Conductor Ethan Sperry talks about his first season with the Oregon Repertory Singers and the choral explosion at Portland State

One of the most exciting people on the choral scene in Portland is Ethan Sperry, who just completed his first year as director of choral activities at Portland State University. Sperry’s first year included exceptional concerts of music by Morten Lauridsen with Lauridsen in attendance (and on stage) plus a first-ever PSU choral alumni concert that drew over 100 singers. In April, Sperry was named as the new artistic director of the Oregon Repertory Singers, making him only the third AD, since the Rep Singers began in 1974.

Sperry has a very impressive background in choral conducting. From 2000 to 2010, he served on the faculty at Miami University in Ohio where he conducted three vocal ensembles. From 2000 to 2006, Sperry was the artistic administrator of the Arad Philharmonic Chorus in Arad, Romania, and from 2001-2003 he was the principal conductor of the Choeur Regional de Guadeloupe, which is the only symphonic choir in the French West Indies. Sperry has his Masters and Doctorate degrees for the University of Southern California and a Bachelors (in Philosophy from Harvard.