Choir heads to Marylhurst

The MHCC Chamber Choir will participate today in a college choir invitational at Marylhurst University.

Other school choirs participating are from Marylhurst, Clark College, PCC Rock Creek and St. Mary’s Academy.

Kevin Lambert, MHCC choir instructor, said that although the event is not a competition, all audiences judge. He said his singers are ready.

“We’ve been preparing all quarter for this concert. I introduced two of the harder songs in the beginning weeks of the quarter, and they’re coming along very well,” Lambert said.

Two of the songs they will be singing are “Contre-qui, Rose,” by Portland native Morten Lauridsen, and “With a Lily In Your Hand,” by Eric Whitacre.

“These are two of the pre-eminent choral composers writing in America today, and two of the composers students most enjoy singing,” Lambert said.

The Chamber Choir will end its performance with an arrangement of the U2 song, “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” which will be “set for gospel choir and electric guitar,” he said.

“It’s been a unique challenge to transform our overall sound to that of a gospel choir for a couple minutes, so that our songs sound very different from each other.”

Lambert says his students hope to “make a very bold statement to the singers in the other choirs that our singers at MHCC have done their work.”

The choir will also perform on Dec. 4 in the Mt. Hood Student Union at the “Scrooge Lives” holiday crafts event.