Choral

Singing is service: From Beethoven to Barbershop

Also this month: Requiems, lamentations, yelling, Alzheimer’s stories, and more.

A sense of solidarity and purpose: Portland Lesbian Choir and Gay Men’s Chorus team up for special concert

Iconic Portland LGBTQ+ Music Communities share the stage.

Consistency and nuance, solidity and lightness, strength and suppleness: Choirs welcome the spring

From Bach Cantata Choirs “kinda-sorta Lenten concert” and Couperin’s “Ténèbrae” with In Mulieribus to Portland Gay Men’s Chorus in collaboration with Portland Lesbian Choir and Bridging Voices.

You belong somewhere you feel free: Music in Our Schools month promotes music education and personal development

The 40th anniversary of the National Association for Music Education’s annual celebration finds Oregon choirs, orchestras, arts organizations and schools embracing this year’s MIOS theme, “United Through Music.”

Cappella Romana’s mix of Orthodox and Gospel music creates a resounding cantata

The choir's "Canon for Racial Recognition" entered fascinating musical and cultural territory with its deft blend of sounds from different yet complementary traditions.

Fabulous 40s and 50s: Eugene Concert Choir, Willamette Master Chorus, and Oregon Chorale hit middle age

Three Willamette Valley choirs are just hitting their stride as they grow with and for their communities.

Finding hope in your wild hearts: Resonance Ensemble, Cecille Elliott, and Ringdown

Elliott and the duo Ringdown–aka Caroline Shaw and Danni Lee Parpan–joined Resonance for a “Choir Grrrl” program of music by Elliott, Shaw, Judy A. Rose, Renée Favand-See, and Mari Esabel Valverde.

Music and faith reaching out in peace and reconciliation: Oregon’s choirs celebrate Black History Month and International Women’s Day

From Cappella Romana’s “Canon for Racial Reconciliation” and Resonance Ensemble singing Margaret Bonds with Orchestra Nova Northwest to IWD concerts featuring In Mulieribus, Aurora Chorus, Portland Symphonic Girlchoir, and the six women of Song Suffragettes PNW.

Eager to gather: The formation of new choirs, the continuity of old choirs

From the newly formed A Notion, A Scream to Bach Cantata Choir’s SuperBach Sunday.

The beauty of human voices in choral communion: Our talented and literate choral community goes on and grows

After the holiday rush, Oregon choirs launch into another busy new year.

“Messiah” da capo: A reflection on Julian Perkins’ first annual oratorio with Portland Baroque Orchestra and Cappella Romana

In which the “Messiah” was performed.

Voices in radio history: The legacy of Roger O. Doyle and the new KQAC All Classical choral series that bears his name

The long-running All Classical program Thursdays @ Three opens its next season this week with Doyle’s former choir, Choral Arts Ensemble.

Think of yourselves as actors declaiming the text: PBO’s “Messiah,” part two

In which Maestro Perkins meets with Cappella Romana.

The introduction of music into the dramatic text will not make the text invisible: Portland Baroque Orchestra and Cappella Romana’s first “Messiah” with Artistic Director Julian Perkins

The harpsichordist and choral scholar discusses the importance of drama, universality and libretto in his upcoming performances of the beloved holiday oratorio.

Grounded in community: Reflections on a Blacknificent 7 afternoon with Resonance Ensemble

The Oregon choral group hosted the seven strong, all Black composer collective for a Sunday of commissions, premieres, and future classics.

The holly and the jolly: Choirs begin their vast, almost overwhelming holiday season

From multiple “Messiahs” and “Magnificats” to music from around the world, Oregon’s humongous choral family gets into the holiday spirit.

Choirs Are Back!

Fall concerts and revels; choral music for films; the first stirrings of Christmas.

Mid-week Monteverdi by world-class ensemble Vox Luminis

Cappella Romana hosts the Belgian vocal and period instrument ensemble in their Pacific Northwest debut.

A metaphor for love: Choral communities celebrate women composers, music from Oregon and the Baltics, and more

Maddalena Casulana, Margaret Bonds, Uģis Prauliņš, chants for St. Demetrios, and three “Homegrown” composers–Sydney Guillaume, Stacey Philipps, and Joan Szymko–find their way onto Oregon choral programs this month.

Brilliant little gems: Oregon choirs sing re-discovered classics, local composers, and more

Listening forward to choral seasons which “educate, enrich, honor, confront, and uplift.”

With a voice of singing: The eternal return of choral music in Oregon

Every singer in Oregon gets back to work, with music ranging from local to ancient.

Such heavenly harmony as we can attain: William Byrd Festival enters its 25th year

A slice of the recently-concluded festival, featuring Ross W. Duffin’s union of Byrd’s music with poetry by Sir Philip Sidney and Cantores In Ecclesia singing music of modern British composers alongside Byrd’s.

It’s very full circle: Looking back on the career of retired Pacific University choral director Scott Tuomi

Tuomi’s impact as a singer, conductor, educator, and advocate has been felt by generations of students from all over the world.

Beyond belief or within it: William Byrd Festival pairs music by its namesake with works by Britten, Finzi, MacMillan, Vaughan Williams, and more.

This year’s festival features a variety of choral concerts and lectures, most of them free, at churches around Portland.

Sonorous mystery: An imaginative presentation of Holst and Stravinsky at Oregon Bach Festival

A warm, synaesthetic performance of “Symphony of Psalms” preceded the multi-media “The Planets,” both under Alevtina Ioffe’s commanding direction, at OBF 2024.

Turn your silvered sail toward the light: Eric Whitacre at Oregon Bach Festival

The choral composer and conductor, artist-in-residence at this year’s OBF, performed his radiant “The Sacred Veil,” a collaboration with Charles Anthony Silvestri in memory of Silvestri’s late wife.

Nurturing nature: Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “Mass” and the ongoing future of the Oregon Bach Festival

OBF artistic partner Craig Hella Johnson conducted a concert of new, old, and revitalized choral music.

Choral continuity: Oregon Bach Festival continues with strong voices

This summer’s OBF in Eugene features artistic partners Jos van Veldhoven and Craig Hella Johnson; visiting artist-in-residence Eric Whitacre; Bach specialist John Butt; Anton Armstrong, Therees Hibbard and the young singers of the Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy; and plenty more.

The end goal is peace: In Medio sings Randall Thompson and Judy A. Rose

The Portland choir celebrated its “third official year” with the Thompson classic “The Peaceable Kingdom” and a commissioned companion piece from Portland composer and educator Rose.

A mindset of possibility: Resonance Ensemble and the student composers of Linfield University

The choral ensemble workshopped and performed five student compositions in a semester-long mentorship residency culminating in this month’s showcase concert on May 8.