The Southern Oregon Repertory Singers will celebrate their 40th anniversary this weekend with a world premiere performance at the Southern Oregon University Music Recital Hall.
The concert, “To the End in Songs,” marks the culmination of four decades under the leadership of Music Director Paul French. The program features new works by composers Peter Relph and Jodie French, funded through a commissioning endowment.
French said the repertoire is intended to offer audiences beauty and hope during a difficult time.
The 70-voice choir and full orchestra will be joined by internationally acclaimed baritone Christopheren Nomura, who said collaborating with living composers is rewarding for performers.
Nomura said premiering Jodie French’s “The Stranger Among You” has allowed him to deeply engage with the work’s themes and poetry.
“It’s an honor to feel the poetry, to feel the text, and to really go in as deeply as I possibly can,” he said.
The program explores shared humanity and the Golden Rule, drawing on texts ranging from the Statue of Liberty to poet Langston Hughes and Oregon's poet laureate, Lawson Inada.
Nomura said he hopes audience members are "open to that experience of hearing these incredible chords and melodies."
Event
- Performances take place Saturday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 10 at 2 p.m. on the campus of Southern Oregon University at the Music Recital Hall.
Guests
- Paul French, director, Southern Oregon Repertory Singers
- Christopheren Nomura, international baritone soloist
