Coastal Voices is a mixed voice ensemble singing a wide variety of choral music. We sing classical music like Beethoven and Fauré as well as contemporary composers such as Eric Whitacre and Morten Lauridsen. We also like to include folk, jazz, and Broadway tunes in our programs. We sing in English, Spanish, German and Swahili along with many more languages as we seek to express the world-wide nature of choral music. More than anything we hope to bring joy to our audience and our singers. Our home base is the central portion of the beautiful Oregon coast. We’ve been singing on the coast for a long time. Our group originally organized as The Central Coast Chorale in the Waldport area in the late 1990s under the direction of Dr. Mary Lee Scoville. In order to accommodate singers from more of Lincoln County we moved our rehearsals to Newport and now draw members from as far north as Lincoln City, south to Yachats, and inland to Siletz and Toledo. We decided during the dark days of the pandemic that when we were able to perform for audiences again we wanted to do it with fresh energy including a new name. So in August of 2023 we became Coastal Voices! Now that we’re back to live performances, we once again are presenting at least two concert series a year, with shows in Newport, Lincoln City, and Yachats. In addition to the guests we invite to perform with us at our own shows, we have partnered over the years with the Newport Symphony Orchestra, the Corvallis Repertory Singers, and the Willamette Master Chorus, to name a few.
“Our goal is to create a sustainable and inclusive organization that celebrates, promotes, and develops the choral arts.” — Coastal Voices Mission Statement
Our group is directed by Rhodd F. Caldwell and accompanied by Milo Graamans. You can read more about them on our Artistic Staff page of our website. Rhodd also directs and sings with our smaller ensemble, Sound Waves. You can find more about them on their page of our website. https://www.coastal-voices.org
We are fortunate to have an active membership who not only sing but also volunteer as board members, concert “roadies” setting up and tearing down, publicity staff, fundraisers and grant writers, along with pitching in with the many, many other tasks it takes to run a community musical ensemble. Auditions typically occur each August and January. For more information on how to join, visit: https://www.coastal-voices.org/auditions
