In the Spring, 2009, Quarter Notes I wrote about the remarkable impact our focus on community building was having on OFC’s music making. To say that I was proud of their achievement at the end of season concert in May would be a huge understatement. The depth of their musicality, performance skills, and sense of community had never been greater.  As the culminating performance of our tenth anniversary season, it couldn't have been more reassuring that we were on the right path.  It made the experience bittersweet because, to be quite candid, I didn't know how we were going to continue as an organization. The sagging economy had delivered a double whammy to the Pacific
International Children's Choir Festival (PICCFEST), our largest revenue generating activity. First of all, the numbers were down for PICCFEST 2009 by $40,000 from our projection. Then the reservation fees for PICCFEST 2010, the revenue source that usually provides a cushion during the summer, were not coming in. Had this been an isolated experience that only affected our festival, we would have wondered what we were doing wrong. But the same news was coming from festivals all across the continent: Choirs were traveling with smaller groups in 2009 and putting off decisions about 2010 tours until the Fall. When it became clear that this had the makings of a fiscal disaster, we sought the counsel of many trusted advisors. We launched a ninety day, $40,000
fundraising campaign to bridge the revenue shortfall and keep the organization going until Fall tuition and festival revenues started back up. That kind of life-support fundraising was one of the most difficult jobs I've ever had to do. We shared our story about lives that have been transformed through the work of OFC, and many of you responded. We received gifts ranging from $25 to $5000. At the same time we pursued other funding sources, and in the three months leading up to PICCFEST 2009, we raised $40,000.

I made a promise that we would do whatever it took to keep the choirs going; to keep changing the world, one voice at a time. But it wasn't enough. With no reservation fees coming in for 2010, it felt like we were hitting a wall. For the next two months, board members Kirk Boyd, Bob Rutledge, Rebecca Robb Hicks and staff members Matthew Svoboda and Connie Burden worked with me to find a new business plan that would both get us through the immediate crisis, and map a path toward continued success for the next decade. The staff was temporarily laid off and Board President Bob Rutledge stepped in to handle the ongoing affairs of the choir, spending 20 to 40 hours a week at no cost to the choir. His generosity and faith in the vision of OFC kept the flame alive while the work of imagining a new strategy went forward. Several times we thought we were close to a solution, only to have the plan run into another roadblock. I can tell you now that we came to two conclusions: In order for both organizations to survive, they would need to become fiscally and operationally autonomous. And if it came down to having to put all our efforts into one basket, the festival was the only one that could continue while paying off the accumulated debt. At the very moment that our last and most innovative plan fell through, Matthew posed an idea that became the beginning of our new path. As the idea took shape over the next few days, it suddenly became apparent that perhaps the best solution of all had not been considered. For the past four years I  have served as the Music Education director of St. Mary's Episcopal Church. I recalled that on a few occasions several St. Mary's staff members had wondered aloud how the music department could address the decline of music education in our community. In one of those moments that can only happen when one is finally open to new ideas, a reimagined organizational structure came into focus.

That very day I proposed the idea to Marla Lowen, music director, and Fr. Ted Berktold, an OFC grandfather and Rector of St. Mary's. Within days their enthusiasm and the added support of other St. Mary's staff put a new collaboration into motion. In a nutshell, Oregon Festival Choirs is now Oregon Festival Choirs in Residence at St. Mary's Episcopal. We remain a non-sectarian, community choir organization, but with St. Mary's as our rehearsal home. In addition, we have office space, room for our music library and an intimate performance space. A number of other benefits have also been realized. And, thanks to the generous help of OFC dad Tom Renken, one of the rehearsal rooms and the music office have been remodeled to expand the space. In return for St.Mary's generosity and an enthusiastic welcome from the entire parish, one OFC ensemble will provide music at a service each