Name: The Neuroscience of Pleasure
Start: 2023-02-14T19:30:00
Location: Patricia Reser Center for the Arts

Naomi LaViolette

Portland Chamber Orchestra

Step into an unforgettable evening where the sweeping rhythms and vibrant energy of the ballroom unfold. Portland Chamber Orchestra’s Grand Ballroom Carnaval celebrates the rich traditions of ballroom dance, brought to life through the music of legendary composers—from the timeless sophistication of Beethoven and the waltzing charm of Strauss to the passionate tango flair of Piazzolla. 

Before the concert begins, you’re invited to join the complimentary, beginner-friendly ballroom dance lesson perfect for all ages and abilities in The Reser’s Lobby at 6:30pm. Then, take your seat and let the music transport you as the orchestra explores how composers personalized and personified dance through their music.

Grand Ballroom Carnaval

Patricia Reser Center for the Arts

Celebrate Lunar New Year with a vibrant fusion of music and dance during this special collaboration between the Portland Chamber Orchestra and White Lotus Foundation. Lion & Lotus: A Festival of Music and Dance brings together modern and traditional art forms in a joyful celebration of creativity and community.

Experience powerful works by acclaimed composers including Oswald Huỳnh, a Portland-native and Rome Prize winner whose music weaves a distinctive Vietnamese-American voice, and Bright Sheng, a Pulitzer Prize finalist known for his evocative Chinese-American compositions. 

The evening also features the mesmerizing ancient art form of lion dance—a popular cultural performance used to scare away evil spirits, as well as to bring joy, prosperity, and good fortune for the new year—performed by the White Lotus Foundation Lion Dancers, which is the largest lion dance team in Oregon.

Lion & Lotus: A Festival of Music and Dance

Explore how music and poetry unite to amplify powerful voices of dissent, resistance, and hope with the Portland Chamber Orchestra. Banner & Burden: Music and Spoken Word is a bold collaboration with the Oregon Poetry Association, featuring original spoken word performances by emerging young poets whose words illuminate the tribulations—and triumphs—of our community.

This moving program showcases evocative works by composers who have used their music to speak truth to power, including the vibrant, contemporary voice of Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman’s celebration of identity and unity, and the deeply expressive music of Dmitri Shostakovich, composed in the shadow of political oppression.

Banner & Burden: Music and Spoken Word

How your brain responds to Music, Love and Chocolate.