Choirs Are Back! We just finished the busiest choral October in three years, and choir singer membership is back to pre-pandemic levels or greater. Quantities are important. But what we are seeing, what might matter more, is the quality of the art and choices of inviting and important repertoire. Our choirs are embracing the power and value of the choral arts in their communities. And the community is embracing back. Let’s look ahead now to November.

Seasonal Satori

Satori Men’s Chorus concert suggests the upcoming holiday season with their November 23 concert “Winter’s Heart.” Yes, Satori’s media materials suggest more of a leaning into the season of thanks and the wonderment and hope for illumination as we descend into darkness–but don’t be surprised if they throw a few chestnuts on some cozy crackling logs.

Satori, now moving into their “thirty somethings,” have plans to bring new pieces into their repertoire, some of which you may never have heard before. Ah, intriguing. They also ask that audiences note that they have moved their winter concert from evening to afternoon.

Join Satori and cozy up to the pulse of “Winter’s Heart” on Saturday, November 23 at 3 pm at Unity of Portland. Tickets are available at the door, and no one is ever turned away. More info is here. 

Pomp and reveling

The Royal Household in Tudor-era England had an official Revels Office. Revels were festive occasions that could go on for hours or days and might include, according to St. John’s Museum in London, “banquet, masks, plays, dance, acrobatics, balls, indoor martial exhibitions.” And music was always part of the reveling no matter the occasion.

And you thought the Eugene Vocal Arts “Renaissance Revels” events on November 16 and 17 were just going to be concerts? Ha! Of course, you will get the always excellent singing of the EVA, the 30-voice chamber ensemble of Eugene Concert Choir, performing the music of Renaissance masters Weelkes, Morley, Hassler and, uh, P. D. Q. Bach? If that got a chuckle you are already in the mood for this fun Renaissance frolic (and a bit of dancing), fully scripted by Nancy Hopps and accompanied by EVA’s Early Instrument Consort. Come ready to be welcomed by Lord of the Manor, Curt Miller. Will he enter carrying a boar’s head?

For Eugene Concert Choir good music itself is enough reason to revel, but here are two more. This concert opens ECC’s 50^th season and Artistic Director Diane Retallack’s 40^th year with the choir. Zounds! Let the reveling begin.

ECC opens their 50^th season with “Renaissance Revels” on Saturday. November 16, 7 pm and Sunday, November 17, 2:30 pm, both at the Soreng Theater, Hult Center, Eugene. Tickets and information are here.

Wisdom in song and art

Since its founding in 2014, Resonate Choral Arts has been, said songwriter and RCA’s founder and conductor Kristin Gordon in recent phone conversation with OAW, a choir “that explores the intersection between various art forms.” Past performances include story-telling collaborations, singing with bands, partnering with local composers such as Ali Ippolito, and performing with Broken Planetarium theater company.

And who are these Resonate treble singers, this fall numbering 25? They are local women for whom singing, in many forms, is a passion. And it sounds like the more creative the better–like their homemade jam (love it!) concerts. If you’ve never attended one, watch this space; we’ll let you know when the next one stirs up.

But for now, Resonate invites you to a project that has been in the works for almost four years. Gordon and artist/painter Beth Lorio met years ago in Colorado and knew early on that they would do something together someday. The “ah, ha” moment leading to this November 24 “Songs of the Sphere” began in 2021 when Lorio started making an oracle deck for her art community. Gordon chuckled a bit as she recalled how the words “I could write songs for that” popped out of her mouth. 

There will be 40 cards in the completed project, 32 of which are presented in this concert. See Lorio’s art and hear Gordon’s music sung by the entire ensemble, with breakout septet Oracle Chorus, Fifth Sunday Ensemble and Glam Country offering a diversity of texture and style. Immerse yourself in the wisdom of the oracle as images with accompanying vocals carry you to your unique intuitive place.

“Songs of the Sphere”, choral concert and visual art, is presented by Resonate Choral Arts on Sunday, November 24 at 1:00 pm at Alberta Abbey. Tickets can be purchased here. Space is limited at the Abbey and previous programs have sold out so advanced purchase is recommended.

A Veteran Chorus

In 1985, Wallace Long founded the Willamette Master Chorus in Salem. Later this season you can celebrate that beginning and the tremendous growth of the choir over forty years. Golly, just imagine! Forty years ago in Oregon’s capitol city a few AMC Gremlins were still tooling down State Street, Ron Wyden was in the US House of Representatives and Victor Atiyeh was Oregon’s Governor. 

