Portland Boychoir was established in 2003 as an independent non-profit organization. A high-school program for boys and girls was added in August 2005 and was named Ovation soon thereafter. The two programs operated under an umbrella organization called Portland Choirs. Singers in both Portland Boychoir and Ovation Show Choir received rigorous training in music literacy, harmony, ear training and stage presence. Ovation continued performances until 2019. 

While there are other children’s choirs who operate in the Portland area, none offers the three main ingredients that make Portland Choirs unique: 1) a design model ensuring low student to teacher ratio with Artistic Director, 2) a training program that addresses the specific needs of boys and honors the traditional boychoir art form, and 3) one on one voice training, with solo opportunities. Each student who participates in our program is well-known to the artistic director and enjoys the benefits of personal attention to meet each child’s unique vocal needs and talents.

Spring of 2020 brought challenges that we never imagined experiencing outside of some action-packed movie. The effects have impacted all of us, but our children have felt it the most with school and their social lives turned upside down. We have made changes to our 2020-2021 season to streamline our choir offerings, moving rehearsals online, and now offering one-on-one voice coaching for every member. Music plays a vital role in our lives, and mental health, as well as creating an environment for community that must continue no matter the circumstances. Sometimes we just have to get even more creative. We are looking forward to what’s ahead and we are excited to continue to create music together.