Contact information
Belle Voci Women's Vocal Ensemble
P.O. Box 6807
Portland, OR 97208
(360) 573-4782
About the ensemble
Belle Voci Women's Vocal Ensemble is dedicated to excellence in the performance of challenging and diverse choral literature for women's voices and in the nurturing of young singers through mentorship and collaboration.
Belle Voci Women's Vocal Ensemble debuted on June 10th, 2000 with a roster of 20 singers and a program of masterworks from the women's choir repertoire. Belle Voci is unique in that it is the only women's ensemble of its kind in the Portland area and performs music ranging from traditional classical repertoire to music of other cultures. The goal of each concert is to provide the audience with a "palate of colors" for the ear and to increase the audiences' knowledge of gems from the women's choir repertoire.
Highlights from Belle Voci's past seasons include collaborating with
Portland Gospel artists Delessa and Derrick McDuffy; performing the
music of Portland composer Joan Szymko on her Choral Conspiracy concert
in 2002; and performing with Celtic Band Pangur Ban Ceili. Belle Voci
was also a featured artist on First Presbyterian Church's Celebration
Works series and St. Paul's Episcopal Evensong Series in Salem, Oregon.
True to the mission of nurturing young singers Belle Voci has collaborated with various youth choirs in the region and in January 2005 held the First Annual Treble Choir Workshop and Concert with guest conductor Rebecca Rottsolk. The event provided an opportunity for young musicians to see singing as a life-long pursuit.
In March 2006 Belle Voci co-presented an interest session at the Northwest American Choral Director's Association Convention in Portland. We are also excited to be completing our first CD which will be available in the Fall of 2006.
About the director
Margaret Green, founder/artistic director of Belle Voci Women's Vocal Ensemble has enjoyed making music in the Portland area for over 14 years. Belle Voci grew out of Green's love of women's choir repertoire and at 24 voices strong it is the only women's choir of its kind in the Portland area. Green is an active adjudicator and guest clinician for high school and middle school choral events as well as organizing a Balkan Singing Workshop in 2003 and a Treble Choir Workshop in 2005. She is also the vocal music director at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, an arts magnet in Vancouver, Washington.
In 2002 Green was awarded a Fellowship through the SURDNA Foundation in New York to research both the African American Singing Tradition and Eastern European Vocal Traditions. By the end of her Fellowship, Margaret had studied with Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock, composer/conductor Dr. Andre Thomas from Florida State University, and Kitka Balkan Women's Ensemble.
Green has been fortunate to study with many fine choral conductors. These include Rodney Eichenberger at the Haystack Program in Cannon Beach, Oregon; Rene Clausen and Dale Warland at the Rene Clausen Choral School; Drs. Sandra Snow and Jerry Blackstone at the University of Michigan; and she recently completed Levels One and Two Certification with Dr. Doreen Rao at the Choral Music Experience Institute.
In addition to her conducting, Green has enjoyed singing with several groups in the Portland/Vancouver area including Choral Crossties, Oregon Repertory Singers, Viriditas Women's Ensemble, the Portland Symphonic Choir, Cappella Romana, and the Portland Baroque Orchestra Chorus.
During the summer months Green has taught at the Young Musicians and Artists Camp (YMA) at Willamette University, Willowbrook, and Grace Arts Camp. For the past five summers she has had the pleasure of teaching/directing at MidSummer Music Retreat for adult musicians at Whitman College.
Green is an active member in the American Choral Director's Association (ACDA); in 2000 she was appointed the position of Women's Choir Repertoire and Standards Chair for the Washington ACDA. She also recently co-presented an interest session at the 2006 Northwest ACDA Convention with composer Joan Szymko and Belle Voci.
In 2004 Margaret was nominated as a Who's Who Among America's Teachers, an honor which means a great deal to her since she was nominated by one of her students.