In 2004, under the direction of current conductor Paul Klemme, WMC initiated the first Veterans Days concert. Now, after twenty years this concert event is still an audience favorite, uplifting men and women who have served not only all branches of military services but also those who have put their lives at risk for the public safety. 

Eighty years ago America, then three years into World War II, participated in the allied invasion (D-Day) giving hope for an end to the war and the return of American soldiers to their families. Join the choir in honoring three of those World War II Veterans, Centenarians all, who will be in attendance – Gene Derfler, Bill Illi and Robert Corey. With offerings both patriotic and reflective WMC performs in their honor.

In remembrance of Veterans who have passed, the choir and orchestra perform Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem. You will hear the words of Abraham Lincoln including “to care for him who shall have borne the battle” in A Just and Lasting Piece, a work written in 2001 by Willamette University graduate Vijay Singh. And a favorite staple of this concert for decades, Armed Forces – The Pride of America, features songs representing all arms of service. 

Willamette Master Chorus’s annual Veterans Day Concert is Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10, both concerts at 3 pm in Willamette University’s Hudson Hall. More information and tickets are here. 

Blacknificent 7

It was 2020 and we had our four walls, our masks and our fears and a resolve that we would make the best of our imposed solitude. In April of that year, soprano Karen Slack launched KikiKonvos, an online program to allow artists to remain in contact. One of those, in which Terance Blanchard moderated a roundtable of Black composers, sparked the formation of the Blacknificent 7. It is their music that is on the program in Resonance Ensemble’s upcoming performance on November 17.

Damien Geter participated in Blanchard’s roundtable and is now one of the Blacknificent 7. “I’d never met the other panelists,” said Geter in recent phone interview with OAW from his home in Chicago. “We didn’t know each other.” But our Oregon choral community sure knew Geter by 2020. After his 2015 move to Portland we took notice of his rich baritone voice in concerts and opera appearances in the Portland Metro and Seattle and also as composer in works debuted by Resonance Ensemble. But then in 2022, his name was to be known coast to coast with the triumphant Resonance/Oregon Symphony Orchestra and Kennedy Center premieres of his An African American Requiem. 

Now we welcome Geter’s music back to Portland for the Oregon premier of his Cantata for a More Hopeful Tomorrow presented by his PDX “family”, Katherine FitzGibbon and Resonance. Soprano Nicole Greenidge Joseph and cellist Nancy Ives join the ensemble in this performance. Choral Arts Northwest in Seattle performed the work in 2022; watch that performance here and note Geter’s use and transformation of Bach’s lamenting bass line (think “Crucifixus” from the B Minor) as the piece unfolds.

But in addition to Geter’s Cantata you will hear fresh contemporary pieces by his magnificent Blacknificent 7 colleagues: Carlos Simon, Jasmine Barnes, Joel Thompson, Shawn Okpebholo, Jessie Montgomery and Dave Ragland whose new commissioned work Seven Prayers: Hope For Everybody is being premiered. 

The Blacknificent 7 are not an exclusive “whither thou goest” collective in physical presence. They have had occasion to be present together, as they were in their first major reveal in the Chicago Symphony MusicNOW performance December of 2023. They are independent artists, flourishing in various areas in the country, with unique personalities and compositional styles, which you will hear on this program. And, like Geter, they are not exclusively choral composers. But as their compositions traverse the classical music scene they support each other with a strong collective voice. As Geter spoke of his B7 colleagues, a humility quieted his voice for just a beat before he proudly asserted, “they are the hottest thing out there right now.” 

Some of you music history buffs out there have already compared the B7 to the Mighty Five, a mid-19^th century Russian collective which sought to revitalize rural Russian elements in culture. Or perhaps to Les Six, the five French and one Swiss collective of composers pushing back (states one article) against “head-in-hands obeisance, before ‘high art’ and its catalogue of composers who were expected to wait their turn.” For the Black creatives in this latter day collective their turn is NOW. Their voices are NOW. 

The works of all seven are represented in this program’s repertoire but it is premiere composer Ragland who will be special guest for this concert and the post-concert panel. Get to know Ragland and hear a bit of his music in this video.

Geter is not able to attend this Oregon Cantata premiere. He will be conducting the Carmel (Indiana) Symphony Orchestra, the first of two conducting engagements this season. The second brings him back to Portland in March to lead Portland Opera’s production of Paul Moravec’s The Shining. Excellent. 

