About CRC

We are the Columbia River Chorus, a diverse group of women aged from youth to maturity who share a love of singing, growing together in our quest toward musical excellence. Our award-winning chorus includes members from Vancouver, St. Johns, Portland, Tigard, Beaverton, West Linn, Scappoose, St. Helens, Ridgefield, LaCenter, and Camas.

We sing barbershop-style a cappella music, which is sung in four parts. The melody is called the "Lead". Above that is a part called "Tenor". This requires light, clear, high voices. The lowest part is called "Bass", and is read in bass clef, one octave up. The remaining part is called "Bari" or "Baritone", and this is rather like an alto line that goes above and below the melody line. Bari is also read in bass clef, one octave up.

This genre of music is based on chords that produce clear overtones, which is very exciting to achieve. Hitting the tuning and overtones right is called "ringing the chord", and it is thrilling, giving both performers and audience goose bumps when it happens!

We sing music with expression and emotion, including sometimes using small choreographed moves that add excitement and/or fun as the piece calls for it. The music is memorized, with the exception of the winter holiday season repertoire. We do performances as hired or requested year round for public events, corporate business events, and private parties.

The chorus distributes practice tapes/CDs for learning the songs, in addition to the sheet music, and this makes it pretty easy to memorize the songs. Some of our current repertoire includes: After You've Gone, Another Op'ning, Cabaret, Fame, God Bless America, How Deep Is The Ocean, New Orleans, Once Upon A Time, Singin' In The Rain, and Let Freedom Ring. For the holiday season, some of our songs are: Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells/Sleigh Ride, O Come All Ye Faithful, Do You See What I See, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and Angels We Have Heard On High.

The Columbia River Chorus has been a chapter of Sweet Adelines International for 45 years, and we participate in an annual regional competition each spring. The region we are in, Region 24, is comprised of Oregon, parts of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Columbia River is an award-winning chorus that took first place small chorus in 2007, and third place overall! We are seeking to grow into a mid-size chorus (31-60 on stage). We hold ourselves to a high musical standard but also have a lot of fun and laughter during rehearsals!

Women who are looking for an exciting musical experience are invited to come and sing with us at our Monday night rehearsals.