The Vanport flood of 1948. (Oregonian file photo)

By Amy Wang | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Here are our picks for theater and classical music performances and visual arts events for Oct. 13-19.

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A photograph from last year's Vanport Mosaic Festival, which celebrated the history and lives of those living in the community of Vanport. (Vanport Mosaic Festival)

"Left Hook"

The 1948 flood that destroyed Vanport, the North Portland community that was home to 40,000 people, continues to reverberate through local history. A new drama, "Left Hook," by Portland playwright Rich Rubin, examines those reverberations amid the context of current developments such as the Portland Housing Bureau's "right of return" policy, meant to assist those displaced from North and Northeast Portland. Damaris Webb directs a staged reading co-sponsored by Vanport Mosaic, a nonprofit that works to preserve Vanport's legacy. 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1624 N.E. Hancock St. Suggested $10 donation, reservations recommended, lefthookpdx@gmail.com.

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Cellist Johannes Moser

Johannes Moser

The acclaimed cellist Johannes Moser, who won the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at age 22, will perform Camille Saint-Saens' landmark piece Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor with the Oregon Symphony. Swiss conductor Baldur Bronnimann is guest conductor for a program that also includes Dmitri Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony and Angela Da Ponte's "The Rising Sea." 7:30 p.m. Saturday-Monday, Oct. 14-16, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 S.W. Broadway. Tickets start at $24, orsymphony.org or 503-228-1353.

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Pianist Nazig Azezian and cellist Jussi Makkonen will perform a concert featuring works by their fellow Finn Jean Sibelius at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17 in Portland. (Matti Makkonen)

"Sibelius Inspiration"

This year is the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence from Russia, and the celebration is extending to Portland with "Sibelius Inspiration," a concert featuring works by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Finnish cellist Jussi Makkonen and Finnish pianist Nazig Azezian will perform a half-dozen pieces and present a multimedia piece about their homeland. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, Nordia House, 8800 S.W. Oleson Road. $17-$22, scanheritage.org or 503-977-0275.

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Film still from Xi Jie Ng's "Singapore Minstrel," a feature fantasy-documentary about the wildest busker in a country once ranked the world's most emotionless society.

Arlene Schnitzer Visual Art Prize Exhibition

The Portland State University School of Art + Design has celebrated emerging artists each year since 2013 with the Arlene Schnitzer Visual Art Prize. This year's winners are Shawn Creeden, who crafts "sculptural objects and sensuous installations" from living and found materials; Jake Manning, a painter who explores themes of isolation and "the malleability of human perspective," among others; and Xi Jie Ng (Salty), who creates "collaborative encounters." Award presentation and reception, 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18; on view, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Oct. 25, Autzen Gallery, Neuberger Hall, 724 S.W. Harrison St. Free, pdx.edu/art-design/autzen-gallery or 503-725-3515.

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Hundreds of protesters marched through downtown Portland on Dec. 6, 2014, to urge federal action in the chokehold death of Eric Garner in New York last year. Garner's last words, "I can't breathe," are part of a choral work about police brutality being performed Oct. 15 in Portland. (Drew Vattiat/Staff)

"What Unites Us"

U.S. composer Joel Thompson's piece "Seven Last Words of the Unarmed," a 2016 choral work about police brutality, gets its West Coast debut during the fall concert of the Portland Gay Men's Chorus. Lyrics include "I can't breathe" and other final words of black men killed by police. The concert's mission is to highlight Portland nonprofits that work toward social justice and equality; a portion of ticket sales will benefit the participating nonprofits. 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15, Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, 3203 S.E. Woodstock Blvd. $15-$100, pdxgmc.org or 503-226-2588.

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Roger Shimomura.

"Grand Encounter"

An art exhibit, a poetry reading and a jazz performance will commemorate this year's 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which sent thousands of Japanese Americans to 10 internment camps during World War II. The exhibit, "Our American Eyes: Prints by Roger Shimomura," features the work of a Seattle native and former internee known for exploring "sociopolitical issues of ethnicity" (he was also the focus of the exhibit "Yellow Terror: The Collections and Paintings of Roger Shimomura" earlier this year at the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center). Former Oregon poet laureate Lawson Fusao Inada, also a former internee, will read his work accompanied by Portland jazz pianist Darrell Grant. 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, Lincoln Hall, 1620 S.W. Park Ave. Free.

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"Insignificance"

British playwright Terry Johnson made his name with this play, which gathers four American celebrities in a 1950s hotel room to discuss their relative significance in the universe. The play, which premiered in 1982 during a celebrity presidency, is being revived in London this fall during another celebrity presidency. It gets its Portland premiere courtesy of Defunkt Theatre. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, Oct. 13-Nov. 18, Back Door Theatre, 4319 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. Pay what you will (suggested price $20), defunktheatre.com.

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"I Am This: Art by Oregon Jewish Artists"

Thirteen Jewish artists with ties to Oregon, including Mark Rothko, are the focus of a new exhibition curated by Bruce Guenther. The exhibit, which spans four generations and also features Amy Bernstein, Paul Georges, Shirley Gittelsohn, Deborah Horrell, Mel Katz, Michael Lazarus, Frederick Littman, Dana Lynn Louis, David Curt Morris, Hilda Morris, Florence Saltzman and Wilder Schmaltz, examines identity and religion in modern art. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, noon-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 19-Feb. 4, Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Exhibition, 724 N.W. Davis St. $5-$8, free for children 12 and younger, ojmche.org or 503-226-3600.

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If you would like your event to be considered for inclusion in Best Bets, email the details to fineartsbestbets@oregonian.com.

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