Named for a place where people come to resolve things together.
A palaver hut is a small circular structure used for discussion and conflict resolution in Liberia.
We took the name from our early connections to the Liberian Education Fund, and kept it because it describes what we're actually trying to do. Not just the concerts. Everything.
Every rehearsal is a palaver: a collective negotiation between musicians to arrive at something none of us could make alone. Every Palaver Music Center class is a palaver: families from different parts of Portland sitting together with music between them. Every Lullaby Project session, every Lifesongs workshop — a palaver.
"We are a diverse group of individuals seeking to come to a creative agreement when we make music."
We believe that the practice of collective decision-making — in the rehearsal room and in the boardroom — is itself the work. That how you make things is inseparable from what you make.
"Palaver Strings enriches lives by sharing music with diverse audiences in and beyond the concert hall — and by building the community infrastructure that makes that sharing possible."
Three things. One team. No hierarchy between them.
The Ensemble
A Grammy-nominated, musician-led string chamber ensemble performing at a national level. No conductor — programming, interpretation, and organizational strategy all decided by the same musicians who play. Reviewed in The Guardian, Gramophone, and the Boston Globe.
Palaver Music Center
Our community music school at 380 Cumberland Ave, Portland. Five programs for ages 0–12+. The teachers are the ensemble musicians. Sliding-scale tuition. Transit-accessible. Built on the conviction that music education is not a luxury.
Community Programs
Long-term co-creative partnerships with specific communities. New parents writing lullabies for their children. LGBTQ elders telling their stories through song. We play not only for Portland — we play with it.
Where we've been.
Founded in Portland
Palaver Strings is founded with a musician-led model and early ties to the Liberian Education Fund. First season of concerts in Portland.
Carnegie Hall — Lullaby Project
Portland participant Caitlin Gillespie performs her original lullaby "Harper Rose" at Carnegie Hall alongside two Palaver musicians. Palaver is one of a small number of ensembles nationwide to carry the Carnegie Hall Lullaby Project program.
Lifesongs Project Launches
Co-creative songwriting partnership with Portland's LGBTQ community begins. Original songs recorded, performed, and belonging to the people who wrote them.
Ready or Not Released
Debut album featuring works by female composers — reviewed by The Guardian, Musical America, The Arts Desk, Gramophone, and Classical Music. National and international attention.
Palaver Music Center Opens
PMC moves into dedicated teaching space at 380 Cumberland Ave, Floor 2 — a transit-accessible, downtown Portland home for all five programs.
A Change is Gonna Come Released
Second album — reviewed in Gramophone. Programming that spoke directly to its historical moment.
Season 12 and beyond
Palaver continues to expand its national touring profile while deepening community roots in Portland. Working toward a $3M budget, fair artist compensation, and a community music center that reaches every neighborhood.
What we stand for.
These aren't statements we made once. They're practices we return to, test, and try to deepen every season.
Anti-Racism
We acknowledge that classical music has been created, curated, and controlled by white people for white people over the last several centuries. We acknowledge that we are part of an art form that has gatekept and excluded people based on race, class, and educational background.
We are committed to changing the face of classical music in our local community — through programming, hiring, partnerships, and the values we build into every decision we make.
Read our full statementRadical Access
Sliding-scale tuition. Transit-accessible locations. Bilingual outreach where needed. Partnerships with organizations already inside the communities we hope to serve. Pricing that doesn't require financial sacrifice to attend a concert.
Access is not a program. It's a design constraint we apply to everything.
See PMC programsArtist Sustainability
Musician-led doesn't just mean governance. It means that the people who take artistic and organizational risk are fairly compensated for it. We're committed to paying fair wages, maintaining humane touring conditions, and growing the organization in ways that don't ask musicians to subsidize it with their own stability.
You cannot build lasting community infrastructure on burned-out artists.
Meet the musiciansClimate
We recognize climate change as an urgent reality and are deepening our organizational response to it. Touring and operational decisions are made with environmental impact in mind. This commitment is ongoing — we don't yet have all the answers, but we're asking the questions.
Read our climate statementThe musicians are the organization.
At Palaver, there is no separate artistic director. The people on stage are the same people who run the Music Center, oversee the community programs, and make organizational decisions. That's the model — and it's the source of both our challenges and our coherence.
Stay connected.
Concert announcements, PMC enrollment windows, and community news — occasional and worth reading.