two years in Vienna. His teachers included Eugene List, Brooks Smith, and Dieter Weber. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Bargemusic, the Library of Congress, the White House, the Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall in London, the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, and in other music capitals of the United States and Europe. Dr. Lewis is retired from the faculty of Georgia State University in Atlanta and is now based in Portland, Oregon. In recent years he has participated in festivals in Montana, Colorado, Michigan, Maine, Hawaii, St. Croix and Turkey, and has recorded over three dozen albums featuring works from the standard literature as well as music by American composers. - More About Pat Zagelow
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Pat Zagelow has been Executive Director of Friends of Chamber Music since 1991. She was also Executive Director of Portland Piano International from 1991 to 2008 and managed Oregon Repertory Singers, The Florestan Trio, and the Contemporary Dance Season at Portland State University at various times in her career. When not presenting chamber music concerts or playing chamber music herself, Pat loves spending time with her husband, John, and doting on their two granddaughters.
