Much love, much Strauss, grace, pure fun: Sebé Kan African Dance, Portland Chamber Orchestra, Camille Ortiz, and more at The Reser for an early New Year’s Eve

During the day, a family fun event featuring crayons, dance, music, and a noon ball drop. The evening before, PCO and Ortiz performed music from 19th-century Vienna.

January 7, 2024

Joe Cantrell

Culture, Family, Music, Photography

*A reveler at The Reser for Kids News Years Eve, Dec. 30, 2024. Photo by Joe Cantrell.*

PHOTOGRAPHS by JOE CANTRELL

New Years Eve came a day early at Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton, and then kept right on going. On the evening of December 30 Portland Chamber Orchestra pulled out all the stops on “New Years in Old Vienna.” Then, during the day on December 31, The Reser filled with the sights and sounds of “Kids New Year’s Eve.”

It was fun even walking to The Reser on the morning of the 31st, kids with grandparents practicing The Countdown which was to happen at noon–and who knows, maybe the kids would sleep through the next night. Things like that get old, y’know?

“Kids New Year” at The Reser was packed. They had crayons and things to color for the kids down both sides of about a 40′ table and when that wasn’t enough, they brought out another table played on 4 sides. Mostly grandparents with kids, but lots of kids with kids too, another triumph.

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Outside in the lobby, which is proving to lend itself to all manner of happy things, Karen de Benedetti, The Reser Gallery Programs Manager, with her army of volunteers and others, had set up the tables. Everyone had plenty. When they ran out of plenty Karen smoothly transitioned to yet another table with all four sides occupied.

Everyone, every soul there, seemed to be having the time of their lives. They mostly kept crayons off the lobby’s mirror floor. Bingo.

Overall master of ceremonies inside was Aaron Nigel Smith, Education and Community Programs Manager for The Reser. The auditorium had several stage acts, most of them African American, beginning with West African dance from Sebé Kan Youth African Drum and Dance and progressing through others including O.G.ONE, Mo Phillips, and Arietta Ward. Mostly African American but not stated as such, a full house, the audience loved it: THIS was how art becomes inclusive American without dreary sales pitches.

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On the evening of the 30th Portland Chamber Orchestra performed, conducted by Nicholas Fox with soprano Camille Ortiz singing Strauss waltzes. Ortiz was absolutely stellar in the Strauss soprano roles and she’s six months pregnant. And Nick Fox is a flipping genius.

Much love, much Strauss, grace, pure fun.

–Cantrell and The Editors

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Family Fun at The Reser

*Families at The Reser for Kids News Years Eve, Dec. 30, 2024. Photo by Joe Cantrell.*

*Keeping crayons off the lobby’s mirror floor.*

Master of Ceremonies Aaron Nigel Smith at The Reser for Kids News Years Eve, Dec. 30, 2024. Photo by Joe Cantrell. — *Master of Ceremonies Aaron Nigel Smith leading the festivities.*

African Dance with Sebé Kan

Sebé Kan Youth African Drum and Dance at The Reser for Kids News Years Eve. Photo by Joe Cantrell.

Portland Chamber Orchestra featuring Camille Ortiz

Flutist Amelia Lukas with Portland Chamber Orchestra at The Reser, Dec. 30, 2024. Photo by Joe Cantrell. — *PCO principal flutist Amelia Lukas.*

Cellist Katherine Schultz with Portland Chamber Orchestra at The Reser, Dec. 30, 2024. Photo by Joe Cantrell. — *PCO principal cellist Katherine Schultz.*

Soprano Camille Ortiz with Portland Chamber Orchestra for "New Years in Old Vienna" at The Reser, Dec. 30, 2024. Photo by Joe Cantrell. — *Soprano Camille Ortiz sings…*

Joe Cantrell

I spent my first 21 years in Tahlequah, Cherokee County, Oklahoma, assuming that except for a few unfortunate spots, ‘everybody’ was part Cherokee, and son of the soil. Volunteered for Vietnam because that’s what we did. After two stints, hoping to gain insight, perhaps do something constructive, I spent the next 16 years as a photojournalist in Asia, living much like the lower income urban peasants and learning a lot. Moved back to the USA in 1986, tried photojournalism and found that the most important subjects were football and basketball, never mind humankind. In 1992, age 46, I became single dad of my 3-year-old daughter and spent the next two decades working regular jobs, at which I was not very good, to keep a roof over our heads, but we made it. She’s retail sales supervisor for Sony, Los Angeles. Wowee! The VA finally acknowledged that the war had affected me badly and gave me a disability pension. I regard that as a stipend for continuing to serve humanity as I can, to use my abilities to facilitate insight and awareness, so I shoot a lot of volunteer stuff for worthy institutions and do artistic/scientific work from our Cherokee perspective well into many nights. Come along!