Andy McLain
My wife Donna and her mother started coming to the Revels when they first moved to Portland from Eugene, and I would stay home to watch the babies. When the girls were old enough to come alone, we went as a family, and the children were so enchanted, they wanted desperately to be part of the production! For me, when I was pulled up on stage for the 12 Days of Christmas (with Robert right in the middle of the chaos!) I remembered that I longed for a group to sing with, and a stage for singing. It was amazing to see so many bright and smiling faces!
The winter solstice is the time we collectively need joy the most-- and Revels delivers that joy to its audiences. Year after year I see the same friendly faces in the audience, earnest even when the show is silly, moved when the show is emotional, completely ready to be part of our joyous narrative on stage. This experience binds people together, and it is the togetherness of community that makes the difference in a lonely and isolating world.
Betsy's musicianship is daunting at first, she is so adept and her name is all over the music as the arranger! But when she would take the tenors and basses to sectional practice (I am specifically thinking of the extremely difficult "Domakine Sipi Vino" practices) her enthusiasm and humor win out and you just have so much fun singing with her! She encouraged us to learn the notes, learn the fiendishly difficult tempos, but then, to have just the most fun we could with our singing!
Robert's dedication to Revels has been inspiring to me throughout-- the work and care he puts into choosing music for instance, but also the long hours of rehearsal, both as a director and as a chorus member. He is also a natural leader and wants the chorus to pull together into a cohesive whole. Often his memories and stories are sublime. One time in particular though... I remember he was talking about one of the more religious of our sacred music numbers, and he wanted to reach everyone, not just the Christians in the group. "I don't care what you believe in-- it doesn't have to be God, or the divinity of Jesus, it can be anything! Recycling! If it's recycling you believe in, then go ahead and sing this beautiful song for the love of recycling!" I don't think he meant it to be funny but the whole chorus was in tears from laughing.