FitzGibbon and Shohei Kobayashi conduct Resonance Ensemble in the music of the “Blacknificent 7” on Sunday, November 17, 2 pm, at Alberta Rose Theater. Tickets are available here. 

Collegial support 

On November 8, Portland composer Judy A. Rose is premiering one movement from her new work Ode To The Wind written for this year’s Washington American Choral Directors Association Summer Institute. But Rose e-mailed OAW specifically to help put the word out about a composer she just met at a rehearsal for the same upcoming concert. Shruthi Rajasekar is in town as her Whose Names Are Unknown for SATB choir, piano and string quartet receives its west coast premiere. Reed College Choirs participate with Fear No Music to bring these new works to our community. Nice assist, Judy.

The music of Rose, Rajasekar and more is performed on “Her Mighty Roar” a concert event on Friday, November 8, 7:30 pm at Kaul Auditorium. The concert is free. 

Amarcord in concert

In 1992 former members of the St. Thomas Boys Choir in Leipzig decided to continue the choral camaraderie they found in that revered program. They founded the five-voice amarcord that today is deemed one of the world’s premiere choral groups. High praise from which we might expect an ensemble sound that is homogenous, heart melting center-mass pitch, and historic and innovative repertoire appealing to a diverse audience. Yup. They’ve got it all. And their artistry has attracted some of the world’s leading choral composers – including Ivan Moody and James McMillan – who have dedicated compositions to the ensemble. Here’s their sublime sound on a Renaissance classic.

One half of amarcord’s repertoire is Renaissance works written about the “nature” of women and works written by women. The second half is contemplations on nature in music including a new triptych, Seascapes, written especially for amarcord by American composer Steven Sametz. American Choral Directors Association folks know Lehigh University professor Sametz from his composition awards and service in the organization in several capacities. But if you are unfamiliar with his compositions, awash with color and texture, take a listen to his compelling setting of Walt Whitman’s “The 29^th bather.”

Friends of Chamber Music presents an amarcord trifecta. Sponsoring them in Portland on November 10; co-sponsoring with Linfield (University) Lively Arts for a McMinnville concert the next day; and on November 12, high school choral students from Evergreen and Camas, Washington school districts will be treated to amarcord as part of FOCM’s education outreach. Full program repertoire is conveniently available on FOCM’s website here.

Hear amarcord in Portland on Sunday, November 10, 3 pm at St. Philip Neri (tickets here) and at Linfield University on Monday, November 11, 7 pm Delkin Recital Hall (info here). 

Multnomah Women’s Chorus

Did you know that late 19^th century British composer Gustav Holst was one of the most prolific composers of works for women’s chorus? Ah, you look startled. No, really, he wrote 35-ish treble-voice choral works, a couple of those are collections. And he balanced his choral oeuvre with a similar number of male and SATB choral works, folios full of solo vocal works and he wrote eight operas. Oh, and he wrote The Planets. Ah! That one you know and for good reason–it’s a stunning work (accented of course by that wonderful women’s chorus appearance on “Neptune”).

These treble choral works have been neglected which is why you will be pleased to hear that Multnomah Women’s Chorus is giving them voice in Holst’s 150^th birthday year. Conductor Jessica Israels and the MWC will perform Group 3 of the Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda. Listen here to “Hymn to the Waters” from that set in which the harp depicts crystalline undulating waters below an angelic chorus singing ancient Sanskrit texts. Perhaps you will contemplate whether Benjamin Britten might also have enjoyed these early 20^th-century choral works.

Also included on the program are Holst’s Seven Part Songs for Female Voices for double choir and Two Eastern Pictures. Harpist Kate Petak performs on the Holst. Kelly Bard on piano and Chuck Israels on bass join the ensemble for a “Moon River” tribute to the brilliant song and film score composer Henry Mancini who was born one hundred years ago.

Multnomah Women’s Chorus celebrates Gustav Holst on Monday, November 25, 7 pm at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church. The concert is free; donations are always appreciated. 

Mozart Two Ways

You are going to appreciate the way this performance of the Mozart Requiem is being presented by Festival Chorale Oregon in Salem. One week before FCO’s November 24 choral/orchestral Requiem concert, the choir and Salem Cinema are presenting a 40^th Anniversary screening of the film Amadeus which captured eight Academy Awards in 1984. The film introduced the Requiem to a new audience, shooting the soundtrack album to No. 1 on the Billboard classical albums chart (well, duh, Sam Ramey and Kiri Te Kanawa). Tom Hulce and F. Murrary Abraham are stellar in this fictionalized biography and the costumes are great but the “reel” star is the original soundtrack. 

