Hosted by the Eugene Concert Choir

An excellent opportunity to observe a master choral conductor at work and enjoy an eclectic concert featuring some of Oregon's finest adult choirs is open to all. Several fine choirs and an outstanding guest conductor will combine to create a superb workshop and festival concert for the ACDA Oregon Choral Summit on Saturday, April 3, 2004. The Oregon Choral Summit is a festival of the American Choral Directors Association Oregon Chapter and is hosted by the Eugene Concert Choir. Dr. Diane Retallack, Director of the Eugene Concert Choir, serves on the Board of Directors of ACDA Oregon as Community Choir Chair. Charles Bruffy, acclaimed conductor of the Kansas City Chorale and the Phoenix Bach Choir, will work with the Festival Choir of combined community choruses throughout the afternoon and prepare them for the finale of the evening concert, 7:30 p.m. at First Methodist Church in Eugene.

Charles Bruffy is one of the most highly respected and sought after choral conductors in the nation. He has been Artistic Director of the Kansas City Chorale since 1988 and Artistic Director of the Phoenix Bach Choir since 1999. Under his direction, both choirs continue to merit critical national acclaim. He and the Kansas City Chorale were featured performers at the 2000 American Choral Director's Association National Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Both choirs have been featured on NPR's Performance Today and Chorus America's The First Art. Charles Bruffy is sought after as a conductor and clinician and frequently conducts festival choirs around the world. He was the conductor of the Verdi Requiem performance in the Sydney Opera House last July in which members of the Eugene Concert Choir participated on their Australian tour. In the summer of 2004, he will conduct works by Haydn and Mozart in Smetana Hall in Prague. From 1992-1999 Mr. Bruffy performed with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers in recordings and concerts in France, and in concerts at Carnegie Hall. He is a featured soloist on the Shaw release Appear and Inspire. Mr. Bruffy was asked by National Public Radio to help celebrate Robert Shaw's 80th birthday with an on-air tribute in May 1996, and in February 1999 was featured in the New York Times as one of Robert Shaw's successors.

The choirs participating in the Oregon Choral Summit include the Cascade Chorale from Bend, conducted by Clyde Thompson, the Linn-Benton/OSU Community Chorale, conducted by Hal Eastburn, Novum Chamber Singers from Portland, conducted by Thomas Miller, Southern Oregon Repertory Singers from Ashland, conducted by Paul French, and the host choirs--the Eugene Concert Choir and the Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble, conducted by Diane Retallack. Each choir will perform selections from their own repertoire at the evening concert, which will culminate in the combined Festival Choir performance. The Festival Choir repertoire represents an interesting variety of styles and moods:

• Circus Band, by Charles Ives
• The Old Church, by Stephen Paulus
• O Schöne Nacht, by Johannes Brahms
• The Promise of Living, by Aaron Copland

Tickets for the ACDA Oregon Choral Summit evening concert are $10, or a masterclass fee of $30 will allow attendees to observe as Mr. Bruffy works with the Festival Choir from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. and attend the 7:30 evening concert as well.