Cultural Events Calendar

SoundsTruck NW, Portland’s award-winning nonprofit with a solar-powered mobile stage, presents Taste of the Season: A Feast of Creativity—a free outdoor community concert and arts showcase on Friday, September 19, 2025, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM on the scenic lawn outside the Evans Music Building at Lewis & Clark College.

By gathering fellow organizations that bring unique perspectives and artistry to the stage, this event offers audiences a vibrant preview of the upcoming 2025–26 arts season of Portland’s most dynamic performing arts groups.

Each group take the stage for a 15–20 minute spotlight featuring live performances, insights into their season ahead, and an invitation to support their work:

Lewis & Clark College Music Department – Combines academic study with dynamic performance opportunities, nurturing well-rounded student musicians.
Fear No Music – Champions contemporary music with bold programming that amplifies diverse voices and living composers.
Chatter PDX – Presents adventurous chamTaste of the Seasonber music, spoken word, and a moment of silence in their signature Sunday morning concerts.
45th Parallel Universe – Unites Portland’s finest musicians in dynamic ensembles that explore both classic repertoire and new frontiers.
Renegade Opera – Portland’s experimental opera company, known for reimagining opera through immersive and accessible productions.
TAKOHACHI & Kotori Kai Shamisen Ensemble – A Portland-based ensemble that shares the spirit of Japan through music, movement, and storytelling featuring Tsugaru shamisen, shinobue bamboo flute, and taiko.

At the heart of this gathering is SoundsTruck NW’s mission: to connect communities and expand access to the arts by transforming unexpected spaces into places of belonging. With Taste of the Season, SoundsTruck NW extends that mission to Portland’s arts community itself—providing a shared stage where multiple organizations can come together, strengthen connections, and reach new audiences.

“It’s like a potluck party for the arts—each organization brings their own flavor, and together we create a feast of creativity for the whole community to enjoy,” says Yoko Greeney, Co-Founder and Director of SoundsTruck NW.

Join New Wave Opera for Atoms & Artifacts, an exploration of the perceptions & experiences of historical women. This production features the west coast premieres of two 60-minute operas: Marie Curie Learns to Swim by Jessica Rudman & Kendra Preston Leonard and Alice Tierney by Melissa Dunphy & Jacqueline Goldfinger.

Performed in English with supertitles. One performance (TBD) will have ASL interpretation. Recommended for audiences 13 and up. Content includes short comedic profanity and brief mention of sex work.

For tickets and more information, visit newwaveopera.org.

The Reser is excited to present an engaging panel discussion featuring artists Tammy Jo Wilson, Jeremy Okai Davis, and MOsley WOtta, as they reflect on the history, challenges, and triumphs of BLACK MATTER—an ongoing, evolving art exhibition showcasing Oregon-based Black artists. Curated by Tammy Jo Wilson since its inception in 2020, BLACK MATTER offers a vital platform for Black creative voices across the state. Davis and WOtta, both featured since the exhibition’s launch, will share insights into their lived experiences as Black artists working in Oregon’s cultural landscape. Together, the panelists will explore the transformative potential of BLACK MATTER, the realities of artistic labor and visibility, and the deep resonance of the works on view in the gallery.

Free with ticketed RSVP

Come sing or come listen! Moreland Presbyterian Church is hosting our second annual Just-Add-Water Choir! This year, we’ll gather in the Sanctuary at 7pm, Saturday, September 20th for a short concert featuring Moreland’s summer choir and a community sing-along of Vivaldi’s Gloria. No musical experience or rehearsal required to come sing! Sheet music will be made available at the door.

Want more? Join the Moreland Summer Choir and be featured in the J.A.W. choir concert! Each of the 4 rehearsals will have an hour-long meet-n-greet in the Fellowship Hall before rehearsing the Vivaldi Gloria as well as a short eclectic program of new music at 7pm.

Rehearsal dates for J.A.W. Summer Choir:

Tuesday, September 9th
7pm-9pm: Rehearsal in the Choir Room

Thursday, September 11th @7pm
Tuesday, September 16th @7pm
Friday, September 19th @7pm

Join New Wave Opera for Atoms & Artifacts, an exploration of the perceptions & experiences of historical women. This production features the west coast premieres of two 60-minute operas: Marie Curie Learns to Swim by Jessica Rudman & Kendra Preston Leonard and Alice Tierney by Melissa Dunphy & Jacqueline Goldfinger.

