Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Dr. Stephen Shepherd, President
Robert Kingdom, Vice President
Mike Nichols, Interim Treasurer
Dr. Larry Sherman, Secretary
Board Members
Stacy Edgar, Musician Representative & Personnel Manager
Katherine Schultz
Dr. Lanette Shepherd
Mary Bailey
Kathryn Wells Murdock
Dr. Miriam English Ward
The Portland Chamber Orchestra is adding to its Board of Directors through a deliberate recruitment process focused on specific skills, backgrounds and geographic locations, to support the continued growth and development of the organization. The PCO is seeking board members who have a passion for the arts, education, and serving the community. Representation from diverse communities is very important to the organization. If you are interested in joining, please send us a note from our Contact page.
Our Mission
To provide an extraordinary musical experience through an imaginative fusion of the arts.
Our History
The Portland Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1947 by Finnish composer and conductor, Boris Sirpo, who came to Portland after leaving his war-torn native country. The orchestra was originally comprised of selected music students at Lewis and Clark College where he was a faculty member. Now one of America’s oldest chamber orchestras, the commitment to quality performances of innovative repertoire that was instilled from the beginning continues.
Yaacov Bergman joined the orchestra in 2002, and under his leadership it has developed its distinctive timbre and a new focus of a fusion of art forms, while bringing to audiences World, American and Northwest Premieres. In 2011, Willamette Week's annual Finder edition called the PCO "The Most Ambitious" Arts Organization in Portland: