HOOD RIVER — Mt. Adams Institute’s Sense of Place series will celebrate 15 years with a landmark event: “The Watershed Rock Opera,” a multimedia performance that pays homage to the Columbia River Gorge and its communities. Happening April 11–13 at Columbia Center for the Arts, this production weaves together original music, film, recorded interviews, and theatrical storytelling into a celebration of the region’s landscapes, cultures, and people.
Told in five movements,The Watershed Rock Opera follows the course of water, moving through the Gorge watershed, to explore the interconnectedness of communities.
“I’d been considering how I might share a variety of different stories in a single setting,” said Sarah Fox, producer of the rock opera and host/curator of the Sense of Place series. “I knew I wanted to have first-person voices, to integrate music and other media, and to have some fun. I eventually landed on the idea of a rock opera, with the watershed as its throughline. And thanks to an incredible team of local musicians, advisors, production staff, and donors, the idea has become a reality.”
The Watershed Rock Opera has been in production since February 2024 and features original music composed by Gorge local Erik Kaneda. The live performances will include nearly 20 musicians/performers from the Gorge and each movement draws directly from the expertise and first-person experiences of its advisors/storytellers. Production staff is also Gorge based.
“Watersheds are a great reminder of how connected we all are, not just in a physical place, but in the overlap of our experiences. That can be easy to forget these days, but the Sense of Place program has witnessed those connections for the past 15-years and The Watershed Rock Opera truly celebrates what we’ve seen,” shares Fox.
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