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©2006 Oregon Children's Choir & Youth Chorale. All rights reserved.
©2006 Oregon Children's Choir & Youth Chorale. All rights reserved.
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This page last updated 2006-05-08
"Life should not be measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away."
The Oregon Youth Chorale has experienced many of those moments when our breath was literally taken away by the beauty of our surroundings or the music we were privileged to sing. The summer of 2003 was a momentous one for the Chorale; it was the first time we had traveled and performed on our own and the tour was a phenomenal success.
From the moment we sold our first CD while in the departure lounge at the Portland Airport to the moment we touched back down at home once again, we encountered experience after experience that will be with us for the rest of our lives. Visiting the concentration camp at Dachau was eerie; we arrived there shortly after landing at the Munich Airport, and this noisy crowd of socially-active teenagers suddenly was silenced by what they saw and felt. My memory of those few hours is of individual singers walking or standing alone, lost in thought of the horror of what they were seeing. Not a beautiful experience, but certainly one that took our breath away.
The Chorale sang in magnificent settings--the Cathedral of St. Stephen for noonday Mass; an evening concert at St. Augustine in Vienna; the Salzburg Cathedral on a Sunday morning; St. Nicholas Church, the glorious old Hussite edifice on the square in Prague, with its massive crystal chandelier; the Abbey at Melk, filled with priceless works of art. All breathtaking experiences. But as is often the case, the most memorable moment came when and where we least expected it--at a little church called Donnerskirchen a few miles outside of Eisenstadt, Austria. We arrived to find an audience of parishioners who were not only eager to hear the choir, but who made known how pleased and impressed they were with our singing from the first song onward. Each song brought more applause. Individuals in the audience were holding their hands above their heads and clapping with great enthusiasm. The mayor of the town was there and sang a solo for all of us afterwards, the only American song he knew: "The Star-Spangled Banner." And when the concert ended and the choir processed down the center aisle, the congregation would not let us go--we simply had to sing more. "Loch Lomond" was never sung more beautifully as it was for that encore. It, too, was a breathtaking moment.
One of our singers, Heather Buxman, lost her mother while we were singing our concert in Prague. Melodie Buxman finally succumbed to Lou Gerig's Disease, and we returned home to participate in a moving memorial service which the Buxman family had planned. I think it very appropriate to include memories of Melodie and her life of service and dedication to her God and her world along with these special memories of the Oregon Youth Chorale. For these few brief days and weeks in the summer of 2003 we encountered the beauties of living, traveling, and making music in this wonderful world of ours, and and we also came face-to-face with death and the loss of a woman dearly beloved by many, many people.
Breathtaking moments. We have had more than our share.
Sandra R. Miller, Founder and Artistic Director
The Oregon Youth Chorale has experienced many of those moments when our breath was literally taken away by the beauty of our surroundings or the music we were privileged to sing. The summer of 2003 was a momentous one for the Chorale; it was the first time we had traveled and performed on our own and the tour was a phenomenal success.
From the moment we sold our first CD while in the departure lounge at the Portland Airport to the moment we touched back down at home once again, we encountered experience after experience that will be with us for the rest of our lives. Visiting the concentration camp at Dachau was eerie; we arrived there shortly after landing at the Munich Airport, and this noisy crowd of socially-active teenagers suddenly was silenced by what they saw and felt. My memory of those few hours is of individual singers walking or standing alone, lost in thought of the horror of what they were seeing. Not a beautiful experience, but certainly one that took our breath away.
The Chorale sang in magnificent settings--the Cathedral of St. Stephen for noonday Mass; an evening concert at St. Augustine in Vienna; the Salzburg Cathedral on a Sunday morning; St. Nicholas Church, the glorious old Hussite edifice on the square in Prague, with its massive crystal chandelier; the Abbey at Melk, filled with priceless works of art. All breathtaking experiences. But as is often the case, the most memorable moment came when and where we least expected it--at a little church called Donnerskirchen a few miles outside of Eisenstadt, Austria. We arrived to find an audience of parishioners who were not only eager to hear the choir, but who made known how pleased and impressed they were with our singing from the first song onward. Each song brought more applause. Individuals in the audience were holding their hands above their heads and clapping with great enthusiasm. The mayor of the town was there and sang a solo for all of us afterwards, the only American song he knew: "The Star-Spangled Banner." And when the concert ended and the choir processed down the center aisle, the congregation would not let us go--we simply had to sing more. "Loch Lomond" was never sung more beautifully as it was for that encore. It, too, was a breathtaking moment.
One of our singers, Heather Buxman, lost her mother while we were singing our concert in Prague. Melodie Buxman finally succumbed to Lou Gerig's Disease, and we returned home to participate in a moving memorial service which the Buxman family had planned. I think it very appropriate to include memories of Melodie and her life of service and dedication to her God and her world along with these special memories of the Oregon Youth Chorale. For these few brief days and weeks in the summer of 2003 we encountered the beauties of living, traveling, and making music in this wonderful world of ours, and and we also came face-to-face with death and the loss of a woman dearly beloved by many, many people.
Breathtaking moments. We have had more than our share.
Sandra R. Miller, Founder and Artistic Director
Choir III Tour to Austria and the Czech Republic
July 2003
July 2003
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2003 photos courtesy of Jamie Forsythe unless otherwise noted
Video clip:
Photos:
St. Nicholas Church on the Old Town Square in Prague was the spectacular setting for this Choir III selection, "The Lord is my Shepherd." The extremely live acoustics created by the intricately-detailed interior walls imparted a mystical, almost ethereal effect to the sounds of the flute and choir. The combination of setting, subject, and quality of performance brought tears to the eyes of many present.
The choir went on to perform at numerous venues over the next eight days in Vienna, Melk, Donnerskirchen, and Saltzburg before flying home to Oregon.
The choir went on to perform at numerous venues over the next eight days in Vienna, Melk, Donnerskirchen, and Saltzburg before flying home to Oregon.
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