Northwest Vocal Arts Presents the Music of Brazil in a Community Celebration

Northwest Vocal Arts, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing choral community to Portland and East County and providing access and opportunity for all – is set to perform its spring concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 15, at Rose City Park United Methodist Church, located at 5830 NE Alameda St. in Portland.

Our last concert of the season will be our annual performance of music from the Southern Hemisphere. Titled Cordilheira: Range of the Americas, this concert will make your spirit soar as we journey through the sounds, rhythms, and soul of Brazil.

More than a concert, Cordilheira is a cultural celebration blending choral music, Brazilian percussion, and heartfelt community connection.

The concert will feature the NWVA professional Olympia Chamber Choir and the NWVA Evergreen Youth Choir performing stunning choral works including Bendita Sabedoria by Brazil’s greatest composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and two works by Carlos Alberto Pinto Fonseca, Muie Rendera, a setting of two of the most popular folk tunes from Northeast Brazil with percussion accompaniment and based on the Brazilian rhythm baião and Jubiabá, an evocation of a candomblé ceremony.

Thanks to generous donations from the public and a substantial grant from San Francisco-based non-profit Chance to Excel, and generous gifts from our donors, all members of the youth choir receive a full tuition scholarship.

Before the concert, DJ Ju Borba will set the tone with a Brazilian soundtrack, welcoming the audience as they arrive. After the performance, the celebration continues with a joyful Brazilian reception, where music, flavors and warmth come together. Santa Terra Bakery will serve authentic Brazilian sweets and savory bites. Nossa Família Coffee will provide freshly brewed Brazilian coffee. The BrazilTones will perform bossa nova and MPB favorites. The reception is produced in collaboration with GINGA Events, a Portland-based creative studio dedicated to celebrating Brazilian culture through community, storytelling, and sensory experiences.

Join us for an afternoon of harmony, rhythm, and flavor – an invitation to experience the beauty and warmth of Brazil through music, food and celebration.

General admission is $35 ($15 for students). Tickets may be purchased here.

About Northwest Vocal Arts

Northwest Vocal Arts is a non-profit organization based in Portland, Ore., that strives to foster human connection, inspire the next generation of professional and amateur musicians, and positively impact individuals and audiences in the Pacific Northwest and beyond through the universal language of vocal music and innovative community-focused initiatives.

NWVA currently has two ensembles – a professional chamber choir featuring some of the region’s finest vocal musicians, and a youth choir that is open to high school students of all ages.

Thanks to generous donors, every member of our youth choir is provided with a 100% tuition scholarship, regardless of prior experience and without an audition.

With this groundbreaking approach, NWVA removes a significant barrier of entry for young singers and their families.

Learn more at www.nwvocalarts.org.

Artistic Team and Leadership

Portland native Samuel Barbara is Northwest Vocal Arts’ founder and executive artistic director. He has a doctorate in choral music from the University of Southern California and is currently Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus. He previously served as Director of Choral Activities at Westminster College and as Director of Choirs at Cleveland High School in Portland, where his choirs won the 5A Oregon State choir championships three times.

Karen Bohart directs the NWVA Evergreen Youth Choir. She is Director of Choirs at Wilsonville High School and is past-President of the Oregon American Choral Director Association (ACDA). She has served on the Oregon Music Educators Association (OMEA) Board and previously served on the Oregon ACDA Board as the Treble Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair.

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Portland, Ore. – Northwest Vocal Arts (NWVA) – celebrates the holiday season with two concerts on Saturday, December 20 at 2 pm and Sunday, December 21 at 7 pm, at Rose City Park United Methodist Church, located at 5830 NE Alameda St. in Portland.

Titled Voices of Winter – New Light, the concerts will feature the professional NWVA Olympia Chamber Choir and Evergreen Youth Choir performing works by a wonderful variety of composers, from the acclaimed English composer Benjamin Britten to award-winning R&B singer-songwriter India Aire. Thanks to generous donations from the public and a substantial grant from San Francisco-based non-profit Chance to Excel, all members of the youth choir receive a full tuition scholarship.

Highlights of the concert include Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, a fascinating cycle of medieval texts chosen for their varied moods, from joyful to solemn, featuring harp accompaniment and set to music that uses both traditional plainchant and modern harmonic language.

Other highlights include the Nigerian traditional Oba Ti De (Here Comes the King), arranged by Jeffrey Ames and I am the Light by India Aire, a lyrical and spiritual affirmation of inner peace and identity. The choir will also perform audience favorites Glow by Eric Whitacre, Three Nativity Carols by Stephen Paulus with harp and oboe, and much more.

General admission is $35 ($15 for students). Tickets may be purchased at eventbrite.com.

