Former Pride of Portland member Dawn Wright, age 62, passed peacefully on Sunday, August 7, 2022, leaving behind a loving family.
Nothing meant more to Dawn than music and family, and she had a big heart for both. Dawn sang with several Sweet Adelines choruses: Pride of Portland, Northwest Harmony, and Oregon Spirit, where she was an Assistant Director. As bass section leader, she was often asked to lead parts of rehearsals or warmups. Her quartet, Roadshow, really rocked the house!
When 5-year-old Roslyn Kane began having nightmares, dad Rick reached out from his home in Pennsylvania to the Bristol Man Chorus to see if they could help his daughter through the power of song. Choir director Sam Burns got to work immediately, crafting a personal lullaby for his new friend. The lyrics are simple and lovely:
“Roslyn, Evelyn, sing goodnight / Roslyn, Evelyn, close your eyes / Sweetest dreams, all warm and bright / Roslyn, Evelyn, sing goodnight.”
Pride of Portland Chorus is thrilled to have taken first place at the 2019 North by Northwest Region 13 contest in April; our ninth championship since the chorus was founded in 2000.
We're also very proud of our three quartets who performed magnificently, with Happenstance earning a well-deserved 5th Place medal and The Beat taking home Most Improved Quartet. It was our last contest with Ryan Heller, too, which made it extra special.
All in all, we made many memories during this wonderful weekend full of good times and great friends. Interested in experiencing this yourself? Come and visit us at a rehearsal. We'd love to meet you!
Pride of Portland’s third annual Spring Fete Fundraiser, held on June 3, 2017, was another successful event!
At Pride, we define success as good singing, good fun, good food, and great donations to help Pride of Portland continue its mission to “joyfully commit to education and musical excellence primarily in the barbershop style”! Pride of Portland and about 130 chorus friends and sponsors gathered at Oaks Park in its historical Dance Pavilion for a few hours of entertainment. The chorus sang, the guests purchased wine and restaurant certificates and played the bead necklace game (you’ve got to come and play for yourself), and all enjoyed delicious, catered hors d'oeuvres. Master 700 Director Ryan Heller passionately talked about the chorus, the music, and barbershop.
Pride of Portland said "Kia Ora" on Sunday, February 19 to new-found friends in New Zealand! A group of over 100 members, guests, and family spent two weeks singing, sightseeing, and meeting the fabulous people of New Zealand!
The idea was hatched back in 2012 when Portland Chorus’ director, Ryan Heller, shared with Kate Veeder, a Kiwi Sweet Adelines, his dream of visiting the shores of New Zealand with the chorus.That dream became reality when New Zealand Sweet Adelines volunteers became a team of can-do people who happily pitched in as volunteers.Galvanized by Kate, they met and got underway to create a tour that would celebrate New Zealand’s best.
Pride of Portland Chorus competed at the Sweet Adlelines International Convention on October 20 and 22, 2016, in Las Vegas, NV. And WOW, what a week! When things were all "said and sung," we came home with a 6th Place International medal; a wonderful reward for many, many months of hard work!
We want to acknowledge our special coaches, Erin Howden, Sharon Babb, Carole Persinger, and Sandy Marron. Thank you for all your pearls of wisdom and vocal skills you shared with us.
BarbershopHistory.com readers recently nominated Pride of Portland Chorus for FOUR Barbie Awards, which are announced annually following International Competitions (click here for an explanation of what the Barbie Awards are). Pride is pleased as punch to be nominated in the following categories:
Everyone loves music...even elephants! Click here for a fun video featuring some piano-playing, boogie-making elephants!
One morning while reading a newspaper, Jarbas Agnelli saw a photograph of birds on an electric wire. He cut out the photo and was inspired to make a song using the exact location of the birds as musical notes. He was curious to hear what melody the birds created.
He sent the music to the photographer, Paulo Pinto; who told his editor at one of Brazil's largest newspapers, O Estado de Sau Paulo; who told a reporter; and, the story ended up as an interview in the newspaper. It ended up Winner of the YouTube Play Guggenheim Biennial Festival.
Visit YouTube to see how this enchanting photo plays out...literally! It's true that beautiful music is everywhere if we just know how to find it!
So Buzzfeed isn't the most scientific of sources, but this recent post DOES have a lot of good points!
