A group of past and present PDX Vox singers and friends gathered at McMenamins Kennedy School on a rainy January evening to celebrate our founder, Marie Schumacher, on her retirement from leadership of PDX Vox

We’ll miss Marie’s leadership! At the same time, we’re grateful that she has built such a robust organization and is leaving it in the capable hands of managing director Molly Mickley and music director Aaron Elliott, supported by program administrator Alison Jakel. (Yes, it does indeed take 3 people to replace Marie’s incredible set of skills and talents).

If you weren’t able to be there (or simply want to relive the moment), you can watch Marie’s closing words, as well as the tributes made by staff and singers, by clicking on the image below.

Instructor-in-training Rachel Evered, keeping the Wednesday group on track as usual.

Please join us at our Song Showcase on December 9th to experience our singers’ fall repertoire, as well as Marie’s last show as a part of the PDX Vox staff. Here are the details:

When: Saturday, December 9 at 3:00 PM

Where: Central Lutheran, 1820 NE 21st Ave.

What: Five PDX Vox groups will each present 3 songs, then the groups will combine for shared songs at the end.

After the concert, join us for a short Afterglow Party in the Fellowship Hall across the hall from our concert. Come chat with singers and instructors, share memories with Marie, and enjoy a song or two from one of our break-out groups, Dame Nation, as well as a sing-along rendition of our newer version of The Parting Glass.

Where we came from…

In the fall of 2004, Marie gathered a group of 14 people in the basement choir room of Central Lutheran Church to sing a cappella music together. This 8-week experiment that she named “PDX Vox” combined Marie’s love of a cappella singing with her background in education and psychology. She hoped to create a joyful vocal and social experience for both new and experienced a cappella singers. The group staged a modest performance for friends and family in that basement room around Halloween, with Monster Mash as the sing-along.

The number of singers doubled for the next session, and by 2006, PDX Vox had grown to 3 groups of 20 singers each. Marie led these groups on her own until 2010, when she hired Eric Chung to take over the Monday evening group, and David Anderson, to co-teach and eventually take over the Wednesday group. Marie has continued to mentor new instructors over the years, building a team that share her delight in creating community through a cappella singing.

Where we are now…

Marie’s spirit of collaboration and mentorship has been an ongoing strength of PDX Vox over the years. Longtime instructor Aaron Elliott took over the reins in the role of Music Director this summer. Marie has spent the fall co-teaching with our newest instructor-in-training, and meeting regularly with PDX Vox’s new owner Molly Mickley to mentor her in her new role as PDX Vox’s owner and managing director.

As she reaches the end of her tenure with PDX Vox, Marie reflects on her time with PDX Vox, and her hopes for its future, below:

Q: What aspect(s) of PDX Vox are you especially proud of?

A: Gosh - so many things! I'm proud of the fact that PDX Vox has evolved in fun and exciting ways, and yet it has also maintained a strong sense of tradition. I'm also proud of the way the staff and I created an online program during Covid and bounced back into our in-person program successfully. Finally, I'm proud of how the program balances the social needs of people with the artistry of bringing the musical arrangements to life. 

Q: What did your time leading PDX Vox teach you about creativity?

A: I've learned that everyone has their own relationship with understanding music, appreciating music, and learning musical parts. From a teaching perspective, this means it's a complex and creative process to help all types of singers learn music and be satisfied and successful in a group setting.

I also have learned a lot about creativity through arranging so many songs. I certainly learned a lot about songwriting by analyzing hundreds of songs enough to arrange them for Vox. It was a great education for me!

Q: What are your hopes for the future of PDX Vox?

My hope is that the program stays strong and maintains a balance of rigor and accessibility, for the long-time members and for new members as well. I want the program to continue welcoming new singers of all levels and backgrounds. I think Vox has the potential to grow in all kinds of interesting ways in the post-pandemic world. With more people working from home, there's a bigger need to be part of intentional communities based on interests.

Marie's next chapter

Moving forward, Marie will continue her work as a creativity coach and small business consultant. She plans to spend more time writing songs and stories, recording music, and taking classes to keep her skills sharp! She'll split her time between Portland, Fort Collins, CO, and southeastern New England.

Marie writes a monthly blog about creativity in the arts and beyond. You can sign up for her newsletter here and you can email her at marie@marieschumacher.com

One of our last Summer Sings on the patio of Common Ground

Our registration process is slightly different this semester

We’re updating our singer database, and so we’re asking all singers to fill out one of two pre-enrollment forms in order to sign up for a choir. Once your form is submitted, you’ll be assigned to a choir according to your preferences and our space limitations, prior to being sent a link to make a payment.

If this will be your first time singing with PDX Vox, or you’ve been away for a while, please click on the link below and fill out the New Singer form on our website:

 New Singers Sign-up Form 

 Or, if you’ve sung with PDX Vox within the past couple of years, click the button below to sign up as a returning singer:

 Returning Singers Sign-up Form 

We currently have openings for new singers in 3 choirs:

• Mondays 7-9 pm with Katy Ohsiek
  (This group will spend 15-20 minutes each week on improving music reading and sight singing skills. Join this group if you are interested in sharpening your technical music tools as well as having fun preparing songs for performance!)

• Wednesdays 7-9 pm with Marie Schumacher and our new instructor-in-training, Rachel Evered

• Thursdays 7-9 pm with Hannah Hazelwood

Each of these three groups hold rehearsals at our Northeast Portland location (1820 NE 21st Ave).

Our two Southeast Portland groups, which are both now wait-listed, will meet at 2800 SE Harrison St.

We also have openings in our Free Bird program for returning singers who are interested in joining in on the All Group songs without committing to weekly rehearsals. More detailed information about this program is available on our Choirs page.

A note from our Music Director, Aaron Elliott:

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After digesting your feedback from last session (thank you!), we’d like your help in the all-group song selection process. Please use the link below to submit your ideas.

• All-Group Song Selection Survey - Please only submit one song per survey, but as many songs in individual submissions as you’d like!

• Background - Last session, instructors chose all-group songs and we’re/you’re wanting more input in the process

• Process - Instructors will ultimately choose all-group songs based on the the songs you submit

• Timing - Due to a tight turnaround in arranging, your suggestions will be considered 2 sessions in the future. Next up: Spring ‘24