05-31-06

Media Release

Touted OSU Choir to Perform in Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Bolstered by its growing reputation, the Oregon State University Chamber Choir will leave June 15 for a five-concert swing through the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary.

Earlier this spring, the 41-member group was the only collegiate choir from outside the state of Utah selected to perform at the 60th Music Educators Conference in Salt Lake City. At the end of its 25-minute performance, the OSU choir received an instantaneous standing ovation that lasted a full five minutes – from an audience not given to demonstrative appreciation.

"It was…mind-boggling," said Steven M. Zielke, the director of choral studies at Oregon State and director of the OSU Chamber Choir. "This was not your average audience. These are music educators from around the country, the most critical audience imaginable. It would be impossible to have a more critical, musically demanding group listening.

"Performing in such a venue is a little like going to a car race," Zielke added with a laugh. "They're just waiting for you to crash. By the end of the performance, though, there were spectators with tears in their eyes. I've never seen anything like it."

Zielke said the OSU choir will try to build on its reputation with its 15-day tour of central and eastern Europe. The musicians will open on June 18 at Hlahol Hall in Prague, where they will perform with the Charles University Choir of Prague.

From there, it's on to Hungary for a June 22 concert with the Budapest University Choir in Budapest, and a solo performance on June 26 in Varna, Bulgaria, at Bach Hall. Two additional concerts are scheduled, one in Bulgaria, and the other in Hungary.

The trip to this part of Europe is somewhat unusual for collegiate choirs, most of which opt for more traditional venues in England, Germany and France. Travel is more affordable in central and eastern Europe for the OSU students, Zielke said, who foot a portion of the bill themselves. Their trip is also supported by the Furman Choral Travel Fund, established through a gift to the OSU Foundation by Joyce and Bill Furman.

"Bulgaria is a fascinating country and they have an appetite for classical choir music," said Zielke, who has visited there twice before. "The economy has been very difficult, but the people are wonderful. On one hand, it is a developing country. On the other hand, they know more about western classical music than 95 percent of all Americans.

"You have sheepherders coming to your concerts who know everything there is to know about Bach," he added. "It provides extremely gratifying concerts for the students."

At the concerts, the OSU Chamber Choir will perform everything from western classical music to gospel, from Bulgarian folk songs to Mendelssohn – with a dash of U2 thrown in. In between concerts, the students will have an opportunity to tour historical sites, sample local cuisine, and meet people they'd rarely encounter in Oregon.

An international trip of this kind is something Zielke aims for every three or four years because it provides an important experience for the musicians – whether they end up performing professionally, as amateurs, or teaching music to others.

The timing for a tour is particularly good this year, Zielke said, because this may be the best choir OSU has had in years.

"I honestly think that our OSU Chamber Choir sings as well as any undergraduate choir in the country," he said. "The Utah experience really drove that home. We were invited to perform at the conference after the selection committee pored over literally hundreds of tapes. There are a lot of fine choirs in the country, and OSU has one of them.

"For us, that performance was a little like OSU's baseball team reaching the College World Series last year," Zielke pointed out. "And now our trip to Europe is a bit of icing on the cake."

The list of OSU Chamber Choir members:

Oregon

• Baker City: Allison Williams, a major in music education.
• Beaverton: Alexis Smith, a major in vocal performance.
• Boring: Megan Mattoon, a major in vocal performance.
• Canby: Rebecca Robison, a major in piano performance and music education.
• Coquille: Aimee Newman, a major in music education.
• Corvallis: April Brown, a major in choral conducting and vocal performance; Scott Ingham, a major in vocal performance; Joshua Seitz, a major in music education and choral conducting; David Wright, a major in music education and vocal performance, with a minor in French.
• Dallas: David Emmert, a major in business administration, vocal performance and music education; Jason Taylor, a major in music education.
• Gresham: Jonathan Baltera, a major in vocal performance and choral conducting.
• La Grande: Maria Carmichael, a major in vocal performance and choral conducting.
• Lake Oswego: Josh Randall, a major in vocal performance; Ninchole Young, pursuing a master's of art in teaching in music education.
• Monmouth: Elise Gidley, a major in choral conducting and vocal performance.
• Newberg: Andrew Hancock, a major in music education and choral conducting.
• Pendleton: Joseph Demianew, pursuing a master's of art in teaching in music education.
• Philomath: Yvonne Mortensen, a major in music education.
• Portland: Steve Becic, a major in vocal performance; Julia Hadfield, a major in music education and vocal performance; Nathan Kondrat, a major in vocal performance; Kenneth Lowe, a major in vocal performance; Brad Strickler, a major in composition, recording and editing.
• Salem: Leah Brakebill, a major in speech communication; Brian Crawford, a major in music education; Adam Grieve, a major in music education; Tyson Hurst, pursuing a master's of art in teaching in music education; Jacob LaCombe, a major in music education; Jennifer Webb, a major in choral conducting.
• Tigard: Lauren Edison, a major in vocal performance, with a business minor; Stephanie Hower, a major in vocal performance; Emily Thielen, pursuing a master's of art in teaching in music education.
• Tualatin: Julie Cherry, a major in music education and vocal performance; Brice Cloyd, a major in music education; Alyssa Dart, a major in music education and vocal performance; Savannah Kravitz, a major in vocal performance; Amanda Lovin, a major in music education and vocal performance.
• Wilsonville: Bryan Alexanderson, a major in vocal performance.

Arizona

• Phoenix: Amanda Osman, a major in vocal performance.

Iowa

• Inwood: Ray Blank, a major in music.