Nearly 50 Years of Music, Made with Heart

The Eugene Concert Choir is a resident company of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, and the organization is made up of three performing ensembles. At its center is the Eugene Concert Choir itself, a 100-voice Masterworks chorus. Alongside it is Eugene Vocal Arts, a chamber choir, and both are supported by the Eugene Concert Orchestra, the group's professional orchestra.

The choir's programming draws on the great works of the classical tradition, including pieces by Beethoven and Mozart, as well as crowd favorites such as Carmina Burana, which is on the schedule for the current season. Artistic and Executive Director Diane Retallack notes that the response from audiences is deeply felt. "I can't tell you how many comments we get of people saying, 'I was moved to tears,'" she says, describing singers who perform with unmistakable heart.

Now in its 49th season, the Eugene Concert Choir has become woven into the cultural fabric of Eugene. Retallack describes a community that genuinely depends on what the choir provides, saying the audiences keep coming back because the music gives them something they need. That sustained connection, built over nearly five decades, speaks to the choir's place not just on a stage but in the lives of the people it serves.

Retallack is candid about why Eugene is the right home for an organization like this. She describes the city as beautiful and lush, and points to an arts scene, spanning performing arts, visual arts, and dance, that she says outpaces most cities of comparable size. People seek Eugene out, she notes, drawn specifically by how vibrant the arts community here has become.