Who We Are at Columbia River Chorus
Meet Our Director
We are under the direction of a dynamic and multitalented young new Director, Elissa Riman. Elissa has brought a fresh look to the chorus and has lifted us to new levels.
Performance
The main purpose of Columbia River Corus is to get out and sing for our community. We sing at annual shows, a number of community events, and at an annual competition.
Education
In addition to sharing our music with others another great passion of ours is learning more about the art of a cappella singing. Vocal instruction is a regular part of chorus rehearsals and a very important component of the chorus experience. Several times a year, we will get coaching from a visiting master in the art of barbershop, where we learn many fabulous tricks of the trade.
Competition
In the spring of every year, Columbia River Chorus participates in the Region 13 Chorus competition. Competitions are a special time for quartets and choruses to come together, sing for each other, and get some constructive feedback from a panel of judges. The winners of the Regional Competition in both quartet and chorus categories travel to International Competition, which is held in the fall.
One of our Quartets: Remix
Remix was born on August 24th, 2021 when the fabulous Nancy Kurth (Bass) asked Jen McDonnell to be her replacement in Rave. Shirley Price (Lead) also retired, then Rave became Remix. This quartet was short-lived. They participated in a few shows toward the end of the pandemic. They worked hard and finally competed for the first time at regional contest in May 2024. They did well and did not come in last. This was Jen's first time competing in a quartet at contest.
Clockwise from bottem left, Jane, Katy, Gail, Jen.
Another Quartet:
This could be you!!
Affiliations
Columbia River is a chapter of Sweet Adelines International, a non-profit organization of approximately 21,000 members in choruses and quartets, worldwide. The Headquarters is in Tulsa, Oklahoma. .
Sweet Adelines International is separated into 24 Regions that span the globe. They welcome singers from all nationalities and backgrounds to join in the joy of barbershop harmony. Region 13 has 26 Choruses, 30 quartets, 5 judges, 1 certified arranger and more than 800 members. There are choruses in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Was
Sweet Adelines International is separated into 24 Regions that span the globe. They welcome singers from all nationalities and backgrounds to join in the joy of barbershop harmony. Region 13 has 26 Choruses, 30 quartets, 5 judges, 1 certified arranger and more than 800 members. There are choruses in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Our Region covers 800,000 square miles. Our longest running chorus is A Cappella Joy in Kirkland, WA and our youngest Chorus is Song of Seattle.
Mission Statement:
The Young Women in Harmony program reaches out to young women through the American musical art form of barbershop harmony. Its goal is to provide educational and performance opportunities and to offer music educators a means of including the study and performance of barbershop in school music programs.