Sorry it's a little late but here's the final results. Thanks to University Communications for posting this news on our behalf:

The Portland State Chamber Choir won the first-place in Adult Mixed Choir category at the 16th International Choral Kathaumixw on July 4. 

Started in 1984, the International Choral Kathaumixw competition puts a strong focus on global partnership through music. This year's competition featured both youth and adult choirs from nine countries during the week-long competition held July 1-5 at the Powell River Academy of Music in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada.

Portland State's choir also took two second place awards in both the Contemporary Choral Music and the Folk & Cultural Traditions categories. Portland State students Joanna Meline and Saori Erickson took first place victories in their respective soloist categories as well.

"This was really a life-changing week for an amazing group of students," said PSU choir director Ethan Sperry. "There are so many phenomenal choirs singing here and it's an honor to be among them and to be counted at the top of that list."

We're very proud of how it turned out. Congratulations to St. Stanislav's Academy Youth Chorus from Slovenia for winning the Choir of the World and the Totem Pole! And a huge thank you to all of our supporters.

Greetings, faithful readers!  First, let me thank you for taking this journey with us as we have travelled to Powell River, Canada.  When you read this blog, we know your heart joins with us as we share our music and our lives with the people we meet along the way. 

     As the Kathalmixw competition continues into the week, the Chamber Choir is rallying to face more and more difficult challenges with aplomb and, more importantly, an ever-increasing sense of community and support.

     Wednesday was the main category of the competition here in Powell River, and our own set consisted of:

Christus Factus Est -Anton Bruckner
The Coolin -Samuel Barber
Hallelujah -Leonard Cohen, arr. Ethan Sperry

Hello from roommates Jaclyn, Genna, and Lily!

Powell River is absolutely, exquisitely beautiful. We had our largest amount of free time today to do some exploring around the town. Half of the alto section woke up early to take an amazing run through the area surrounding the hotel, and let us tell you, while Mt Hood is stunning, it ain't nothing compared to Powell River. 

Hi! Alto Emily Skeen here to report on day two of the wild Chamber Choir excursion to Canada. Yesterday was our long travel day that included hundreds of miles driving, two ferry rides, and a whole lot of coffee. 

After a wonderful evening having deep discussions, playing video games, singing with kids, and being VERY well fed by our amazing home stay families in Marysville, Washington, we were back on the road. We made it to Vancouver by noon, and after a brief detour/excursion/wrong turn through the city, one shockingly rude Canadian driver, a sighting of a gray kilt-wearing, beard-having, top hat-rocking Vancouverite, and a playground/bathroom stop we made it through the surprisingly busy city to make it to the first ferry terminal by 2pm. 

Then, after a game of inter-van, radio battleship we made it to the second ferry right on time, where we encountered one of our competitors, a high school choir from Slovenia. Now I know what you’re thinking, we really want that totem pole, but we had a lot of fun talking with them and are very excited to see them perform this week. 

We arrived in Powell River at 8:30pm, and quickly made our way to our adorable oceanside hotel to get settled in. Surprisingly the sun had not set quite yet and we enjoyed another full hour of Canadian sunshine while we unpacked and began to explore the area. After everyone had eaten and explored to their hearts content we celebrated in true Chamber Choir fashion and, to our credit, only had to be (very politely, of course) asked to quiet down once. 

It’s sunny, warm, not to mention beautiful outside today, and we’re excited for kayaking, local food, and of course the opening ceremonies! Stay tuned to hear the next chapters of our tour in wild Canadia!