Festival Chorale Oregon has been bringing great choral masterworks to the Willamette Valley since 1979. The original 8 members formed under the umbrella of the Stayton Fine Arts Festival in 1979. Now, this energetic group has grown to a well-balanced ensemble of 85 from the mid-Willamette Valley, and they have performed in Western Oregon, Europe, Scandinavia, and Carnegie Hall. Administered by a 13-member board of directors from within its own membership, the chorale members purchase their own music and pay regular dues so that ticket revenues, as well as grants and contributions by patrons, may be used to provide the orchestral accompaniment foundational to the literature performed by this group. Membership in the Festival Chorale Oregon is open to all good singers with previous singing experience. No auditions are required. Dr. Solveig Holmquist is the director and founder of Festival Chorale Oregon. Dr. Holmquist majored in voice and organ at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, singing with the renowned St. Olaf Choir. She holds a Master's degree in Music Education from Western Oregon University, a D.M.A. in Music Education and Choral Conducting from the University of Oregon, and has studied and taught in England. She has been a member of the professional choir of the Oregon Bach Festival since 1985, and was a member of the Conducting Master Class in 1990. She made her conducting debut in New York's Carnegie Hall in 1999. Dr. Holmquist is Director of Choral Activities at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.