Music Professor Brings Hidden Voices to Stage

Katherine FitzGibbon secured a $6,350 Project Grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) for a recent Resonance Ensemble production. In addition to her work as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Lewis & Clark, Dr. FitzGibbon serves as the Artistic Director for this professional vocal ensemble. Described by Oregon ArtsWatch in 2012 as “one of Oregon’s most valuable musical resources”, Resonance Ensemble performances are motivated by the possibility of social change through music and intentionally explore “themes highlighting diverse solo and choral voices, new and underrepresented composers….” In pursuit of this mission, Resonance Ensemble’s October 2018 concert “Hidden Voices” served to amplify the voices of composers of color who wrote or are writing music that speaks to experiences of racial inequality in the United States. The music included the world premiere of a movement of bass-baritone and composer Damien Geter’s An African American Requiem (forthcoming June 2020), which focuses on violence against African Americans, and the West Coast premiere of Melissa Dunphy’s American Dreamers, with texts by five young Americans who came to the U.S. as undocumented children. RACC’s competitive Project Grant Program provides financial support for project-based arts programming, and their support for this particular concert, Hidden Voices, was commensurate with their Arts Equity & Access category. This grant provided funds for Resonance Ensemble to present this concert with their collaborators at Bethel A.M.E. Church (Portland’s oldest Black church) and their invited arts partners, Kingdom Sound Gospel Choir  and the BRAVO Youth Orchestra.