Last year at this time I was happily reporting the end ofthe choir season: News oftours completed, concerts given and intensified focus on the approaching10th anniversary of our Pacific International Children’s Choir Festival (PICCFEST).This year is similar in many ways.We had two Spring tours in Oregon.In April, EXIT 194 made its first tour.Ten guys of the twelve member malea cappella ensemble spent three days singing in schools, public places andat the Ashland United Methodist Church. Their joyful music-making was an inspiration wherever they sang, and they returned home having deepened their commitment to excellence as singers and as a community to each other. In May, the training choirs Allegro and Cantilena embarked on their annual 36 hour tour, including performances at four local schools, aconcert with the Heart of the Valley Children’s Chorus in Corvallis, a trip to Newport and Florence, and some impromptu performances along theway. The thirty-two singers, ages 8-11, shared the results of their hardwork this season with several hundred students, demonstrating that singing can be both fun and fulfilling. At the end of May came our 9th Spring concert. The performances by all of OFC’s ensembles were inspiring anda clear indication of how much eachgroup has grown during the season.The audience, which filled the performance space at Central Presbyterian Church, gave an enthusiastic response to each ensemble. It was a wonderful end to the season for our local choirs...Except that it isn’t.

...not for our touring choirs and a cappella ensembles. Instead, the Spring Concert marked the beginningof an eight-week adventure of final preparations for singing with four hundred amazing musicians from across north America and around the world, working with two world-renowned conductors, and appearances at two of the great choral festivals on the planet. Beginning with PICCFEST, oursingers will present several programsof their own music, spend many hoursin rehearsal with the 325-voicePICCFEST Chorus, sing at the U.S.Olympic Trials, all leading up to the11th PICCFEST Gala Concert on June29th, 7:30 pm in the Hult Center’sSilva Hall. Conductor and composer Bob Chilcott returns for his second PICCFEST appearance having continued his meteoric rise in the choral world since his last visit in2005. This year we’ve reached a newlevel of prestige as an official co-presentation with the Oregon Bach Festival.

After PICCFEST, the singers of ourFiero Boychoir and Lyrica Girlchoirfine-tune their focus on the final prizeof the season as part of the OregonBach Festival’s final concert: TheSt. Matthew Passion, conducted byMaestro Helmuth Rilling. Until 2004,the Bach Festival had always reachedoutside of our community to fill thetreble choir position in this toweringmasterwork by Bach. That year, Fieroand Lyrica were tapped to appearwith the Bach Festival Chorus andOrchestra. OBF chorusmaster KathyRomey enthused, “This is awonderful day for choral music inour community – to have our ownyoung singers take their placealongside the Bach Festivalmusicians.”Only four current members of Fieroand Lyrica were old enough to singin the 2004 St. Matthew Passionperformance. The other 36 singerswill be a part of the experience forthe first time.Throughout our preparations it hasbeen important to build anticipationappropriate to the rare privilege thesetwo experiences provide. For manyit will be a once-in-a-lifetime collab-oration with other musicians of thiscaliber. We have talked about thefact that every moment, in rehearsal,personal practice and performancehas the potential to be a high pointof beauty that they will rememberforever. And we marvel that theseopportunities rival those of singersin any major city on the continent.As we near the end of the one concertseason and prepare for the next, I amhumbled by the challenge andblessing of our work with theseyoung singers: Helping them createand recognize moments of beautyand community that they willremember the rest of their lives.