Photographs by JOE CANTRELL
First came the audience, filling downtown Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Then the musicians, and the tuning, and the program, which was fitting for a celebration: some selections from Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s sprightly and creative Nutcracker Suite; leading to a pair of pieces by the great stride pianist and composer James P. Johnson, Drums: A Symphonic Poem and Victory Stride; the full windup for Beethoven’s glorious Ninth Symphony and its Ode to Joy. Don’t forget the full-throated applause.
And then the balloons: a full concert hall’s worth, cascading from the rafters and into the crowd, bright and bubbly promises for the year to come. Eat your heart out, Times Square: This is the way to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.
Photographer Joe Cantrell was on hand for Sunday night’s big blowout of a performance by the Oregon Symphony, and captured the vitality and celebratory spirit of the scene. There was plenty of both, with vocal soloists Jenny Schuler, Sienna Licht Miller, Andrew Haji and Richard Zeller, and with a sterling chorus made up of singers from Portland State University, the Oregon Repertory Singers, and the Pacific Youth Choir. “Music, both ‘big band’ and LvB 9, was superb, fresh and bright, and Ethan Sperry’s combined choruses with the soloists embraced the Ninth for the monument to all that’s good,” Cantrell reported, adding that this year, the hall’s first few rows were left empty for the balloons to bounce freely.
What better way to celebrate New Year’s Eve? The concert repeats tonight, Monday the 31st, at 7:30 p.m. Ticket information here.
The map to the music: tracking the score.
Conductor Carlos Kalmar digs deep.
Violinist Jen Arnold, “one of the best and brightest,” in Cantrell’s words.
A mighty sound of strings.
Cellist Ken Finch focuses in.
Carlos Kalmar anticipates the downbeat …
And raises the stakes …
And lengthens the music …
And pinpoints the sound.
Ethan Sperry’s combined choir leans into Beethoven’s music …
And makes a joyful noise unto the crowd.
Orchestra and chorus at full force.
A job well done.
Let the balloon cascade begin!
More, more!
A bright bouquet for the musicians.
Happy New Year!