Portland-based chamber orchestra Palaver Strings presents Port City, a program of tango music featuring bandoneon visionary Heyni Solera as soloist and composer, as part of the Osher School of Music at the University of Southern Maine’s Spotlight Series. The performance features danceable classics alongside contemporary tango-inspired compositions, including a world premiere by Solera. This performance will celebrate tango’s ongoing evolution and the powerful interplay between music and dance.
Palaver Strings is a Grammy-nominated, musician-led string ensemble and nonprofit whose mission is to strengthen and inspire community through music. Praised for its “fresh, galvanizing sound” (Bay Area Reporter), Palaver has made its mark as one of New England’s most innovative ensembles, balancing a national touring schedule with a commitment to music education at the Palaver Music Center (PMC) in Portland, Maine. PMC programs serve hundreds of local students each year through a range of programs, including Early Childhood Music, string instrument lessons and student chamber performance, and community songwriting workshops. Palaver seeks to address inequities in access to music education, serving Portland families of diverse backgrounds.
The Dr. Alfred and D. Suzi Osher School of Music (OSOM) at the University of Southern Maine (USM) is an accredited music school in Maine offering a personalized and opportunity-based approach to educating musicians. Our distinguished faculty – consisting of celebrated performers, teachers, scholars, and mentors – fosters an environment where excellence is a guiding principle. OSOM continually strives to shape accomplished professionals ready to lead, perform, and innovate with its degree offerings, summer camps, youth ensembles, and community-forward, accessible programming. In 2025, USM became the 250th All-Steinway Institution in the world with the arrival of 26 new Steinway pianos, making it the first institution of higher education in Maine to receive such a designation.
Palaver is thrilled to be presented by the Osher School of Music at the Crewe Center for the Arts in its opening season and bring its dynamic sound to this state-of-the-art performance space. The ensemble welcomes the opening of the Crewe Center and the opportunities it will create for USM students and faculty, local and touring musicians, and the creative economy of southern Maine.
WHEN: Friday, November 7, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Crewe Center for the Arts, University of Southern Maine, 111 Bedford St., Portland, ME
Palaver Strings is a Grammy-nominated, musician-led string ensemble and nonprofit organization based in Portland, ME. Our mission is to strengthen and inspire community through music. In our musician-led model, Palaver’s musicians share artistic and administrative leadership, guided by a passion for engaging new audiences, addressing social justice issues, and amplifying underrepresented voices. Equally committed to performance and education, Palaver presents a full season of over 40 live concerts and serves over 200 students yearly at the Palaver Music Center in downtown Portland.
The Dr. Alfred and D. Suzi Osher School of Music (OSOM) at the University of Southern Maine’s (USM) is an accredited music school in Maine offering a personalized and opportunity-based approach to educating musicians. USM is the 250th All-Steinway Institution in the world making it the first higher education school to receive such a designation.
Heyni Solera has enjoyed a career in the US and abroad, performing in Argentina, Canada, and Australia, and collaborating with prominent tango artists such as Ramiro Boero, Julian Peralta, Pablo Jaurena, Santiago Segret, and Pedro Giraud. Heyni is part of the cello/bandoneon duo Arco & Aire, with cellist Maxfield Wollam-Fisher. Their arrangement of “La Bordona” won Best Latin Song for the 2022 Wammie awards, which can be found in their EP Overture. Heyni is the bandoneonist of Las Almas, an ensemble that focuses on female tango musicians in a typically male-dominated genre. Past projects include playing in the orchestra of the highly praised IN Series production of Le Cabaret de Carmen at Source Theatre in Washington, D.C., and at Baltimore Theatre Project in Baltimore, Maryland. In April of 2022, Heyni made her Kennedy Center debut with the Latin-Grammy-nominated PanAmerican Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the ensemble at the Argentine Embassy of Washington, DC.
Contacts:
Maya French, Executive Director, Founder, Violinist – 207-930-5189
maya@palaverstrings.org
USM Contact:
Dr. Kyle Nielsen, Director, Osher School of Music – 207-780-5697
kyle.b.nielsen@maine.edu