Oregon Repertory Singers invites you to experience Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem in a fresh and compelling way, performed in a rarely heard version for choir, two pianos, and timpani. This more intimate scoring brings the music into sharp focus, letting Brahms’s warm harmonies and powerful choral writing shine with new clarity and energy. Unlike the traditional Latin requiem, Brahms designed this work to comfort the living—to offer reassurance, hope, and peace to those who mourn rather than prayers for the dead. Soloists Richard Zeller and Arwen Myers add depth and expressive beauty to this deeply human journey, making the experience both profoundly moving and immediately relatable. This is Brahms at his most personal: reflective, radiant, and full of compassion.
Hopewell House is our concert partner for Brahms’ Requiem because we share a belief that comfort, dignity, and care—especially at the end of life—are worthy of our deepest attention. Brahms’ Requiem is not a work about fear or judgment, but one of compassion for the living and solace for those who grieve. Hopewell House embodies these same values, providing equitable, compassionate end-of-life care for individuals and families, regardless of circumstance. Together, we affirm that this stage of life deserves tenderness, presence, and beauty.
Hopewell House is a 12-bed residential care facility in Southwest Portland exclusively for individuals on hospice and in their final phase of life. Partnering with residents’ hospice teams, their clinical staff and skilled volunteers provide 24/7 care, allowing loved ones to relax and find meaning in their final chapter. This historic home sits on beautifully kept grounds, featuring a walking labyrinth, nature trail, and pollinator gardens. They serve as each resident’s home, honoring life’s milestones while supporting the personal traditions and daily moments that matter most. Grief groups provide support to the residents’ circles after their passing. Donations support access to Hopewell House for those with financial barriers, maintenance to the home, and training for their dedicated staff and volunteer community.
This concert is generously sponsored by Sherril Gelmon, ORS Board Member
“I am delighted to help sponsor ORS's presentation of the Brahms Requiem… Bringing these two organizations together to share their assets with the greater Portland community brings me great joy.”
Saturday, April 25, 2026 | 4 PM
Sunday, April 26, 2026 | 4 PM
Tickets starting at $31.50*
First United Methodist Church of Portland
1838 SW Jefferson St.
Portland, OR 97201
Know Before You Go Information Page.
*Prices given include all fees per FTC rules as of May 10, 2025.
Arts-for-All, Group Discounts, & Student Rush available. Details here.
Guest Artists
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Praised for her “crystalline tone and delicate passagework” (San Francisco Chronicle) and for the warmth and “deep poignancy” of her singing (Palm Beach Arts Paper), soprano Arwen Myers captivates audiences with radiant artistry and technical precision. A “rare vocalist who’s as comfortable performing early music as she is taking on contemporary works” (Stir Vancouver), she brings expressive range and stylistic fluency to repertoire from the Baroque to today.
Arwen’s solo appearances have spanned leading ensembles across North America, including Philharmonia and Portland Baroque Orchestras, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Charlotte Bach Festival, Seraphic Fire, and Lorelei Ensemble, and she has collaborated with such distinguished conductors and leaders as Nicholas McGegan, Monica Huggett, David Hill, Alexander Weimann, Beth Willer, and Aisslinn Nosky.
The 2025–26 season marks the release of two landmark recordings: I Melt in the Sun of Your Beauty with Baroque Music Montana, recorded at the exclusive Tippet Rise Art Center, and Philip Glass’s 1000 Airplanes on the Roof with Third Angle New Music – the only complete recording of the work. She previously created the soprano role in the world premiere and recording of Zachary Wadsworth’s JUNO-nominated When There is Peace: An Armistice Oratorio with Chor Leoni, released in 2019.
Her recent performances have drawn consistent acclaim: “radiant voice and impeccable technique” (Oregon Arts Watch), “rare combination of refinement and beauty” (Vancouver Classical Music), and Bach “so joyful it made me want to dance” (WDAV Charlotte). Of her title role in Handel’s Semele, San Francisco Classical Voice noted, “Her musicality and demure demeanor remained a renewable pleasure.”
Based in Portland, Oregon, Arwen lives with her husband Brian and a very sassy tabby named Florentine. Learn more at arwenmyerssoprano.com.
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Richard Zeller is internationally acclaimed for his dramatic voice and consummate musicianship. He is celebrated for his concert and opera roles as both a baritone and bass baritone.
Mr. Zeller made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1989 and has appeared there for 11 seasons; in the 2002/03 season Mr. Zeller appeared at the Met in lead roles in three new productions; as Ernesto in Bellini’s Il Pirata opposite Renée Fleming and Marcello Giordani; as the main lead role of Eddie in William Bolcom's opera, A View from the Bridge, based on Arthur Miller's play; and as Chorebe opposite Deborah Voigt and Ben Heppner in Berlioz's Les Troyens, conducted by James Levine. Over 11 seasons at the Met he performed or covered lead roles in more than 25 different operas. He has appeared with the Chicago Lyric Opera, New York City Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Deutsche Opera am Rhein, English National Opera at the Barbican in London, the Edinburgh Festival and Vienna Festival as well as many other opera houses on four different continents throughout the world.
