World Forestry Center is honored to partner with Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Choir and Third Angle New Music to present Eras—a world premiere wildfire oratorio exploring the intersection of past, present, and future for both people and planet.

The creative journey of Eras began in April 2025, when students from the ORS Youth Choir and Third Angle Ensemble visited our exhibit Following Fire, a powerful collaboration between photographer David Paul Bayles and ecologist Frederick J. Swanson. Guided by Bayles and Swanson, the students reflected on images of charred landscapes and the resilient signs of regrowth. Inspired by their experience, the students wrote original poetry while seated on the exhibit floor—poetry that later became the source text for composers Iman Habibi, Michael-Thomas Foumai, and Kirsten Volness. Their resulting oratorio for youth choir and small ensemble now stands as the heart of this moving program.

ROSTER:

• Sarah Tiedemann, flute
• Ricky Smith, clarinet
• Ling-Ling Huang, violin
• Valdine Ritchie Mishkin, cello
• Chris Whyte, perc
• Susan DeWitt Smith, piano

PROGRAM:

• Iman Habibi, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Kirsten Volness, New Work, title TBD
• Sarah Kirkland Snider, You Are Free
• Kenji Bunch, Ralph’s Old Records
• David Lang, Sweet Air
• Youth Choir pieces, hopefully including Jerod Tate, We Are the Storm