CHARLES FLOYD AND LOCAL GOSPEL CHOIRS RETURN FOR
POPULAR "GOSPEL CHRISTMAS" PERFORMANCES
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Portland, Ore. … "Gospel Christmas," the much-anticipated, annual event that brings audiences to their feet with spirited and energetic performances by Charles Floyd and the group created specifically for these concerts, the Northwest Community Gospel Chorus, and the Oregon Symphony, is scheduled for Dec. 21 and 22 with an additional open rehearsal performance Dec. 20 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The Dec. 21 performance is sponsored by Kuni Automotive, and the Dec. 22 performance is sponsored by Time Warner Telecom. Media support is provided by KINKfm102.

The Oregon Symphony's "Gospel Christmas" tradition began two years ago when performances by the Northwest Community Gospel Chorus, more than 100 voices representing the Portland area's finest gospel choirs, Charles Floyd and the orchestra received three separate standing ovations and the Symphony received more positive letters and e-mails than ever before. Last season a second performance was scheduled to meet popular demand, and this season an open rehearsal is available.

The Northwest Community Gospel Chorus includes members from the Portland/Vancouver Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America and various other music ministries and churches of Portland and surrounding communities. "These choir members, soloists and musicians are persons who love to sing and proclaim the Good News through the medium of gospel music. Each is always open for the opportunity to perfect their God-given gifts and is dedicated to the perpetuation of gospel music as an original American art form to the world," said PVC Chapter Representative and Choir Coordinator Dorothy L. Davis.

As a conductor, Floyd has been heard in Pops concerts with more than 500 orchestras since 1991, and since 1993 his performances have included the annual "Gospel Night at Pops" at Boston's Symphony Hall and Esplanade Pavilion as well as standard Pops programs.

Performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Dec. 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range in price from $19 to $57. Representatives from the Oregon Food Bank will accept non-perishable food item donations before the performance. Tickets for the Thursday, Dec. 20, open rehearsal are $15 (general admission) and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office (923 S.W. Washington), Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or charged by phone at 503-228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also may be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets (503-790-ARTS) or through Ticketmaster Online, via the Symphony's Web site at www.orsymphony.org. Service fees may apply.

Charles Floyd

Conductor, pianist and composer Charles Floyd began studying piano at age 4, gave his first solo recital at age 9, and by age 20 had been heard in solo recital, chamber music and concerto performances throughout the United States and Spain. Mr. Floyd earned degrees in piano performance from the Conservatory at Oberlin College, the University of Louisville, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His teachers have included pianist Joseph Schwartz, Lee Luvisi, Aube Tzerko and Howard Karp. Through the auspices of numerous summer festival and master classes, he has worked with Jorge Bolet, John Perry and Mischa Dichter. Mr. Floyd performed frequently as soloist with The Louisville Orchestra between 1982 and 1984 under the direction of Robert Bernhardt and Stewart Kershaw; he also was chosen as pianist for the Louisville Ballet's internationally recognized tribute to George Balanchine during the 1983-84 season.

Mr. Floyd has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including those from the Aspen School of Music, the AMOCO Corporation, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Chicago's Louis Sudler Foundation and the National Chopin Competition of New York's Kosciuszko Foundation.

As a conductor, Mr. Floyd has been heard in Pops concerts with more than 500 orchestras since 1991, including the San Francisco Symphony, the Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Houston, Oregon, Miami, Spokane, Akron and Colorado Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the Los Angeles, Buffalo and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestras. He is also a frequent guest conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. Since 1993 his performances have included the annual "Gospel Night at Pops" at Boston's Symphony Hall and Esplanade Pavilion as well as standard Pops programs. His work in Boston's 1996 season included a PBS telecast of "Evening at Pops," featuring Patti LaBelle and Edwin Hawkins in a program of gospel music, and critically acclaimed performances of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with conductor Keith Lockhart. In recent seasons, his schedule has included performances of "A Gospel Christmas" with the Atlanta Baltimore, and Oregon Symphony Orchestras, and a holiday special, "A Cathedral Christmas," with mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves from Washington DC's National Cathedral, broadcast nationally over PBS-TV on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and The Houston Symphony.

Recent engagements include the Atlanta Symphony as well as debut performances with the Tulsa Philharmonic, Miami's New World Symphony, the Charlotte Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, the Oregon Symphony, the Charlotte Symphony, the Akron, the Houston Symphony and the Philharmonics of Tulsa and Buffalo plus the Boston Pops.

Mr. Floyd's 11-year partnership with Natalie Cole included such projects as the multiple Grammy Award-winning tribute to Nat King Cole entitled "Unforgettable, With Love," the Emmy Award-winning PBS Great Performances concert video of the same title, as well as the Grammy-winning release "Take a Look," and her most recent Grammy-nominated release "Stardust." Natalie Cole performed Mr. Floyd's adaptation of the National Anthem at the opening of the 1994 Super Bowl in Atlanta.

His compositions include chamber music, art songs, gospel music, two operas, and a work-in-progress based on Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" for narrator, chorus and orchestra. His "Four Spirituals" for soprano and orchestra was premiered at Boston's Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra in 1995 and his "Gospel Cantata" premiered in 2000.