Northwest Vocal Arts (NWVA) – a new 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 in our neighborhood.

3 p.m. on Sunday, March 16
Rose City Park United Methodist Church
5830 NE Alameda St. in Portland

Titled Cordillera: Range of the Americas, this concert will feature the NWVA professional chamber choir and the NWVA youth choir performing works in Spanish, Latin and Quechua and celebrating the incredible variety of sounds and rhythms from the Caribbean and South America. 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 Misa Criolla by Ariel Ramírez. This ground-breaking work, beloved by audiences worldwide, was composed in 1964 (with text in Spanish instead of the traditional Latin and scored for traditional instruments) and based on Argentinian folk genres such as chacarera and carnavalito. Ramírez’s most famous work, it brought the composer international recognition and is “widely regarded as a stunning artistic achievement,” according to the Washington Post. An ensemble of folk instruments led by Lewis and Clark professor Freddy Vilches will accompany the piece.

Other highlights will include works by contemporary composers such as Guido Lopez Gavilan, whose piece El Guayaboso (The Liar) is based on the guaguancó (a subgenre of Cuban rumba) and features an amazingly complex Afro-Cuban rhythm with the voices assuming the role of percussion.

Kasar mie la gaji (The Earth is Tired) is composed by Alberto Grau, who is one of the leading musical personalities in the history of contemporary Venezuelan music. Grau has written this piece to call attention to the ways human activity affects our planet. This moving work features a variety of vocal techniques and body percussion to express its message.

Hanacpachap cussicuinin, by Juan Perez de Bocanegra, is a processional hymn to the Virgin Mary in the Quechua language. Published in 1631, it is the earliest work of vocal polyphony printed in the western hemisphere.

General admission tickets are $30 ($15 for students) and can be purchased at nwvocalarts.org/tickets

We are also proud to have received event sponsorship from Portland Children’s Levy for this concert.

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.