Plus One
Saturday, October 3, 2026
3:00 pm
Hosted by James Shields & Emily Cole
20 Guests • $100
Four strings are delightful on their own—but invite a clarinet and the conversation becomes downright irresistible! Renowned clarinetist James Shields joins New York City’s Overlook Quartet for captivating quintets by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Portland favorite Kenji Bunch. Afterwards, linger over delicious fare and conversation in this welcoming NW Portland home.
- More About Overlook Quartet
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Animated by a shared expansive view of the chamber music experience, the “breathtaking”, “paradigm-shifting” (New York Music Daily) string quartet, The Overlook, curates vibrant, unexpected programs that transform sometimes unfamiliar music into unforgettable experiences audiences crave hearing again.Based in New York City, the quartet, comprised of violinists Monica Davis and Yezu Woo, violist Angela Pickett, and cellist Laura Metcalf has been presented in performances and residencies around the country, highlighting the work of living composers, with recent collaborations including performing with NY Philharmonic clarinetist. Anthony McGill at Fotografiska NY’s inaugural Unfiltered Festival, an immersive experience playing in the life size sculptural installations of artist Linda Sormin at MassMOCA, and bringing joyful energy to a performances of a meditative work for string quartet and improvising musician with jazz legend, Joe Lovano.
The quartet formed in 2020 from a simple need to make and share music with others during the pandemic shutdown. The longtime friends, some of New York’s most accomplished string players gathered to play outdoors in parks and on street corners in Upper Manhattan and their community stopped to listen. Through these casual outdoor performances, they built a following in person and online, connected with local businesses, composers, and residential enclaves - eventually partnering with neighborhood cultural centers for their first official performances. They witnessed firsthand the power of music to unite and inspire.
Building lasting relationships with composers and consistently championing new works, engaging collaborators across disciplines, and sharing with their local community, The Overlook captivates audiences with a more relevant chamber music experience.
- 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.