Zeller has also appeared with many regional opera companies in the U.S. including the Chicago Lyric Opera, New York City Opera, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Cincinnati, San Diego, Portland, Spoleto USA, New Orleans, Dayton, Eugene, and New Jersey Opera companies.
Mr. Zeller was featured as soloist in 2001 in the Emmy nominated nationwide TV Broadcast of Live from Lincoln Center singing the Mozart Requiem with the Mostly Mozart Festival, conducted by Gerard Schwarz and presented by Beverly Sills.
On the concert stage, he has appeared with over 100 symphonies and orchestras in the US and abroad. Performances include Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Minnesota, and San Francisco Symphonies and many others. His performances at New York’s Carnegie Hall include Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Bloch’s Sacred Service, Catalani’s La Wally, Faure’s Requiem, Hanson’s Merry Mount and many others.
As an active voice teacher, Mr. Zeller has been Associate Professor of Voice and Director of Opera at Biola University Conservatory of Music in La Mirada, California and is now teaching at Portland State University. He maintains a robust private teaching studio online and in his home city of Milwaukie, Oregon. You can learn more about Richard Zeller at his website at richardzeller.com.
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Naomi LaViolette (she/her) is a composer, collaborative pianist, singer-songwriter, and recording artist with a master’s degree in classical piano performance. Her work spans classical, jazz, folk, and popular genres. Since 2004, she has served as collaborative pianist for the Oregon Repertory Singers, and her performance career has included appearances at venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Portland Jazz Festival, and live broadcasts on All Classical Portland’s Thursdays at 3.
A published composer with Graphite and Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Naomi is also a contributing composer for the Oregon Symphony Lullaby Project. Her compositions, praised by Fanfare Magazine for their “mastery of choral writing,” have been performed worldwide in a wide range of settings, from primary school choirs to professional choruses, as well as in sacred services and academic performances.
In 2018, her piece “Melancholy Flower” was featured on Shadows on the Stars, an album by the Oregon Repertory Singers that went on to win the American Prize. Other works, including “Night of Silence,” “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence,” and “Winter Solstice,” were included on the Oregon Repertory Singers’ 2023 album 50. Naomi’s background in music theory, musical analysis, and composition, along with her extensive experience as a choral accompanist, chamber musician, and soloist since 2001, deeply informs her compositional voice.
She is regularly commissioned to write new choral works and arrangements, further expanding her contribution to the choral repertoire. Her music, whether written for choirs, chamber ensembles, soloists, or orchestras, is deeply rooted in themes of nature, spirituality, and human connection.
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Colin Alexsei Evans Shepard is the first staff collaborative pianist for the Portland State University internationally re-known choral studies program under Dr. Ethan Sperry and Professor Coty Raven-Morris. He is the pianist and organizer for the now nationally-acclaimed 'opera-oke and musical theater-oke' series at the live classical music bar - Mendelssohn's Bar PDX on North Mississippi Avenue in Portland. An ardent opera fan and voice coach, Colin has played piano in recital with MET Grammy-winner Audrey Luna with Portland Concert Opera, and played for masterclasses held by opera legends Lawrence Brownlee, Frederica von Stade, Angela Meade, and Vinson Cole.
He is the principal pianist for two GALA choirs in town: Portland Lesbian Choir, and the new 55+ elder lgbtq+ Portland Sage Singers.
Colin has been a guest soloist for Oregon Repertory Singers, Oregon Chorale, Resonance Ensemble, Portland Gay Men's Chorus, Low-bar chorale and has helped prepare vocalists and choirs with the maestros of Oregon Symphony.
On top of singing and playing piano, Colin is now the conductor of the full chorus and full orchestra Dalles Messiah every holiday season and has directed musical theater companies such as Triangle Productions, Broadway Rose, Lewis and Clark College, Reed College and more.
Colin's favorite "job" is getting to play for all his amazing opera and choir friends for fun and gathering community around beautiful music.
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Jack Lattimore is a performer, conductor, and versatile percussionist based in Portland, Oregon. He is in his last term at Portland State University studying music education, but he also has immersed himself in the study of percussion literature and the development of new works for percussion, film, and video games. He recently competed with Percussion Group Portland State at the prestigious Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in Indianapolis, IN and placed in the top-15 colleges nationally. His performances have received critical acclaim and he has worked with many groups around the area including the Oregon Repertory Singers, the Oregon Chorale, the Portland Youth Philharmonic Cameratta, Third Angle New Music, the Portland State Chamber Choir and the Portland State Wind Ensemble. He frequently works with composers to develop new compositions for various mediums, including Andy Akiho, Matthew Lyon Hazzard, Eriks Esenvalds, Mark Evanstein, Viskamol Chaiwanichsiri, and Ian Sage. He is a student of Dr. Chris Whyte and Dr. Rose Martin.