portland
friday 20
Holiday Sweater Spectacular: Portland Cello Project
Blending modern compositions with orchestral instrumentation, The Portland Cello Project's goal is to test listeners' adaptability, playing unlikely selections on the classical instrument. This year's Christmas pageant will feature a range of songs from traditional carols to modern winter-themed tunes (like Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal"). Winner of the best holiday sweater competition will be immortalized with a live serenade dedicated to their Christmas wear. 8 pm. Arlene Schnitzer. $25-$40.
tuesday 24 The Nutcracker
Oregon Ballet Theatre presents George Balanchine's wide world of dancing snowflakes, rat soldiers and sugarplum fairies. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's score serves as the traditional backdrop to Balenchine's detailed choreography as performed by some of Oregon's most talented professional dancers in sparkly holiday costumes. Noon. Keller Auditorium. $27-$144.
seattle
The Music of "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
The truest indication that Christmas time is here, Vince Guaraldi's gorgeous jazz compositions on the airwaves as snow gently falls outside. Singer and composer Dawn Clement, multi-instrumentalist Chris McCarthy, pianist Michael Stegner, among other professional musicians, will perform the score to the 1965 Christmas convention, thick with holiday memories and tradition. The professional performance is followed by an amateur holiday sing-along to Guaraldi's songs and beyond. 5:30 pm. Royal Room. Donation.
thursday 26-saturday 28
Built To Spill, La Luz
Enough Christmas. Enough cookies, enough family, enough watching George Baily pull a drunken angel out of a frozen river. Built to Spill, the Boise, Id. musical institution, teams up with one of the most promising all-girl bands of 2013, La Luz, for three nights at Seattle's Crystal Ball Reading Room. Trio La Luz rounds out its psychedelic '60s rock with surfy guitars and Built To Spill brings over a decade of experience performing punk-infused, flannel-wearing indie rock to the stage. 8 pm. Neumos. $25.
