And on the fifty-second week, ArtsWatch rested. For the most part, anyway. We hope you’ve been resting, too: Pretty soon, January’s going to come in huffing and puffing and roaring for attention.

In the meantime, we still have a couple of days, and here’s hoping they go smoothly and pleasingly for everyone. Happy New Year, from our home to yours. Let’s hope Old Man 2015 tiptoes softly away more successfully than his predecessor 1904, who got the bum’s rush from that feisty youngster 1905:

Baby New Year chasing the old year into the history books, John T. McCutcheon, from the book “The Mysterious Stranger and Other Cartoons by John T. McCutcheon,” New York; McClure, Philips & Co., 1905. Wikimedia Commons

*

We’ll note one more deadline before the year turns, and it’s a good and important one. Maybe you’ve already done it. Maybe you’ve been waiting for the countdown. We’re talking about your yearly donations to nonprofit organizations. For tax purposes, the deadline is the end of the year: choose those groups you want to support, decide how much you can give, and become part of the process. Oregon’s innovative Oregon Cultural Trust adds a terrific deal sweetener: match your donations to cultural groups with an equal gift to the Trust (up to a limit; $500 individual, $1,000 couples filing jointly, $2,500 corporate), and get the full amount you give to the Trust as a credit on your Oregon state income taxes.That amounts to doubling your donation for free. And the Cultural Trust spreads the money to every corner of the state, supporting arts, cultural, and tribal projects. Here’s how to make your Oregon Cultural Trust donation.

*

Oregon ArtsWatch is a nonprofit, too. As the world of journalism changes, new forms of making it possible are taking shape, and we’ve chosen the nonprofit model, which allows us to accept donations from individuals, foundations, and other sources. Without those gifts, we couldn’t do what we do. As you’re making your year-end choices, please consider us, too. Here’s how to subscribe or donate to ArtsWatch. Thanks!

ArtsWatch links

The sounds of Oregon.  Our man at the turntable, MC Brett, has been spinning the discs of Oregon music released in 2015, and scratching out his thoughts about what he hears. Read Brett Campbell’s recommendations on contemporary classical recordings (David Schiff and Chamber Music Northwest, Susan Chan’s Echoes of China, The City of Tomorrow’s Nature, Catherine Lee + Matt Hannifin Duo’s Five Shapes, the Oregon Symphony’s Spirit of the American Range) and on historically informed recordings (three terrific recordings from the choir Cappella Romana, one terrific Bach recording from Portland Baroque Orchestra). Fair warning: Reading these posts may lead you to go out and buy some CDs for yourself.

In Mulieribus: approaching perfection. One of our favorite Oregon musical groups is the eight-woman chorus In Mulieribus, which roots around in music medieval and otherwise, and does quite wonderful things with it. Bruce Browne went to the chorus’s recent concert at St. Philip Neri Church and declared it nigh unto perfection. We’re bound to say, that’s pretty good.

Rachel Tess, early in the morning. You’ve got to get up pretty early in the morning to beat Rachel Tess at her own game. While most of us were still in bed on Monday morning, Tess was out on the streets of Northwest Portland, dancing the still-gloomy extended night away starting at 5:30 a.m. A few people were there to watch. Before that early-morning smackdown, Jamuna Chiarini talked with Tess about what was up, and why, with Rachel, a performance for the dead of night.

About ArtsWatch Weekly

We send a letter like this every Tuesday to a select group of email subscribers, and also post it weekly on the ArtsWatch home page. In ArtsWatch Weekly, we take a look at stories we’ve covered in the previous week, give early warning of events coming up, and sometimes head off on little arts rambles we don’t include anywhere else. You can read this report here. Or, you can get it delivered weekly to your email inbox, and get a quick look at all the stories you might have missed (we have links galore) and the events you want to add to your calendar. It’s easy to sign up. Just click here, and leave us your name and e-address.

And finally…