The Reser’s 25/26 season: Eliades Ochoa, Portland Cello Project, Versa-Style Street Dance Company and more

Beaverton's visual and performing arts center announces its newest season of performances, to kick off in September.
Rhythm + Revolution: A Legacy of Hip Hop Culture workshops will take place Sundays, Nov. 9-23, at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts. Photo via The Reser
Rhythm + Revolution: A Legacy of Hip Hop Culture workshops will take place Sundays, Nov. 9-23, at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts. Photo via The Reser

The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, Beaverton’s large-scale visual arts and performance center that opened in 2022, has announced its 2025/2026 season. The lineup includes globally diverse showcases and workshops from premier performers, filling the space with music, dance, theater arts, and more.

“Next season is our most ambitious yet,” Executive Director Chris Ayzoukian said in a press statement. “I’m thrilled about the launch of Rhythm + Revolution: A Legacy of Hip Hop Culture — our first-ever season-long festival — alongside a sensational lineup that includes Samara Joy, Eliades Ochoa, Pink Martini, and the world premiere of a folk opera: York the Explorer by Aaron Nigel Smith and an extraordinary creative team.”

A few highlights from the coming season are featured below. You can see the full season lineup here:

Joan Osborne will perform her rendition of Bob Dylan songs on Saturday, Oct. 11, in Beaverton. Photo via The Reser
Joan Osborne will perform her rendition of Bob Dylan songs on Saturday, Oct. 11, in Beaverton. Photo via The Reser

The Reser’s season kicks off Sept. 26-27 with R&B and gospel artist Samara Joy, followed by Grammy-nominated musician Joan Osborne on Saturday, Oct. 11. Osborne will perform her “soulful reinterpretations” of some of Bob Dylan’s most beloved songs in celebration of eight years since the recording of her Songs of Bob Dylan release.

Hasta La Muerte will present a new two-act theater and musical production celebrating Day of the Dead on Nov. 9. Photo via The Reser
Hasta La Muerte will present a new two-act theater and musical production celebrating Day of the Dead on Nov. 9. Photo via The Reser

Beginning Sundays, Nov. 9-23, Rhythm + Revolution: A Legacy of Hip Hop Culture will invite participants to engage in a storytelling, lyricism, rap, and poetry workshop with Mic Crenshaw, cultural activist, emcee, poet, writer, and media producer. The event is followed by Hasta La Muerte on Sunday, Nov. 9, a new two-act theater and musical production celebrating Day of the Dead through the exploration of grief, loss, life, death, and Mexican folklore.

Kenny Endo, leading taiko drummer, will bring his 50th Anniversary Tour to Beaverton on Friday, Nov. 14. Photo via The Reser
Kenny Endo, leading taiko drummer, will bring his 50th Anniversary Tour to Beaverton on Friday, Nov. 14. Photo via The Reser

Kenny Endo, a leading figure in the American and Japanese taiko drumming genre, will bring his 50th Anniversary Tour to The Reser on Friday, Nov. 14. Incorporating funk, jazz, Afro-Cuban, and Hawaiian influences to his traditional techniques, Endo will perform with his Contemporary Ensemble as he “continues to stretch the taiko genre.”

Kalani Pe'a will share seasonal western and Hawaiian songs during his 'Hawaiian Christmas' event on Dec. 5. Photo via The Reser
Kalani Pe’a will share seasonal Western and Hawaiian songs during his “Hawaiian Christmas” event on Dec. 5. Photo via The Reser

Later in December, Kalani Pe’a will incite holiday cheer with his Hawaiian Christmas on Dec. 5. The four-time Grammy winner, whose music has been described as “Hawaiian contemporary soul,” will share joyful and seasonal songs from both Western and Hawaiian roots while featuring the local talents of top regional hula dancers. On Dec. 20, Portland Cello Project, a local nine-piece band that took off nationally after a casual gig at The Doug Fir in 2006, will bring its unique and creative cello style to the stage, promising “to perform music on the cello you wouldn’t normally associate with the instrument.”

Sponsor

Chamber Music NW Summer Festival Portland Oregon

Los Angeles-based Versa-Style Street Dance Company will bring its energetic repertoire to the Pacific Northwest, March 19-20. Photo via The Reser
Los Angeles-based Versa-Style Street Dance Company will bring its energetic repertoire to the Pacific Northwest, March 19-20. Photo via The Reser

As Spring 2026 welcomes thoughts of warmer weather, The Reser and White Bird Dance will present Versa-Style Street Dance Company, Mar. 19-20. The energetic Los Angeles-based company, named “Los Angeles’ Best Dance Troupe for Hip Hop Empowerment” by LA Weekly, will perform its newest choreographed works in honor of its 20th anniversary.

Known as "The Cuban Johnny Cash," Eliades Ochoa will engage in a conversation and performance at The Reser on May 6. Photo via The Reser
Known as “The Cuban Johnny Cash,” Eliades Ochoa will engage in a conversation and performance at The Reser on May 6. Photo via The Reser

Eliades Ochoa, the prolific guitarist known as one of the most renowned Cuban “soneros” of all time, will visit The Reser on Wednesday, May 6, for the American Strings series, presented by PRAx and the College of Liberal Arts at OSU. Ochoa was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1946, and his lifelong mastery of traditional Cuban music and his signature cowboy hat have led him to the nickname “The Cuban Johnny Cash.” The event will feature a conversation between Ochoa and ethnomusicologist and public historian Kelly Bosworth, followed by a musical performance.

Portland's own Pink Martini, with China Forbes, will close out The Reser's 2025/2026 season.
Portland’s own Pink Martini, with China Forbes, will close out The Reser’s 2025/2026 season.

The season will finish off with local favorite Pink Martini, May 29-31. The eclectic pop-jazz band, which formed in 1994 in Portland, features roughly a dozen musicians and is led by pianist Thomas Lauderdale. The band will perform a rowdy rendition of some of its hits, as well as songs from their multilingual genre-bending repertoire.

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Check the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts’ website for subscription information, member presale tickets, and a complete list of 2025/2026 season performances and art gallery exhibitions; supported by sponsors Tim and Mary Boyle.

Amy Leona Havin is a Portland-based journalist, poet, and essayist specializing in arts and culture. She covers language arts, dance, and film for Oregon ArtsWatch and serves as a staff writer at The Oregonian/OregonLive. Her writing has appeared in San Diego Poetry Annual, HereIn Arts Journal, Humana Obscura, The Chronicle, and other publications. In 2023, she received the Commerce Award for Publishers in recognition of her contributions to digital media (Condé Nast). Havin has held artist residencies at Disjecta Contemporary Art Center, Archipelago Gallery, and Art/Lab, and was shortlisted for the Bridport International Creative Writing Prize in poetry. With a background in classical ballet, Graham technique, and Gaga Movement Language, she is also the Artistic Director of The Holding Project, a Portland-based contemporary dance company.

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