FORIS CHOIR

Connecting, Nurturing & Amplifying New Voices

Foris is a chamber choir focused exclusively on supporting emerging composers. We do this through high quality performances and by creating a welcoming space for them to engage with one another and with experienced singers as they further develop their craft. Established in 2018, Foris was founded and led by Kate Sattler, working closely with Associate Director Marisa Wildeman and a community of volunteer artists.

CLICK ON the concert programs below for a list of featured composers, participating singers, and seasonal conductors, along with the works performed.

NOTE: We’ve been on indefinite hiatus since the COVID pandemic began in 2020.

Our Composers: The majority of composers whose works we’ve performed have never heard their music publicly sung before. They meet with the choir during the 8-week rehearsal process to hear the work in progress, share insights about their composition, and get feedback from singers. We also offer workshops where composers can bring works-in-progress and get feedback from experienced composers, conductors, and singers.

Our Music: We select music through free and open calls for submissions to create a beautiful, varied, and dynamic mix of choral music. We use open-ended themes and submission criteria to be as inclusive as possible so composers can submit the work they care about most. We seek works that allow our singers to stretch themselves individually and as a group.

Our Choir: We offer a singer experience that’s welcoming, fun, nurturing, and challenging. The choir is open to all, regardless of musical background. Our choir includes singers from the region’s most respected and well-known choirs, along with singers who are brand new to the choral experience.

Our Conductors: Foris also has a conductor residency program, providing opportunities for emerging conductors to lead a choir through a rehearsal season and a performance.

Our Concerts: Foris has had two successful performance seasons with both concerts well attended and well received. Music by a diverse group of emerging composers was performed, along with audience engagement activities,

Testimonials

“Thank for you for creating this potentially career launching opportunity for choral composers.”

“Thank you for your acute understanding of the challenges facing the living classical composer.”

“Loved singing with Foris. Love singing new works by such talented composers. Love the community.”

“I was so thrilled to sing with Foris last summer. It had been years since I had an opportunity to sing with a choir, and Foris was a welcoming place and a truly unique experience.”

“Thank you for the amazing opportunity to have a read through of one of my unpremiered choir works! It already sounds so much better!”

“Foris is doing great things for Portland singers and emerging composers.”

“We’re especially blessed to have a variety of local choirs and chamber groups commissioning and performing music by Oregon composers, consider Fear No Music, Resonance Ensemble, Oregon Repertory Singers, Foris Choir, and Third Angle New Music.” - Oregon ArtsWatch

Our Goals

• Create a free, inclusive, welcoming platform for emerging composers to hear their work publicly performed while building recognition and a portfolio

• Create a mutually supportive space for composers and singers to develop their voice and skills

• Broaden perception of who is and who can be a choral composer, engaging composers across a variety of genres including those without formal/classical training

• Foster connections among diverse composers, singers, musicians who share a passion for storytelling and justice

• Influence programming among other ensembles to promote inclusive musical selection and emerging talent

Why It Matters

Foris believes choral music is a limitless art form that should be accessible to everyone, yet it remains racially and economically exclusive with few opportunities for emerging composers to hear their work performed. Composers often compete for performance opportunities through calls for submissions that require: submission fees; investment of time and labor to create original work that fits narrow guidelines (with no guarantee of performance); definitions of "emerging" that apply only to youth; formal classical music training; use of expensive composition software, and more. These barriers exclude so many artists, not only from sharing their original compositions, but from pursuing choral music in general. The community in turn misses out on imaginative voices. Foris is excited to create an open platform for composers, conductors, and singers alike to grow their skills, voices, visibility and confidence together and to raise awareness of and eliminate these barriers.

Contact: forischoir@gmail.com