Neighborhood Nonprofit Spotlight: Allison Silverberg, Oregon Repertory Singers

Patch: Tell Patch a little about you and your organization!

Allison: Oregon Repertory Singers (ORS) performs world-class music accessible to all. Through our professional-caliber adult choir of over 90 members, and our education- and performance-based youth choir and music education program serving children ages 4-18, ORS nurtures a love and knowledge of choral music. We strive to enrich the human spirit and create memorable shared experiences among community members through the power of music. Our volunteer adult choir, formed in 1974, is directed by Dr. Ethan Sperry.

Also PSU’s Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Sperry continues ORS’ long history of choral excellence—“making choral music hot again” with “the city’s finest large choir.” (Oregon ArtsWatch, May ‘15; Willamette Week, Apr ‘16.) ORS performs three annual concert series, with diverse programming often emphasizing new works, local and living composers, and rarely heard choral masterpieces. Recent premieres include award-winning Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds’ Passion and Resurrection (US, ‘13) and Rodion Shchedrin’s The Sealed Angel (Portland, ‘15).

ORS collaborates with musicians and organizations to create unique events and performances; recent partners include the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Art Museum, the Nonprofit Association of Oregon, and local middle school choirs. The Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir (ORSYC) was created in 1994, expanding the reach of ORS’ mission and bringing the power of singing and music education to pre-k through high school students. ORSYC augments the often limited music education available in schools, complementing choral rehearsals with musicianship classes based on the Kodaly music education method. Students learn to sing, read, and write music, while building confidence, life skills, and friendships. The choirs perform two annual concerts to demonstrate and celebrate their progress and abilities, and collaborate with the adult choir at least once annually at ORS’ holiday concert.

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Patch: How does your organization help to strengthen the local community?

Allison: Oregon Repertory Singers shares the transformative power of choral music and music education with our community. Choral music is more than just entertaining. Studies have shown psychological and even medical benefits from singing and listening to choral music, and the benefits of music education to young people are well documented. Our adult choir’s innovative repertoire, musical acuity and sensitivity, and artistic caliber are unmatched in Portland. Our youth choir is the only organization in Portland offering extra-curricular choral education based on the Kodaly education method—filling the gap resulting from often limited music education in our schools. We nurture the singers and audiences of this generation and the next, building lifelong friendships and confidence among our participants and bringing enrichment, entertainment, and beautiful music to our listeners.

Patch: When did you open?

Allison: ORS was formed in 1974, and the ORS Youth Choirs were added in 1994.

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Patch: What is the biggest struggle your organization faces?

Allison: As with most small nonprofits, we always struggle with finite resources. We have a very committed and passionate staff, a strong and supportive board of directors, and an exceptional group of volunteers. Even with this incredible team, we are always seeking more support from our community--in personnel through volunteer opportunities, and also in financial matters through contributions, ticket sales, and corporate and foundation giving. This isn't an "urgent" or new struggle; rather it's the need to continue to balance limited resources with the ambitions and creative plans of our staff and board.

Patch: What do you hope for the future of your nonprofit?

Allison: The board and staff of Oregon Repertory Singers are currently developing a long range plan based on four main concepts: visibility, accessibility, sustainability, and excellence. We will strive to continue offering one-of-a-kind opportunities for our community members to experience choral music, as singers, students, and listeners.

We're seeking to increase our visibility in the Portland metro area by raising the profile of our concerts, and collaborating with organizations on events “outside the concert hall,” such as community and corporate events, school visits, lectures, etc. To ensure that our programs are accessible to the entire community, we’re partnering with other organizations to offer group discounts on concert tickets, and to identify new students for our youth choir from underrepresented areas and populations.

As we become more of a “household name” in the area, we will prepare and monitor our budget carefully, to ensure our programs are financially healthy and that we maintain our standard of excellence while our choirs and activities flourish and grow in the coming years. We’ve been performing world class choral music for over 40 years, and offering unique music education and performance opportunities for students ages 4-18 for over 20 years. We’ll keep up our work for years to come, and hope to maintain and strengthen our reputation as “the city’s finest large choir,” and the destination for superb choral music and education in Portland. (Willamette Week, April 2016)

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