Giving to Beauty, Music, and Poetic Meaning
In today’s world and economic climate, creating new, relevant art is often a struggle. Beautiful, poetic music builds community, but funding is a challenge and the music industry is not the source of commercial abundance and risk-taking that it once was. This is especially true in opera, where most existing institutions focus on works of the past, and the expense of new productions discourages innovation and DIY efforts.
Cult of Orpheus, Portland’s all-original opera and vocal troupe, has been creating beautiful new music since 2013. Next year we are looking to collaborate with local poets and complete a new opera. Composer and founder Christopher Corbell does not make a living from this work — in fact he is one of the major donors to these productions, giving the better part of many of his day-job paychecks toward this labor of love. At the end of this year, the group will likely end up with a net loss, but will have provided substantial paid work to many local musicians and other artists in Portland, and produced two commercial recordings.
On this #GivingTuesday, we are asking you to help us end the year with abundance, as we manufacture and release a recording of our flagship opera, Viva’s Holiday. Our GoFundMe page has a long way to go toward our goal, so any donation you can offer – $10, $50, $100 – will make a huge difference to us this holiday season. There are perks offered for GoFundMe donations, or if you prefer you can make a tax-deductible donation through Fractured Atlas, our 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor.
We love our place in the Portland fine arts and new-music community, and could not be here without you! Thank you for your support!