See the film, a “Reel Change for Our Community” benefit event for the choir, on Sunday, November 17, 6 pm at Salem Cinema. Tickets here. Then attend the FCO Requiem concert, conducted by Solveig Holmquist, featuring a fine quartet of soloists: soprano Nicole Peldyak; mezzo Sarah Beaty; tenor Les Green; and bass Brett Peldyak. 

Mozart’s Requiem Mass is performed by Festival Choral Oregon on Sunday, November 24, 4 pm at Salem’s Elsinore Theatre. Tickets and more information here.

Balancing Glass 

The Oregon Symphony Orchestra presents Koyaanisqatsi. Koya-what? And why? 

Let’s begin with a translation of the Hopi word. “Koyaanisqatsi” translated into English is “life out of balance.” And it is a concept that inspired producer/director Godfrey Reggio to create his groundbreaking wordless 1982 film of the same name. Yes, images only, and for that Reggio chose cinematographer Ron Fricke. But for the music to match the montage, well, who else… Philip Glass. The result of this artistic collaboration, co-produced by Francis Ford Coppola, is the 85-minute film and tone poem for instrumental ensemble and choir. 

On November 14 Koyaanisqatsi is on the Schnitzer big screen while the Philip Glass Ensemble (cool), the Oregon Symphony and your Portland State Chamber Choir perform Glass’s film score. The choir doesn’t sing throughout all 6 “movements” (13 tracks on the album) and a great amount of their offerings are repetitive washes of texture. But the low basses will certainly forever remember how to pronounce the Hopi titular word. Here’s the opening segment. 

Ethan Sperry, Barre Stoll Professor of Choral Music at Portland State, says counting repeating measures and enduring some range-stretching vocal repetitions are part of the challenge of Glass score. But he is excited that his Chamber Choir students will be performing with the original music-makers, the Philip Glass Ensemble, under the direction of the original film and soundtrack conductor Michael Reisman.

What’s it about? On Glass’s website, notes about the 1982 documentary film read “any meaning or value Koyaanasqatsi might have comes exclusively from the beholder. The film’s role is to provoke, to raise questions that only the audience can answer.” So what was it that Reggio heard in Glass’s music that made him the right choice to score this film? Minimalism, probably your excellent first guess, was only part of Reggio’s reasoning. Perhaps it is best to let filmmaker tell that story himself in an excellent 2022 article interview about how he found the right, um, pieces of Glass to complete his experimental cinematic mosaic masterpiece. 

The Oregon Symphony Orchestra brings Godfrey Reggio’s “Koyaanasqatsi” to Portland on Thursday, November 14, 7:30 pm at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets may be purchased here.

About those higher-ed creatives

Our college and university students – in choirs, opera, theater, visual and literary arts and more – add so much to the rich culture of our regions. Their 24-25 concerts and events are underway. Here are links to their event pages. The first three have November concerts coming right up. 

• George Fox: Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb on November 10 and 11, Chapel (reserve seats early), Newberg
• Portland State Music and Theater: “Tapestry of Time” PSU Choirs, November 22 and 24, First United Methodist Church, Portland
• Clark College: Annual Fall Choral Concert, November 15, Vancouver
• University of Oregon 
• Oregon State University
• Lewis and Clark College 
• Pacific University 
• Reed College: Note a special concert on November 17 focused on local composer John Vergin
• Southern Oregon University
• Linfield University
• Linn-Benton Community College

PDX Choir and Orchestra bring the mistletoe

Here it is! Those of you on the lookout for the Portland metro’s first true choral Christmas concert of 2024 mark your calendar for a “World of Light,” presented by Portland Choir and Orchestra’s on November 30th. This annual Christmas concert, which promises to be filled with the spirit of the season, features music by Mack Wilberg, Music Director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square since 2008 and Dan Forrest whose “First Noel” arrangement is so precious. Listen to it here. Alert–it’s a powerful dose of Christmas.

Portland Choir and Orchestra’s double-header performances of “World of Light” are Saturday, November 30, at 2 pm and 7 pm at the Newmark Theater, Antoinette Hatfield Hall. Tickets and more information may be found here. 

We’ll return soon with our December choral preview, full of Christmas choral choices. But for advanced planning on some of those holiday favorites see the PDX Choral Calendar.