Portland First United Methodist Church

In Buddhist thought, the Tree of Life is a symbol of awakening, wisdom, and the interconnectedness of all life. Its roots reach deep into the earth while its branches extend toward the sky, reminding us that each generation grows from those that came before and that our lives are shaped by the communities and traditions that sustain us. Opening the PSU Choirs’ concert season, “Tree of Life” explores these themes through music that spans continents and centuries. Performed by the PSU Chamber Choir, Rose Choir and Thorn Choir, the program pairs cherished works from the Classical choral tradition with music by a new generation of Southeast Asian composers. At its center is Indonesian composer Bagus Utomo’s Gayatri, inspired by the legendary queen whose wisdom and spiritual devotion remain an enduring part of Indonesian cultural heritage. The concert also features works by Budi Susanto Yohanes, Ily Matthew Maniano and Matthew Lyon Hazzard. Several of these pieces will be recorded later this year by the internationally acclaimed PSU Chamber Choir at Skywalker Sound, offering audiences an opportunity to hear this music before it is released.

In Buddhist thought, the Tree of Life is a symbol of awakening, wisdom, and the interconnectedness of all life. Its roots reach deep into the earth while its branches extend toward the sky, reminding us that each generation grows from those that came before and that our lives are shaped by the communities and traditions that sustain us. Opening the PSU Choirs’ concert season, “Tree of Life” explores these themes through music that spans continents and centuries. Performed by the PSU Chamber Choir, Rose Choir and Thorn Choir, the program pairs cherished works from the Classical choral tradition with music by a new generation of Southeast Asian composers. At its center is Indonesian composer Bagus Utomo’s Gayatri, inspired by the legendary queen whose wisdom and spiritual devotion remain an enduring part of Indonesian cultural heritage. The concert also features works by Budi Susanto Yohanes, Ily Matthew Maniano and Matthew Lyon Hazzard. Several of these pieces will be recorded later this year by the internationally acclaimed PSU Chamber Choir at Skywalker Sound, offering audiences an opportunity to hear this music before it is released.

Like a winter garden in full bloom, “Holiday Garden” celebrates the many colors and traditions of the holiday season. The internationally acclaimed and award-winning Portland State Chamber Choir and Bells of the Cascades combine for an evening featuring choir, handbells, and organ in a program that highlights each ensemble individually before bringing them together in festive collaboration. This highly diverse program includes cherished carols and selections from Handel’s Messiah to contemporary holiday music, Disney music—and even the haunting sounds of Scandinavian gothic rock. Classics Today calls The Portland State Chamber Choir “amongst the finest choirs in the world.” Since its founding in 1975, the Chamber Choir has performed and competed in venues across the country and around the world, earning over 30 medals and awards in international choir competitions including being the only American choir to have won the Seghizzi International Competition for Choral Singing in Italy in 2013, and the Bali International Choral Festival in Indonesia in 2017. Warm, joyful, contemplative, and surprising, Holiday Garden is a musical celebration of the season in all its variety.

Join Portland’s First United Methodist Church & Portland State University for a celebration of the unique power of intergenerational singing Each of us has something to teach—and something to learn. Students and lifelong choristers share the stage in a program that reminds us that choral music is one of the few places where we all come together as equals, learning from and inspiring one another. This concert celebrates First United Methodist Church’s Music Intern Program, established in 1996. The program gives PSU music students experience, financial support, and a welcoming artistic home, while enriching FUMC with new voices, fresh energy, and the promise of the next generation. Proceeds from this concert directly support music intern stipends, helping ensure that this partnership—and the tradition of generations singing together—continues to flourish.

Nature, simultaneously a calming presence and a terrifying force, connects all of us and impacts our daily lives in ways we don’t even realize. From the blistering cold of a winter snowstorm to the gentle breeze on a beautiful spring afternoon, we are surrounded by nature and her elements. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are bound to the natural world with forests, mountains, rivers and an ocean coast, and we must protect this precious world we have. In Elements, nature will run its course through a wide range of repertoire focused on the traditional elements of fire (Katerina Gimon’s Fire), water, air (Michael McGlynn’s Bitter Wind), and earth as well as other surprises that build to a stunning finale. Led by graduate students Cathy Bronson and Matthew Compton, and featuring Rose and Thorn Choirs (combining as the Briar Chorus), and the Fremont and Hawthorne University Choirs, this concert will be the culmination of Bronson and Compton’s studies at Portland State.

Guest conductor and Artist in Residence Tim Seelig with the Chamber Choir and Portland State’s own Coty Raven Morris with the Briar Choir present World, O World. Featuring music by Jacob Collier and John Rutter, World, O World calls us to remember that which connects us all: our shared home, planet Earth.

Guest conductor and Artist in Residence Tim Seelig with the Chamber Choir and Portland State’s own Coty Raven Morris with the Briar Choir present World, O World. Featuring music by Jacob Collier and John Rutter, World, O World calls us to remember that which connects us all: our shared home, planet Earth.