PRAx and Spring Creek Project Present: Third Angle New Music and Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir: Eras
Join us as the Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir and Third Angle New Music present Eras — a world premiere wildfire oratorio exploring the intersection of past, present and future for both people and planet.
The creative journey of Eras began in April 2025, when students from the ORS Youth Choir and Third Angle Ensemble visited the World Forestry Center to see the exhibition Following Fire, a powerful collaboration between photographer David Paul Bayles and ecologist Frederick J. Swanson that documented the cycle of wildfire destruction and regrowth in the Cascade Range.
Bayles and Swanson led the group through their exhibition, and then members of the youth choir spread out amongst the photos of skeletal trees and budding fireweed to write poetry. This poetry was then transformed by Kirsten Volness, Iman Habibi, and Michael-Thomas Foumai of Third Angle into music, setting the children’s own words into three parts: After Darkness; After Fire; Then, Light!
The evening's program also celebrates Third Angle’s 40-year history, featuring works by composers Sarah Kirkland Snider, David Lang, Kenji Bunch and Katrina Gimon.
The Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir is directed and conducted by Aubrey Peterson, an OSU alumna with two degrees in music.
Lightbox Happy Hour
Doors open at 6 p.m. in Toomey Lobby for happy hour, which will include:
- A presentation at 6:30 by David Paul Bayles and Fred Swanson, the artist and ecologist who collaborated to create Following Fire, the original inspiration behind the poetry and music shaping the evening's performance
- Photography display showcasing work by David Paul Bayles
- A chronosequence slideshow from Following Fire that shows how one point transformed over time after a wildfire
- Wine, beer and snacks for purchase
When
Begins at 6 p.m.
Where