The myriad of events UO offers for free to students and community members continues well into the summer. On July 11, the UO Chamber Choir held their Bon Voyage concert before departing for New Zealand and Australia for the World Choir Games.

The Bon Voyage concert was a part of the now concluded Oregon Bach Festival that ran from June 28 to July 14. All of the Oregon Bach festival’s spectacular performances were free or a meager $5 for students to attend.

The Bon Voyage concert was a preview of the material conductor Sharon J. Paul and UO Chamber Choir will be bringing to the choir competitions and performances in New Zealand and Australia.

A particularly jaw dropping part of the performance was the dreamy “Earth Song,” written by Frank Ticheli, and how it flowed into the abrasive “Fire” by Katerina Gimon. “Fire” seemed to shock everyone, and several in attendance let out a gasp as stomps and screams filled the auditorium.

Another powerful piece of the production was the song “Meet Me Here” by Craig Hella Johnson. The song is a part of a larger work “Considering Matthew Shepard,” created as a tribute to the tragic murder of Matthew Shepard.

At the beginning of the piece, Julien Heller, a sophomore chemistry and applied voice student, had a wonderful solo that carried throughout the auditorium and stood out as one of the most emotional parts of the performance.

“The topic of that piece is so poignant and heavy, and so important to bring to the world,” Heller said. “It’s so wonderful that we get to share a story like this, and bring more awareness to these kinds of issues that we have.”

The first modern piece of the production was the ethereal “If I Were A Swan” by Kevin Puts, words by Fleda Brown in 2016. The piece was originally a poem by Brown put to music by Puts.

“There are not a lot of repeating patterns, so we, as a choir, have worked tirelessly on that song, trying to perfect it,” Colette Lajoie, a senior general music student, said.

And their work, reflected by the audience’s delight, paid off.

“I just think it’s beautiful. It talks a lot about staying present and the simplicity of a swan who just knows who they are and what they are,” Lajoie said. “I think it will be really interesting to share with the choirs at the World Choir Games.”

In highschool, Heller and Lajoie participated in the Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy as part of the Bach festival. It was here they both decided they wanted to continue their choral journey’s into college.

“I vividly remember that concert,” Heller said. “I was like, I want to do that. I want to be in that.”

Members of UO Chamber Choir are invited to sing with the Bach Festival chorus for several shows in the festival taking place across Eugene in its finest auditoriums.

“Having the opportunity for us as students to sing with this professional chorus is life changing,” Lajoie said. “They spread us out and mix us up in the professional course, so we have the opportunity to speak with these people, to network with them and to work with these amazing conductors and in this very professional setting is such a great experience for us to have.”

This experience can be transformative for the studying singers. And the opportunity to network and collaborate with top-rate singers is truly special.

“Everyone here is so wonderful, so nice and it’s such a welcoming community. You learn so, so, so much,” Heller said. “Just in these two weeks, I feel like I have grown exponentially as a performer.”

The two could not sing any higher praise for the Bach Festival. Heller said the festival has had a broad long lasting impact on both of their lives, especially as former members of the Strangeland choir.

This type of adoration is equally expressed toward the Dean of the School of Music and Dance, Sabrina Madison-Cannon.

“​​She has really stepped up to help us get to New Zealand and to make this tour possible for us, and so we’re eternally grateful for the work that she’s put in to make that happen for us,” Lajoie said.

The next UO Chamber Choir performance will be coming at the end of the Fall 2024 school term, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled for their shows. You won’t want to miss them.