We Have a Winner . . . . .

On Friday, April 15, 2011 at 9:00 a.m., Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra gave away a 2011 Ford Mustang Convertible!

Executive Director Betsy Hatton takes a look at the drum full of 1800+ tickets.

And the lucky winner is Barb Malcom of Gladstone. "Oh my. Thank you very much. I'm so excited."

Bess Wills of Gresham Ford draws the winning stub as ED Betsy Hatton and Board President Cindy Passannante look on.

Barb Malcom gets the keys to her new Ford Mustang!

The drawing was the culmination of nine months of hard work by the board members, staff, and players to sell 3000 tickets to help raise funds to support the orchestra's music making. Ms. Malcom purchased her $20 ticket just the week before and says she'll definitely be coming to our concerts in the future.

Congratulations Barb and a hearty thank you to everyone who purchased tickets to support PCSO.

Honoring Cindy Passannante

Gresham Chamber Event on February 1, 2011

The Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra is proud to celebrate its volunteer of the year!

And the 2011 Golden Note Award goes to . . . . .

Cindy Passannante, Board President!

Cindy Passannante is probably known to all of you because she is currently serving on five community non-profit boards in addition to running her own business and teaching a tourism class at Mt. Hood Community College. She also enjoys an active family life with her husband Tony, children, and grandchildren.

Tony and Cindy

Cindy brings passion, commitment, and tireless energy to our organization as President of the Board. She not only enjoys our music but particularly values how the shared experience of attending a live classical orchestra concert bonds friends,

families, and community together. Thank you Cindy, for your creative ideas, keen interest in building relationships, and for working tirelessly on a thin budget for the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra. We appreciate everything you do for us and for this community−you make a huge difference. Thank you!

Holiday Greetings from the Maestro

To all my Portland Columbia Symphony Friends,

My memories are varied and copious—most I will keep very private. The Holidays are a special time, though increasingly stressful it seems, and as I get older I become more nostalgic about Christmases from my childhood; Christmas is about the birth of a child and it brings out the child in us. I must admit, the Holidays start so early over here! Back in Britain we don’t have Thanksgiving a month before, so Christmas starts much later, when schools break up and often folks only put up their tree on Christmas Eve. (Need I remind you the “Twelve Days of Christmas” only start on Christmas Day!) I do like hearing carols as several of them may be the only universal folk music we now possess.

So, some salient and vivid memories are: seeing my grandparents and parents get up at about 5 AM on Christmas morning once my big brother and I were given permission (after much nagging) to run downstairs and open our presents; my sleep-deprived and dressing gown-clad grandfather always made a tray of tea for the oldies! I recall going around the neighborhood on Christmas Eve singing carols with a friend from the St. Paul’s choir (Simon Dean); we especially appreciated it when some homes would give us 50 pence to sod off! Going for a walk with my dad late on Christmas afternoon—after our epicurean feast and watching the annual Queen’s speech to the Commonwealth on the BBC—when it was dark and invariably drizzling, and walking by houses with their festive lights and decorations wondering what their Christmas Day traditions were like. Being in the spacious York Minster one year for a Carol Service; for once I almost felt like I was in the manger with the baby Jesus. My Scottish friend Spence Meighan (so dearly missed) giving a cozy, fireside reading of poetry and prose inspired by the Season (T.S. Eliot, G. Manly Hopkins, Thomas Hardy, Dickens etc). His rendition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ballad Christmas at Sea was scalp-tingling, with its prophetic closing line, “But all that I could think of, in the darkness and the cold, was just that I was leaving home and my folks were growing old.” Walking around Vienna one year on December 22 & 23 was truly moving, and I also can never forget one Christmas when I was plagued with a painful inflammation of the pharynx; my Christmas dinner was turkey soup through a straw—a tragedy as my mum’s Yuletide cooking is a joy to behold!

Ah yes, Christmas does conjure up many indelible memories and emotions; it is, indeed, a special time. It is hard being away from home at Christmas, there is definitely a gravitational pull about it for an expatriate, so I get more nostalgic by the year. But, sadly, nostalgia is just not what it used to be…

Huw Edwards, Music Director & Conductor

A Holiday Gift of Music

Our Holiday Gift to you: Peter & The Wolf with puppets from Tears of Joy AND the joyous voices of the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir.




Your Holiday Gift to us: Great artwork from school children and a very full house attending the concert.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra!

Brad Hochhalter, Principal Oboe

Few musicians have such devotion to PCSO as principal oboe player Brad Hochhalter. When his full time job at Kaiser moved him to the Bay area, Brad commuted weekly to PCSO rehearsals and concerts.

Read James Bash' great story at Oregon Music News on Brad's commitment to making quality music with PCSO.

Thanks Brad - - - we appreciate you!

We Appreciate Our Patrons, Donors, & Supporters

On Sunday, November 21 we gathered for an afternoon of wine and hors d'oeuvres at the home of Cliff and Karen Deveney to say thank you to our wonderful supporters and friends. Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra is in its 29th concert season because of the generosity of its audience, the Board of Directors, and community members who faithfully support it.

We simply cannot say it enough: Thank you very much!

Special musical guests Jessica Carter (5) on the violin, Caitlyn Koester (16) on the piano, and Amy Natzke (PCSO Assistant Concertmaster) entertained the patrons. Once again, it is clear that music is a 'sport' you can participate in your entire life.

Art Pillars Dedicated on the Plaza in Gresham

The 'trumpet' and the 'paintbrush'!

Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra extends its congratulations to the Center for the Arts Foundation for completing the next phase of the arts plaza in downtown Gresham. On hand to celebrate the occasion were the musicians of the Portland Brass Quintet (PCSO members Greg Scholl on Trombone and Allan Stromquist on horn).

The 'paintbrush'

The four art pillars were designed and constructed by Seattle artist Claudia Fitch. They represent the four major art fields: performing arts, music, visual arts, literary arts.

Claudia Fitch talks about the research and design of the four pillars. Note the lovely stained glass piece donated to the Center by a local artist on the occasion of this dedication!

Congratulations to the City of Gresham! PCSO looks forward to the day when a performance hall sits on this site and they are the resident orchestra!

The 'pen wearing a tutu'