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Kia Ora, New Zealand!

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 takes 6th Place medals in Vegas

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.

2015 Annual Show A Smash Hit!

If you are not humming He Touched Me, singing “dolla dolla bill y’all” or dancing around the house to Puttin’ On the Ritz, you missed Pride of Portland’s annual show! Pride hosted some world-class guests - Sweet Adelines International quartet champions Speed of Sound and PSU’s Portland Timbre – and had the great pleasure of retaining Sweet Adelines International President-Elect Paula Davis (pictured above, left of Speed of Sound and Director Ryan Heller) as emcee.

As One

As one. Such a simple phrase. Apply it to a chorus of one hundred Pride of Portland Sweet Adelines – in truth, all Sweet Adelines - and it becomes so much more. Balance. Harmony. Unity. Together, Pride set one goal for the 2014  International Competition in Baltimore: a top five medal. Easy, right? If you call numerous coaching sessions, rep after rep of ambitious choreography, and fearless, single-minded focus easy, then sure. 

Annual Show A Roaring Success!

Recently Pride of Portland presented their annual show, Steppin’ Out. It was a huge success, debuting new songs, a new costume, and a new championship attitude. They are roaring toward Baltimore and Sweet Adelines International competition.Not only did Pride perform to a sold-out matinee and packed evening show, they were honored to share the stage with two of Sweet Adeline’s preeminent quartets: the 2013 International Quartet Champions, LoveNotes, and the 2013 North by Northwest Region 13 Quartet Champions, Pepper. 

New Zealand Bound

Pride is going international - but not in the way you might expect. Yes, Sweet Adelines International Competition in Baltimore is just months away, but in 2017 Pride will be traveling halfway around the world - and down under - to join Sweet Adelines in New Zealand.

Have you ever dreamed of visiting the world "Down Under" and exploring the real "Middle-earth"? Now's your chance. New Zealand  is jammed packed with stunning vistas and diverse cultures, yet with a population of just four million people, it is gloriously uncrowded.

You can find music in everything!

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!

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