Portland State University Choirs celebrate launch of 2025-26 season with release of new album

Portland State University Choirs present their 2025-2026 concert season, "Make Our Garden Grow,"directed by Grammy nominee Professor Coty Raven Morris and Dr. Ethan Sperry, launching in November 2025 and running through May 2026. The season marks the 50th anniversary of the acclaimed PSU Chamber Choir, opening with "Breaking Ground," featuring New York City's Fourth Wall Ensemble in a program spanning the music of Monteverdi to Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. Season highlights include a world premiere of Brad Hansen's "Medley of Carols" performed by jazz pianist Darrell Grant; a concert featuring the largest gathering of PSU Chamber Choir alumni ever assembled; and a final concert honoring our beloved City of Roses in a joyful celebration of growth, resilience, and choral excellence.

The choral season starts with an irresistible flourish: the release of the PSU Chamber Choir's latest album, The Songs Remain (Navona), on November 7, 2025. This luminous recording features tailor-made arrangements, including choral pieces recorded in 2024 at Skywalker Sound in Marin, California - considered by many to be among the highest quality recording facilities in the nation. The album also includes works written by the singers themselves, as well as soundscapes that embrace both the depth of classical tradition and the immediacy of popular song.

"The students in the Chamber Choir love being able to champion such magnificent music written by such talented young and up-and-coming composers," Sperry commented. "This entire album is made up of world premiere recordings that highlight how many great young composers are writing for choir."

The theme for the PSU choral season, Make Our Garden Grow, is inspired by lyrics from the rousing, stunningly beautiful finale of Leonard Bernstein's operetta Candide. Expressing an intention to set aside unrealistic expectations for life and instead do the hard work of making the world a better place, "the soaring chorus seems to be telling us that growing our garden is a metaphor for the flowering of mankind itself," wrote the maestro's daughter, Jamie Bernstein.

The season features eight programs highlighting the choral virtuosity of the award-winning PSU Chamber Choir (Ethan Sperry, director), the Rose and Thorn Choirs (collectively known as The Briar Chorus; Coty Raven Morris, director), PSU University and Community choirs, and special guests. For audience members who love a singalong, Community Sings in December and May invite everyone to join together in song. Chamber Choir alumni are invited to return to their alma mater for the May 17 concert.

Breaking Ground
Friday, November 14, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 15, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, 2408 SE 16th Avenue, Portland, Oregon

A concert featuring the PSU Chamber Choir, under the direction of Ethan Sperry, with special guests - New York City's acclaimed genre-bending professional vocal group Fourth Wall Ensemble - known for their fearless artistry and inventive programming. The program spans the centuries, from Claudio Monteverdi's shimmering Renaissance harmonies to the genius of Portland's own Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw.

Carmina Burana: Oregon Symphony
Thursday, November 20, 2025 & Saturday, November 22, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 23, 2025, 2 p.m.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, Portland, Oregon

PSU Chamber Choir, Rose Choir and Thorn Choir join the Oregon Symphony onstage at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for Carl Orff's earthy, raucous, thrilling Carmina Burana.

Unceasing Love: A Community Sing and Concert
Friday, December 5, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson Street, Portland, Oregon

"Unceasing love, O unceasing love, surpassing all we know." This enduring line from Stephen Paulus's "Pilgrims' Hymn" inspires this musical evening, which brings together Portland State University's community choirs and the Rose, Thorn and Briar choirs for a heartwarming winter celebration. Featuring global carols and festive harmonies, the program explores sacred and secular traditions through selections by beloved composers, including Coty Raven Morris herself, embracing the season's quiet reflection and communal joy through the unifying power of song.

A Holiday Garden: PSU Chamber Choir with Jazz Pianist Darrell Grant
Friday, December 12, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
First Baptist Church of Portland, 909 SW 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon

The holiday festivities continue as acclaimed jazz pianist Darrell Grant and the PSU Chamber Choir perform the world premiere of Brad Hansen's "Medley of Carols." The uplifting piece for piano and choir features a potent mix of jazz, gospel, and Latin styles, delivered with serious choral artistry. Holiday-themed jazz performed by Grant's trio rounds out the evening. Supported by a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), this concert will benefit music scholarships at PSU.

A South African Celebration with Michael Barrett
Sunday, February 22, 2026, 4 p.m.

PSU's Chamber, Rose and Thorn Choirs are joined by a citywide choir featuring Michael Barrett, conductor of the renowned Tuks Camerata, one of South Africa's most esteemed choral ensembles. With a focus on the power of musical storytelling, this concert celebrates how voices across generations and geographies intertwine.

Bloom
Friday, March 13, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson Street, Portland, Oregon

As spring blossoms begin to bloom, PSU's graduate students in choral conducting lead this recital, featuring performances by the Rose, Thorn, Community and University choirs and showcasing fresh conducting talent and imaginative programming by the next generation of choral educators and leaders.

Make Our Garden Grow: Chamber Choir and Alumni 50th Anniversary Celebration
Sunday, May 17, 2026, 4 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson Street, Portland, Oregon

Audiences are invited to celebrate 50 years of the PSU Chamber Choir with what is expected to be the largest gathering of PSU choir alumni voices ever assembled. Under the baton of Dr. Ethan Sperry, the Chamber Choir will perform music by Whitacre, Esenvalds, Barber, Hogan, and more.

City of Roses: A Community Sing and Concert
Friday, May 29, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson Street, Portland, Oregon

The Rose, Thorn, Briar, University and Community Choirs, directed by Coty Raven Morris, present the final concert of the season, gathering the fruits of a year's labor in a joyful, heartfelt celebration of growth. With music that honors transformation, resilience, and reflection, this concert closes the circle -- sharing the musical abundance nurtured throughout the season of song.

Tickets ($10 to $50) are now on sale for all performances on the PSU Box Office website, by phone at 503-725-3305, or at the PSU Box Office at 1825 SW Broadway. Limited $5 Arts for All tickets are available for eligible patrons; see the Box Office for more information.

Learn more at https://www.pdx.edu/music-theater/psu-choirs-2025-2026-season.

*Tickets for Carmina Burana are available at https://www.orsymphony.org/productions/2526/carmina-burana