More Concerts this Season

Cordilheira: Range of the Americas-Music of Brazil, featuring Bendita Sabedoria by Villa-Lobos, a post-concert reception with live music, traditional Brazilian treats and more, Sunday, March 15, 2026 3:00 p.m.

About Northwest Vocal Arts

Northwest Vocal Arts is a non-profit organization based in Portland, Ore., that strives to foster human connection, inspire the next generation of professional and amateur musicians, and positively impact individuals and audiences in the Pacific Northwest and beyond through the universal language of vocal music and innovative community-focused initiatives.

NWVA currently has two ensembles – a professional chamber choir featuring some of the region’s finest vocal musicians, and a youth choir that is open to high school students of all ages.

Thanks to generous donors, every member of our youth choir is provided with a 100% tuition scholarship, regardless of prior experience and without an audition.

With this groundbreaking approach, NWVA removes a significant barrier of entry for young singers and their families.

Learn more at www.nwvocalarts.org.

Artistic Team and Leadership

Portland native Samuel Barbara is Northwest Vocal Arts’ founder and executive artistic director. He has a doctorate in choral music from the University of Southern California and is currently Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus. He previously served as Director of Choral Activities at Westminster College and as Director of Choirs at Cleveland High School in Portland, where his choirs won the 5A Oregon State choir championships three times.

Karen Bohart directs the NWVA Youth Choir. She is Director of Choirs at Wilsonville High School and is past-President of the Oregon American Choral Director Association (ACDA). She has served on the Oregon Music Educators Association (OMEA) Board and previously served on the Oregon ACDA Board as the Treble Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair. ###

Come enjoy a wonderful, relaxing afternoon of the best in choral music.

Portland, Ore. – Northwest Vocal Arts (NWVA) – celebrates its second season with a fall concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 19, at Rose City Park United Methodist Church, located at 5830 NE Alameda St. in Portland.

Titled Autumn Celebration, this concert will feature the NWVA professional chamber choir and the NWVA youth choir performing works by Antonio Vivaldi, Jack Runestad, Aaron Copland, and more. Thanks to generous donations from the public and a substantial grant from San Francisco-based non-profit Chance to Excel, all members of the youth choir receive a full tuition scholarship.

The centerpiece of the concert will be Gloria, RV 589 by Antonio Vivaldi. Gloria was composed in 1715, during his residency at a convent and orphanage for girls in Venice. Vivaldi’s orchestras and choirs were famous throughout Europe. Although his secular music, such as The Four Seasons, is better known today, he composed truly stunning and profound sacred works. Gloria is a shining example of Baroque sacred music at its finest.

Other highlights include the Grammy-nominated The Hope of Loving by  contemporary composer Jack Runestad. The piece explores themes of love, spirituality and the natural world in mesmerizing settings of verses by poets ranging from medieval mystics to more contemporary masters. On composing, Runestad said “I write because it’s not about music for the sake of music — it’s music for the sake of helping someone grieve, inspiring positive change in the world, telling someone else’s story that maybe we don’t know about in order to foster compassion. It’s really music with purpose.”

General admission is $35 ($15 for students). Season tickets ($80) can be purchased at nwvocalarts.org/tickets.

More Concerts this Season

Voices of Winter – New Light, featuring Three Nativity Carols by Stephen Paulus, A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten and more, Saturday, December 20, 2:00 pm and Sunday, December 21, 7:00 p.m.

Cordillera: Range of the Americas-Music of Brazil, Featuring Bendita Sabedoria by Villa-Lobos, a pre-concert reception and more, Sunday, March 15, 3:00 p.m.

About Northwest Vocal Arts

Northwest Vocal Arts is a non-profit organization based in Portland, Ore., that strives to foster human connection, inspire the next generation of professional and amateur musicians, and positively impact individuals and audiences in the Pacific Northwest and beyond through the universal language of vocal music and innovative community-focused initiatives.

NWVA currently has two ensembles – a professional chamber choir featuring some of the region’s finest vocal musicians, and a youth choir that is open to high school students of all ages.

Thanks to generous donors, every member of our youth choir is provided with a 100% tuition scholarship, regardless of prior experience and without an audition.

With this groundbreaking approach, NWVA removes a significant barrier of entry for young singers and their families.

Learn more at www.nwvocalarts.org.

Artistic Team and Leadership

Portland native Samuel Barbara is Northwest Vocal Arts’ founder and executive artistic director. He has a doctorate in choral music from the University of Southern California and is currently Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus. He previously served as Director of Choral Activities at Westminster College and as Director of Choirs at Cleveland High School in Portland, where his choirs won the 5A Oregon State choir championships three times.

Karen Bohart directs the NWVA Youth Choir. She is Director of Choirs at Wilsonville High School and is past-President of the Oregon American Choral Director Association (ACDA). She has served on the Oregon Music Educators Association (OMEA) Board and previously served on the Oregon ACDA Board as the Treble Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair.