*Prices given include all fees per FTC guidelines.
Arts-for-All, Group Discounts, & Student Rush available. Details here.
What do you believe in? Not as doctrine — as lived experience. What do you hold onto when everything shifts?
Composer Hyo-Won Woo's Creo (the Creation story from Genesis) opens our season with electricity and urgency, brought to vivid life through a special collaboration with Portland Youth Philharmonic's Camerata. Woo herself will be in residence, offering audiences a rare opportunity to encounter her music in direct conversation with its creator.
Drawing on Korean musical traditions combined with the full expressive power of a Classical chorus and orchestra, Creo explores the very beginnings of the convictions that define us — our strength, our identity, our shared humanity. We are proud to partner with the Korean American Coalition, Oregon Chapter in bringing this program to life.
KAC Oregon started in July 2014 with a mission to promote Korean American participation in civic, legislative, and community affairs through advocacy, community service, leadership development, and cultural education.
“We're excited about this partnership because it shows the depth and range of Korean artistic voices to a wider audience, including Korean Americans in PDX who may feel distant from their homeland and are hearing this music for the first time. We're honored that Oregon Repertory Singers invited us to be part of bringing Hyo-Won Woo's Creo to Portland, and we're grateful to learn through her music about identity and shared humanity that resonates far beyond any single culture. We believe music has the power to bring together the PDX community, whether you arrived from Korea or any other country, or have called Oregon your home for generations.”
Guest Artists
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Renowned as one of Korea's leading composers, Hyowon Woo stands as a formidable force within the realm of choral music. Her innovative creations weave together traditional Korean musical elements and Western techniques, showcasing a distinctive use of language nuance that elevates her works to groundbreaking heights. Often incorporating Latin, Korean, or English texts, she skillfully transforms the essence of words into an artistic realm through playful spatial music.
Since 1996, Woo has held the esteemed position of composer-in-residence with the Seoul Ladies' Singers. Additionally, she played a pivotal role with the Incheon City Chorale, led by the globally acclaimed Hak-won Yoon, from 1999 to 2014. Over two decades of collaboration between Woo and Mr. Yoon have charted a new course for choral music in Korea.
Woo's compositions enjoy global acclaim, having been celebrated at prestigious events such as the 2009 ACDA National Conference, Polyfolia in France, and the IFCM choral symposium. Previously an instructor at the Seoul Theological Seminary and Hansei University, as well as a visiting fellow at the University of Michigan, she currently serves as faculty at the Chorus Center Academy in Seoul.
As a prolific composer, Woo has produced an impressive body of work, spanning hymn and spiritual arrangements, solos, cantatas, requiems, polyphonic motets, and chamber music. Her monumental choral symphonic pieces, commissioned by the Korean Ministry of Culture and premiered by the Korean National Chorus, underscore her significant contributions to the genre. Some of her compositions are published by Walton Music in the United States and the Seoul Chorus Center in South Korea, with numerous others in the process of publication in the States.
In collaboration with Dr. MeeAe Nam, her artistic partner, Woo has recently co-founded the Ari project, a groundbreaking choral performance platform dedicated to introducing the history, spirit, and culture of South Korea. Notably, Woo is spearheading a revolutionary new chorus genre, "Choral Drama," under the Ari project, set to make its world premiere in the United States in 2023.
October 17, 2026 | 7:30 PM
October 18, 2026 | 4:00 PM
Patricia Reser Center for the Arts
12625 SE Crescent St.
Beaverton, OR 97005
*Prices given include all fees per FTC guidelines.
Arts-for-All, Group Discounts, & Student Rush available. Details here.