Lonnie Cline leads a combined choir of over 100 singers from Clackamas Community College Chamber Choir, Unistus Chamber Choir, members of Estonian mixed choirs from the West Coast and from Ontario, Canada, along with members from the Portland Symphonic Choir, Oregon Repertory Singers, Bach Cantata Choir, and the Oregon City High School Singers, together with a 32 member orchestra, in this concert to be remembered.
The opening ceremony commences with a regal, narrated procession of West Coast Estonian Festival Emblems from 1953 through the current festival.
The first half of the concert begins with Cyrillus Kreek’s “Requiem”, the first requiem ever written by an Estonian composer. Kreek composed this majestic piece between 1925 to 1927. It was first performed on October 20, 1929 in Tallinn, by the Estonian Music Department mixed choir and the Estonian Symphonic Orchestra. This monumental composition is truly magnificent, with discernable themes from Estonian folk music. The Opening Ceremony Concert for the Estonian West Coast Festival of 2011 will be the first performance of Kreek’s “Requiem”, with full orchestration, on the North American continent.
The second half of the concert features Estonian choral works such as “Koit” (Dawn) by Tõnis Mägi, “Mu Isamaa on minu arm” by Gustav Ernesaks was arguably the most important Estonian song during the Soviet occupation, “Laul põhjamaast” (Song of the Northern Land) by Ülo Vinter, “Lõikuse laul” by Gustav Ernesaks, and “Väikemaa” by Urmas Lattikas.
Lonnie Cline, Director of Vocal Activities at Clackamas Community College, holds a B.A. in Music Education, Vocal Specialist from Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID. He studied for an M.A. in Choral Conducting at the Universtiy of Oregon in Eugene, where he was a graduate teaching fellow and director of two University jazz ensembles. Clackamas Community College vocal groups have performed in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe. Most recently, the Chamber Singers toured Europe and performed in Tallinn, Estonia at the World Estonian Friendship Song and Dance Festival. Over the past 30 years, Lonnie Cline has served as adjudicator/clinician throughout the world. In 1998, he served as a Jazz artist/teacher in residence at the Georg Ots Music School in Estonia.
Lonnie Cline, Unistus, and the Clackamas Community College Chamber Choir, have been substantial supporters of the Portland Estonian Community through choral music since 1994.
Map to St. Mary’s Academy:
