Concert brings unity to Union County

Choir concert brings unity to Union County

Oct. 11, 2019 LA GRANDE, Ore. –  A decade-old tradition brings unity to communities in and around La Grande at the Choirs of the Valley concert. Through music, “the young, old and anyone in between” come together, said Peter Wordelman, EOU Chamber Choir Conductor.

Sponsored by Red Cross Drug Store, Choirs of the Valley is set to take place at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 17 in McKenzie Theater.

Historically the kick off to homecoming weekend, the event happens every year on the third Thursday of October. Almost all 446 seats in McKenzie Theatre fill up.

Five local choirs partake in the musical performance, including the La Grande, Hermiston and Milton-Freewater High Schools, the Grande Ronde Community Choir and the EOU Chamber Choir. All of the choirs open their performance season with this collaborative event.

Wordelman said the fall concert exposes many community members and rural students to local choral music, solidifying EOU’s role as the educational and cultural engine of the region.

“Since a lot of our students came from small high schools, they are not used to hearing larger high school choirs,” said Wordelman. “Students tell me that they like to hear the high school choirs perform, especially if they were a part of it.”

For the high school students, this is a time when they can come together before the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) choir competition. La Grande High School, an esteemed choir, has taken first place six times, with Milton-Freewater coming in second in 2019.

“This is a great way for everyone to share what they have been working on” Wordelman said. A fun-spirited and quick taste of everyone’s pieces sets the tone for the rest of the year.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Peter Wordleman or pwordelm@eou.edu.

Written by PR Intern Briana Rosenkranz.