Hudson Hall Performance
The Willamette University Chamber Choir and Willamette Singers, under the direction of Wallace Long, will perform Saturday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m., at Willamette University’s Hudson Hall, 900 State St., Salem, Oregon.
The McNary High School choir, under the direction of Josh Rist and the McKay High School choir, will also perform in the classical portion of the concert. The concert will open with a vocal jazz performance by the Willamette Singers, followed by the high school choirs. It will close with the Willamette Chamber Choir. The concert is free and open to the public, although a goodwill donation is encouraged.
The performance will include a variety of sacred and secular works, both a cappella and accompanied. The Chamber Choir performance will include “O Lux Beata Trinitas” arranged by Ko Matsushita, “Hentakan Jiwa” by Ken Steven and “Evening Prayer” by Ola Gjielo. The Willamette Singers, a vocal jazz ensemble, will perform selections including “Confirmation” and “One Day I’ll Fly Away,” arranged by Kerry Marsh, and “Muddy Water” arranged by Michelle Weir..
Chamber Choir
The Willamette Chamber Choir is a 44-voice ensemble that performs throughout the Northwest. Their latest CD, “Stars,” is a compilation of the choir’s best recordings from 2010-2015, and it was released in the fall of 2015. The Willamette Chamber Choir performed at the Northwest Regional Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Seattle in March of 2012.
Willamette Singers
The Willamette Singers is a 17-member vocal jazz ensemble. The Singers’ 21st CD, “First Train Home” was released in the fall of 2017. The Willamette Singers performed at the National Convention of the ACDA in Dallas, Texas in March of 2013 and at the Northwest Regional Convention of ACDA in Seattle in March of 2014. DownBeat Magazine selected the Singers as the Best Large Collegiate Vocal Jazz Ensemble in the nation for three years, first in 2013-2014, then in 2014-2015, and finally in 2016-2017.
Both groups have recently performed at regional, national and international conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, the Music Educators National Conference, the Oregon Music Educators Association and the International Association of Jazz Educators.
Willamette Chamber Choir members Aubrey Harris, Alexa Anderson, Olga Valdes, Zachary Duell, Joey Grimmell, Simon Keightley, Michael Watson, Evan Britton, and Brandon Miller, will be performing in the concert.