RESONANCE ENSEMBLE ANNOUNCES THREE NEW BOARD MEMBERS
New members will help Resonance strengthen ties in the community and enhance the board’s focus on partnering with local working artists.
PORTLAND, OR — Resonance Ensemble today announced that Nancy Ives, Stacey Philipps, and Sydney Guillaume have joined the Resonance Board of Directors.
“We are excited to expand our board with three new members who are pillars in Portland’s artistic community.” says Resonance Ensemble artistic director Katherine FitzGibbon. “Resonance has worked diligently to ensure that our leadership represents a variety of experiences, all with a commitment to championing underrepresented voices and artistic excellence, and the newest board members are no exception.”
Photo by Rachel Hadiashar
“I have loved Resonance Ensemble’s work for years and am so thrilled to be joining their board,” says composer and Oregon Symphony principal cellist, Nancy Ives. One of Portland’s most beloved and active musicians, Ives has “built a career of such spectacular diversity that no summation will do her achievements justice.” (Artslandia) An icon within Portland's music community, Ives enjoys an illustrious performance career that informs her eloquent and enduring compositional style. “Modernistic but melodic and compelling… [with] a refreshing musical breadth, a diverse but integrated approach,” Ives’ music communicates “a uniquely personal voice.” (Oregon ArtsWatch) By way of an adventurous and multifaceted career - which includes more than 20 years as Principal Cellist of the Oregon Symphony, collaborations with virtually all of the region’s premier performance organizations, and a history of service within the cultural community - Ives is a gracious and essential cornerstone of musical life in the Pacific Northwest, “a local treasure,” according to the Portland Mercury. You can read more about Nancy Ives on her website.
Photo by Rachel Hadiashar
Also joining the board is composer Sydney Guillaume. Known primarily for his choral compositions, Guillaume’s music is known to be intricate, challenging and highly spirited. Many of his choral works, most with original poetry by his father Gabriel T. Guillaume, have fostered an awareness of the Haitian culture and continue to serve as an ambassador for his native country. In 2016, he was inducted into the 1804 List of Haitian-American Change Makers, a prestigious list named in honor of Haiti’s year of independence that “recognizes Haitian-Americans in the United States who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and success in their profession and proven themselves to be forces for change in their communities.” Guillaume also writes film music, having written original film and documentary scores for the Los Angeles based company Loyola Productions. His recent activities as conductor also include the 2022 Georgia All-State Senior Treble Choir, and an all-Guillaume concert at New York City’s Lincoln Center. You can read more about Sydney Guillaume on his website.
Photo by Rachel Hadiashar
“I’ve been an eager audience member of Resonance Ensemble since their first concert and am delighted to help support the work and music of this excellent organization,” says composer Stacey Philipps. “After watching their October concert, We Dissent, I just had to join.” Having just released a book of musical rounds featuring poetry and prose by women (“Gathering Rounds”), Philipps writes music to share the thrill of creation, collaboration, and performance influenced by modal harmonies, folk songs, hymns, shape note music, and the melodic and rhythmic elements of the world around her. This “…rising star,” (Oregon Arts Watch) is one of “…Portland’s most forward-thinking composers,” (Willamette Week) who is “…establishing a new normal of what will someday be called early 21st-century classical music” (Oregon Arts Watch). An early- and new-music devotee, Philipps is a multi-instrumentalist and lifelong singer currently in the alto section of the Oregon Repertory Singers, as well as the Composer-in-Residence for the Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir. Her music for choirs, chamber ensembles, soloists, and orchestras has been performed across North America, and she holds degrees in composition from Portland State University and in philosophy from St. John’s College, Santa Fe. Philipps is a member of the American Composers Forum, the American Choral Directors Association, and ASCAP, as well as the proprietor of Sirensong Publishing, the primary distributor of her work. You can find more information about Stacey Philipps on her website.
Photo by Rachel Hadiashar
FitzGibbon adds, “On behalf of the board, I want to express our gratitude to Donna Dermond and Damien Geter who have concluded their service as valued board members. We wish Donna all the best in future endeavors and look forward to Damien’s continued service and counsel as co-artistic advisor. Their years of service have undoubtedly placed Resonance in a better position to continue growing in this exciting new chapter, and we remain deeply grateful for all they have brought to Resonance Ensemble.”
The new board members began their three-year term effective November 2022 and will oversee future projects and ongoing development for Resonance Ensemble.
For more information on Resonance Ensemble’s mission and current programming, click here.
Note to Journalists: If you would like more information about Resonance or would like to schedule an interview, please contact Liz Bacon Brownson at liz@resonancechoral.org or by calling 971-212-8034
About Resonance Ensemble:
Resonance Ensemble, a professional vocal ensemble based in Portland, Oregon, creates powerful programs that promote meaningful social change. Resonance Ensemble works to amplify voices that have long been silenced, and does so through moving, thematic concerts that highlight solo and choral voices, new and underrepresented composers, visual and other performing artists, and community partners. Under Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon, Resonance Ensemble has performed challenging and diverse music, always with an eye toward unusual collaborations with artistic partners from around Portland: poets, jazz musicians, singer-songwriters, painters, dancers. The Resonance singers are “one of the Northwest’s finest choirs” (I), with gorgeous vocal tone, and they also make music with heart. As Oregon Arts Watch recently wrote, “They do social justice music justice: their concerts are part social commentary, part group therapy, and part best damn choir show in town.”
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