Événement

"Let Us Sing!" Select Portland Public School Choirs Celebrate the Season

TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR!

Enjoy songs of the season and other beautiful choral arrangements, sung by Jackson Middle School, Lane Middle School, Wilson High School and Lincoln High School. PPS choirs may be banned from singing at the Grotto, but they will not be silenced! In the immortal words of Stephen Sondheim, "If I cannot fly, let me sing!" Sliding scale donation $5-$20. Proceeds to benefit PPS choir fund.

When Melinda Murdock, Director of Jackson Middle School Choir, scheduled the young singers to perform at The Grotto, the idea was to give the kids an opportunity to sing in different venues and to share their talents with the wider community. After the decision to forbid Jackson and other Portland Public School Choirs from performing came to pass, Kate Carson, choir booster mom and volunteer had an idea, "Why not have the kids sing at The Old Church?" Kate recalled the time when she was in college and her own choral group toured the Northwest and performed at The Old Church Concert Hall. There is also a personal connection; she and her husband were married in the historic Carpenter Gothic building.

The Old Church was built in 1882, and by 1967, when the congregation had abandoned the space and the building faced destruction, a band of dedicated citizens got together, purchased the building from the city, and changed it into a nonprofit, non-religious community space. Because the goal of The Old Church is to preserve and celebrate this historic and vital architectural structure, while utilizing its inherent qualities as a performance space by creating, fostering and promoting programs that reflect and enhance the artistic and cultural life of the community, welcoming these PPS Choirs was a no brainer. Besides, it has the best acoustics in town!