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Portland Symphonic Girlchoir has won the 2003 Chorus America/ASCAP Award
for Adventurous Programming, one of four such annual awards. The choir is
under the direction of Roberta Q. Jackson, Artistic Director, and Debra
R. Burgess, Associate Director. These awards are for choruses that demonstrate
adventurous programming through performances in the United States of the
music of our time. The $500 cash award and plaque were presented at the
26th Annual Chorus America Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The award
was given to the chorus that demonstrated the most interesting and adventurous
programming throughout the 2001 – 2002 Season. Judges looked in particular
for the performance of music by contemporary composers written after 1975.
The
Girlchoir’s 2001 – 2002 Season included the world premiere
of their 2002 commission, “Colcannon”, by Canadian composer
Stephen Hatfield; the United States premieres of “Into An Unknown
Land” by Canadian composer Imant Raminsh, introduced by the composer,
and “Star Tribes” by Australian composer Stephen Leek, accompanied
by the Portland Youth Philharmonic; the Northwest premiere of “Jubilate
Deo” by Florida composer David Brunner; and the world premiere of
“The Moon Shades Red” by Girlchoir alum Amy C. Burgess, a
music composition major at Pacific Lutheran University. The Portland Symphonic
Girlchoir is a 170 voice choral organization consisting of 4 choirs and
a non-auditioned choir class for girls ages 6 – 18.
Performances
of new works written by contemporary composers were also presented during
the season by each of PSGC’s choirs: Debut, Intermezzo, and Encore
Singers, in addition to the above commissions performed by the Premier
Choir, exemplifying Girlchoir’s mission to provide a challenging
performance-based program of vocal music education for young singers/artists.
Holiday Concerts included repertoire arranged in an eclectic mass, “Misa
Eclectica”, consisting of mass movements by Bach, Delibes, two movements
from Lee Kesselman’s Shona Mass, Rupert Lang’s “Sanctus”
from Mass for Many Nations, and “Creo en Dios” from Misa Pequena
by Francisco Nunez. The final “set” presented at PSGC’s
Spring Concerts was “In the Gospel Tradition…”, which
included the Intermezzo Choir presenting “My Lord, What a Morning”,
arranged by Howard Helvey and James Ewing; Premier Choir singing “This
is the Day”, “City Called Heaven”, and Living in a Holy
City”; and concluding with all choirs joining to sing “Feel
Good”, arranged by Barbara Baker and David Elliott. In all, 32 works
written after 1975 were performed during Girlchoir’s 2001 –
2002 Season.
Previous
winners of this coveted award include the San Francisco Girls Chorus,
Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus (Chicago), and Syracuse Children’s
Chorus. Past adult choir winners include the Dale Warland Singers, the
Gregg Smith Singers, and the Choral Arts Society of Washington DC.
In Spring
2005, the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir will present the West Coast premiere
of “The Nightingale”, a children’s choral opera by Imant
Raminsh, which it is co-commissioning, by invitation of the composer,
with the Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus and the Children’s Chorus
of Washington (DC), who will present the Midwest and East Coast premieres,
respectively.
2003 –
2004 will find the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir celebrating its 15th Anniversary
with a year-long celebration, culminating with the 15th Anniversary Gala
Concert on Sunday, June 20, 2004, at 3 pm in the First United Methodist
Church on SW 18th & Jefferson. This Gala Concert will feature performances
by all five PSGC ensembles, as well as a “solo” set sung by
the Alum Choir made up of former Girlchoir singers. Other Alum activities
include a Saturday morning rehearsal followed by an Alum Luncheon at the
MAC. You are invited to help PSGC celebrate!
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