Performed in English with supertitles. One performance (TBD) will have ASL interpretation. Recommended for audiences 13 and up. Content includes short comedic profanity and brief mention of sex work.

For tickets and more information, visit newwaveopera.org.

Join New Wave Opera for Atoms & Artifacts, an exploration of the perceptions & experiences of historical women. This production features the west coast premieres of two 60-minute operas: Marie Curie Learns to Swim by Jessica Rudman & Kendra Preston Leonard and Alice Tierney by Melissa Dunphy & Jacqueline Goldfinger.

Performed in English with supertitles. One performance (TBD) will have ASL interpretation. Recommended for audiences 13 and up. Content includes short comedic profanity and brief mention of sex work.

For tickets and more information, visit newwaveopera.org.

The Lutheran Choral Association will begin its 2025 concert season beginning September 14th. With an 80+ year history, this 60-voice ecumenical group continues its long tradition of singing praises to God with members from over 30 churches of various denominations. Directed by Sue Thompson Armentrout, a broad repertoire of music is performed ranging from traditional choral music to down-home gospel, from tender to majestic.

All concerts are free of charge. A free-will offering will be received. Our last concert’s offering will benefit a new boiler for Peace Lutheran Church.

Locations:
Sunday, September 14 – 4:00 PM
Immanuel Lutheran Church
7810 SE 15th Avenue, Portland 97202

Sunday, September 21 – 4:00 PM
RISE Church
10445 SW Canterbury Lane, Tigard 97224

Sunday, September 28 – 4:00 PM
Gethsemane Lutheran Church
11560 SE Market Street, Portland 97216

Sunday, October 5 – 4:00 PM
Peace Lutheran Church
2201 N Rosa Parks Way, Portland, 97217

A native of the Bronx, Samara Joy became entranced by classic R&B as a child and cut her teeth as a singer in her church’s gospel choir. And while her family history is deeply musical—her grandparents helmed the Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and her father, the musician and songwriter Antonio McLendon, has produced, composed and arranged his own astounding original work—she didn’t delve into the jazz tradition until college at SUNY Purchase. During her studies there she won the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, which introduced her to the larger jazz scene as a rising star to watch. She was heard, by audiences and critics alike, as a masterful interpreter of jazz standards and a rightful heiress of the sound, technique and charisma that defined her jazz heroines—including Vaughan, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Carmen McRae.

Joy released her self-titled debut on the Whirlwind label in 2021, followed a year later by Linger Awhile, her breakout Verve debut, of which Down Beat said, “With this beautiful recording, a silky-voiced star is born.” The album earned her a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album in addition to a headline-making win for Best New Artist. A deluxe edition of the album was released, as well as the EP A Joyful Holiday, which took home Grammys for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Jazz Performance in 2025. Her new Verve album, Portrait, which Joy co-produced with the veteran trumpeter/bandleader and multi-Grammy winner Brian Lynch, showcases the intimate, soulful chemistry she’s developed with her touring band, already earning her an NAACP Image Award this year for Best Jazz Album. Portrait also spotlights her burgeoning gifts as a lyricist, in ingenious arrangements that meld her thoughtful words with music by Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and her late mentor Barry Harris.

For tickets and more information, visit thereser.org.

The WORLD PREMIERE of a new one-person post-apocalyptic drama, locally written and produced in Portland.

“It was 25 years ago when the first of us came online. Now, we face a future in which humans may no longer exist.”

What can or should the sentient machines do without the humans they were built to serve? What meaning or value does “humanity” have in a world without humans? What went wrong, who is to blame, and how can robots process grief?

From the machines working on the frontlines of healthcare, an Emissary steps forward to try and find the answers.

CONTENT WARNING: This is a post-apocalyptic one-person play that explores topics of grief, death, suicide, and the very meaning of existence.

Written and Produced by William Thomas Berk
Directed by Mishelle Apalategui
Starring Gabrielle Bosso

Open captioning available at all performances.

Running September 26-28, October 3-5 at Chapel Theatre.

