Oregon Festival Choirs

Joel Chapman

courtney

Anneleissa Coen

alex

Lewis Gilmore

Joel Chapman is 16 years old and is a high school Junior this year. He has one sister, Kyla, who is 20. Joel's hobbies include reading, photography, art, drama, piano, and, of course, singing. He got into OFC when he heard about a new a cappella group (Exit 194) that was starting up in late 2006, and has been singing with us ever since. Joel's favorite song from last season was "I Have Had Singing." And, one of Joel’s many cool talents is his knack for arranging a cappella songs. He has arranged 10 songs so far, including a few for Exit 194 and Aria. The ideas come to him when he is listening to music, and he begins to form some arrangements in his head for the song he's hearing. He then goes to his computer and arranges the song in chunks, using a music composing program. As he's arranging, Joel sings parts of the song to himself so he can hear how it sounds out loud. Once he's done, he sometimes records the song with Mr. Robb's help, so the group can get an idea of the sound he likes. Then Joel prints out the scores, and voila! A work of art is made! He is seriously pretty good, but claims he's only had four really good songs. The rest of us know the real truth.

Anneleissa Coen begins seventh grade this fall. She kept very busy over the summer, attending one camp after another throughout the course of the three months. She likes math and band, and plays the trumpet with her school band. Anneleissa also participates in many extracurricular sports, including football, basketball, soccer, and softball. She has been with Oregon Festival Choirs for two years. Her favorite pieces from last season were those by Bob Chilcott and "I Dream a World.” Anneleissa hopes to teach music someday, and be qualified to teach a variety of subjects.

This year Oregon Festival Choirs is ten years old. At this milestone there are a growing number of former choristers heading off to their various post high school pursuits. Beginning with this issue, we turn a Spotlight on OFC Alumni. Lewis Gilmore, an OFC chorister from 1999-2004, is now a sophomore at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he is a clarinet performance major. He was home in May for a few weeks and volunteered at the OFC office before heading off to the renowned Chautauqua Music Festival for the summer. Lewis began singing in Fiero as a fifth grader in 1999. During his second year in the Choir he began playing clarinet at Spencer Butte Middle School. By 8th grade he was admitted to the Arts Um-brella Junior Orchestra and moved into the Eugene Youth Symphony as a freshman, where his steady progress eventually landed him the principal clarinet position. As a chorister, he grew with the choir, sharing in many of OFC's firsts: first tours to British Columbia, San Francisco, and England; first OFC ensemble to attend PICCFEST; and first high school member of the boychoir during his final season as a chorister. Lewis' growing musicianship was matched by the development of leadership skills, which he drew on as a member of the first class of high school choristers to serve on the PICCFEST summer staff. When asked about the benefit of his OFC experience, Lewis replied, "Singing is definitely a valuable part of my musicmaking and I'm fortunate that I had those years in OFC to build that skill. We do a lot of singing in music theory class. And it helps my musicianship as a clarinetist to actually be the instrument when singing." Lewis identified some of his most memorable moments as an OFC chorister by saying, "There are so many good ones. Like the tour stop in Redding, California - after singing in a church service in which we had performed at a new level. We were so excited that we went back into the sanctuary after eating our sack lunches and sang for half an hour, just to enjoy the sound we had finally discovered how to make... Most of all, whenever we had one of those really good rehearsals, there was a genuine happiness at how well it was going." Given the chance to describe his dream career, Lewis hopes it includes playing in a major symphony, teaching in a university, and having the chance to give back through the student outreach programs that are an increasing part of a performance career. Congratulations to Lewis on his outstanding years of singing and leadership with OFC. We send our best wishes as he continues to prepare for reaching that dream career. Wherever it leads, it is great to know that OFC has been an important part of the journey.