Kent's Rainier Youth Choirs perform at Oregon festival

Kent's Rainier Youth Choirs traveled to the Pacific International Children's Choir Festival (PICCFEST) in Eugene, Ore., June 26-July 2, part of the Oregon Bach Festival.

Twenty-six members of the choir joined 10 other premier children choirs from Canada, Finland and throughout the United States.

The choirs sang for each other during a Sharing Our Songs Concert where RYC members Kenzie Visser, Makoto Také, and Zach and Sarah Martin performed solos. Rainier Youth Choirs received a standing ovation.

Bob Chilcott, whom The Observer described as "a contemporary hero of British Choral Music," led the combined PICCFEST Chorus and individual workshops with each choir. Under his direction, the choirs performed for the Oregon Bach Festival opening ceremony on June 29.

They later attended the Oregon Bach Festival Concert conducted by Maestro Helmut Rilling, which featured a concerto by Joshua Bell, one of the world's most celebrated violinists.

While staying at the University of Oregon, the choir visited Tracktown and viewed live Summer Olympic Trials on a big screen. On Sunday morning, Rainier Youth Choirs sang during worship in the sanctuary of Emmaus Lutheran Church. The event culminated with the PICCFEST Gala Concert July 1.

Rainier Youth Choirs will host its own Summer Choir Camp on Aug. 20-23 for local kids entering fourth through eighth grades. A $25 camp fee includes all clinic materials, a camp T-shirt, and a dinner for each camper and two guests.

For more information about attending the camp or auditioning to join the choral training organization, visit www.RainierYouthChoirs.org, call 253-347-0180, or email ryc@rainierchoralarts.org.

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