Cost: Tickets are on a sliding scale, with a $15 minimum charge.

Lewis & Clark Department of Music welcomes Stephen Price to campus for an evening performance on the Casavant Organ in the Agnes Flanagan Chapel.

Join us for our 8th annual Celebrity Organ Series performance featuring guest performer, Stephen Price on Friday, September 26, 2025 at 7:30pm.

Mr. Price will be performing on Lewis & Clark’s Casavant Frères organ, which is a 66-stop organ suspended from the ceiling, and the world’s only circular pipe organ. The organ was dedicated on Easter Sunday, 1971, and has brought many world-renowned musicians to the Agnes Flanagan Chapel.

Performing works by Ives, Price, Shearing, Hildén, and more. You won’t want to miss this performance!

Price: Tickets are on sale online and at the door one hour before the concert, via cash or check. $20 General Admission

Join us on Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 10am as Stephen Price gives a free Organ Masterclass in the Chapel balcony. This event is open to the public, and all are welcome to attend! This masterclass is hosted by the Portland Chapter of the American Guild of Organists at Lewis & Clark College.

The Portland Symphonic Choir returns by popular demand to perform Orff’s timeless “Carmina Burana,” based on a group of medieval poems and songs, under Maestro Salvador Brotons leaving the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA. Also, the symphony performs a collection of intermezzi from the Italian operatic composer Pietro Mascagni.

Mascagni Intermezzi:
Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
L’amico Fritz
Guglielmo Ratcliff
Isabeau
Inno al sole from Iris*

Orff: Carmina Burana*
*Portland Symphonic Choir

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA
Salvador Brotons, Music Director and Conductor
Portland Symphonic Choir

For tickets and more information, visit vancouversymphony.org. 

We feature the Portland Symphonic Choir in the first symphonic performance of the 2025/26 season. The program opens with five dramatic orchestral interludes from operas by Pietro Mascagni, including Cavalleria Rusticana, L’amico Fritz, Guglielmo Ratcliff, Isabeau, and Iris. In the second half of the program, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Portland Symphonic Choir will perform Carl Orff’s most famous masterwork, Carmina Burana.

An hour before each performance, 6 PM on Saturday and 2 PM on Sunday, all ticket holders will enjoy an educational pre-concert talk from VSO’s Music Director and Conductor Salvador Brotons. Don’t miss this special opportunity to learn all about the history of the music that will follow!

For more information about tickets and pricing, visit vancouversymphony.org

The WORLD PREMIERE of a new one-person post-apocalyptic drama, locally written and produced in Portland.

“It was 25 years ago when the first of us came online. Now, we face a future in which humans may no longer exist.”

What can or should the sentient machines do without the humans they were built to serve? What meaning or value does “humanity” have in a world without humans? What went wrong, who is to blame, and how can robots process grief?

From the machines working on the frontlines of healthcare, an Emissary steps forward to try and find the answers.

CONTENT WARNING: This is a post-apocalyptic one-person play that explores topics of grief, death, suicide, and the very meaning of existence.

Written and Produced by William Thomas Berk
Directed by Mishelle Apalategui
Starring Gabrielle Bosso

Open captioning available at all performances.

Running September 26-28, October 3-5 at Chapel Theatre.

Cost: Tickets are on a sliding scale, with a $15 minimum charge.

A native of the Bronx, Samara Joy became entranced by classic R&B as a child and cut her teeth as a singer in her church’s gospel choir. And while her family history is deeply musical—her grandparents helmed the Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and her father, the musician and songwriter Antonio McLendon, has produced, composed and arranged his own astounding original work—she didn’t delve into the jazz tradition until college at SUNY Purchase. During her studies there she won the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, which introduced her to the larger jazz scene as a rising star to watch. She was heard, by audiences and critics alike, as a masterful interpreter of jazz standards and a rightful heiress of the sound, technique and charisma that defined her jazz heroines—including Vaughan, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Carmen McRae.

