A young singer's story from Eugene (where I am headed next week) -- Singing in choir a heavenly experience By AMBER HICKS For The Register-Guard THE INTRODUCTION starts. I am completely absorbed and there is no turning back now. My head is held high, my shoulders are back and I stand up straight with a bright smile. My eyes are fixed on the conductor. The sound of the orchestra takes me to a peaceful part of my soul. One deep breath on the pickup note as I am cued and I my mouth opens wide. The energy I have collected in hours and hours of practice is released through my mouth. Two hundred voices join the orchestra. It brings pleasure to my ear. The second movement begins. The music flows through the glory and beauty of a Latin text. It rises high and far into the sanctuary. We are halfway through. It has been flawless. The music continues into the fourth and final movement. "Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace)." My emotions are overflowing. The cutoff is clear. The walls hold the reverberation of the last note, reflecting my desire for the music to never end. The beauty of "Messe Basse" by Gabriel Faure brings tears to my eyes. I am in heaven, or close to it. At least that's how it feels in this moment at the end of our festival experience in Eugene as part of last year's Pacific International Children's Choir. Music has always been a major part of my life. I love to perform. It gives me so much joy and nurtures my spirit. Many times it has been a way for me to express thoughts and feelings I could not communicate verbally. I have been given the gift of song and I cherish it. I'm off to college next fall, bringing an end to eight years as a member of the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir. Without a doubt, singing and traveling with the choir has been one the highlights of my youth. During that time, we have given concerts in Canada and throughout the Northwest in addition to traveling to Denmark for the Three Spires Children's Choral Festival, Italy for the Tuscany International Choral Festival and Australia for the Pacific Connection Four Choir Festival. We have been directed by some of the world's great youth choir conductors: Doreen Rao, Jean Ashworth Bartle and Stephen Leek. I have great memories of some wonderful choir festivals. But you don't have to travel around the world for a similar experience. Just around the bend in Eugene is the Pacific International Children's Choir Festival. Last June, we joined guest conductor Judith Willoughby and five other choirs for the festival's debut. Choirs included Phoenix Boys Choir (Arizona), Coquitlam District Children's Concert Choir (British Columbia), The Elm City Girls' choir (Connecticut), Die Meistersinger Children's Choir (British Columbia) and the Oregon Girlchoir (Eugene). Before arriving, all the choirs had learned a common repertoire. We spent several hours each day rehearsing as a festival chorus of 220 conducted by Willoughby in preparation for two performances. The first of these was the featured event of the Oregon Bach Festival Opening Ceremonies on the steps of the Hult Center. After three more days of rehearsing and perfecting our music, we sang the Gala Concert along with the Oregon Mozart Players orchestra, the final event of a very full week. As a unified group, we raised our voices in song. Each choir presented its own music in two Sharing Our Songs concerts. Since the festival was designed as a noncompetitive event, everyone was free to enjoy each other's performances without the anxiety of competition. This choir tour was most memorable for me for many reasons. When we first arrived, a personalized welcome was posted on each of our dorm room doors and a bag of goodies was on our beds. In the bag was a festival shirt, a tie-dye bandanna, some sweets, stamped picture postcards (have to keep the supporters happy back home) and the singer's required equipment: a water bottle. We immediately felt welcome and at home. That's no easy feat for an event hosting 220 young people and 50 adults from four states and two countries. But at every point, the festival staff was focused on the kids' needs with regard to schedule, pace, accommodations and activities. It was smoothly run, had a broad array of choirs and it was musically challenging. The week was filled of meeting new people, watching others perform, lots of singing and playing together in a beautiful place. What could be closer to heaven than that? ------------ Amber Hicks is a 1999 graduate of Sunset High School in Beaverton. In the fall, she plans to attend Cornell College in Iowa and study performing arts. Janos Gereben/SF [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]