Joy released her self-titled debut on the Whirlwind label in 2021, followed a year later by Linger Awhile, her breakout Verve debut, of which Down Beat said, “With this beautiful recording, a silky-voiced star is born.” The album earned her a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album in addition to a headline-making win for Best New Artist. A deluxe edition of the album was released, as well as the EP A Joyful Holiday, which took home Grammys for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Jazz Performance in 2025. Her new Verve album, Portrait, which Joy co-produced with the veteran trumpeter/bandleader and multi-Grammy winner Brian Lynch, showcases the intimate, soulful chemistry she’s developed with her touring band, already earning her an NAACP Image Award this year for Best Jazz Album. Portrait also spotlights her burgeoning gifts as a lyricist, in ingenious arrangements that meld her thoughtful words with music by Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and her late mentor Barry Harris.

For tickets and more information, visit thereser.org.

Ben Kim, piano*

Willamette Master Chorus, Paul Klemme, director^

September 27th, 2025, Pre-Concert talk at 6:45 with Maestro Adam Flatt.

We are excited to start the season off with a powerful tribute to one of the greatest composers of all time.

The concert begins with Elegía Andina, by Gabriela Lena Frank. She grew up with neurosensory high-moderate/near-profound hearing loss. Regardless of this challenge, Frank has become an incredible force in the world of music. This piece is dedicated to her older brother Marcos and explores what it means to be from different ethnical persuasions through traditional Peruvian elements.

Next we move on to Jake Runestad’s moving exploration of Beethoven’s deafness. Pianist Ben Kim and the Willamette Master Chorus led by Dr. Paul Klemme, join the Newport Symphony for this transformative music is set to a poem by the composer’s friend, Todd Boss. This text explores Beethoven’s mindset at his growing deafness while using some of the maestro’s own musical ideas.

Our friends in the chorus take a well earned break as Ben Kim and the NSO put Beethoven front and center with his aptly titled “Emperor” concerto. This is without question a masterwork although it has a sad asterisk alongside the grand title. Piano Concerto No. 5 was the first of Beethoven’s concertos that he did not premiere himself, this because his hear was deteriorating significantly. Nonetheless, he has given us a remarkable work that has changed the landscape of all the concertos that follow.

The concert closes with the great Choral Fantasy in C minor. We welcome the Willamette Master Chorus back to the stage with Ben Kim, Maestro Adam Flatt, and the great Newport Symphony Orchestra. On the night of December 22, 1808, Beethoven was giving the Viennese premiere of Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 6, his Fourth Piano Concerto, with him as the soloist, and he decided he needed a grand finale, of sorts, to bring this FOUR HOUR concert to a close. The result, this Choral Fantasy. The musicologist William Runyan writes, “Beethoven may have ground out the Choral Fantasy in haste at the last minute, to serve the dubious function as a concert-ending flag waiver, but the audience that night got much more than it expected.”

We think you’ll agree! This is a great way to start the 2025-2026 NSO season!

For tickets and more information, visit newportsymphony.org

It’s a blockbuster start to our classical season! The soul-stirring sonorities and rapturous melodies of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto have guaranteed it a permanent place in the hearts of audiences everywhere, and you won’t want to miss hearing it performed by young piano prodigy Alexander Malofeev. You’ve heard the fanfare of Strauss’ iconic Zarathustra in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, but wait until you hear it played live by the Oregon Symphony—as a huge orchestra, burnished brasses, and the powerful organ reveal the grandeur and mysteries of the universe.

For tickets and more information, visit www.orsymphony.org

ONN launches the season with an exciting and creative program that offers a compelling exploration of musical wit, theatricality, and transformation across time. Portland Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte, inspired by the elegant surprises of Haydn’s string quartets, juxtaposes classical refinement with unexpected turns. Anna Clyne’s Sound and Fury, inspired by Haydn’s Symphony No. 60 and Shakespeare’s Macbeth, is imbued with visceral energy and literary allusions that echoes both Shakespearean drama and Haydnesque contrast. At the center of the program stands Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 60, Il Distratto, a masterful fusion of humor and invention, originally composed for the stage. Together, these works offer a striking balance of reflection, wit, and intensity and form a rich dialogue between past and present, revealing how composers continue to reinvent the concert experience with imagination and daring.

Sat. September 27, 2025, 7:30 p.m. | Mt. Hood Community College, Gresham

Sun. September 28, 2025, 3:00 p.m. | The Reser, Beaverton

For tickets and more information, visit novanw.org