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Choir Director Jerry Campbell

Jerry  grew up in a musical family. His  father was off performing with a Barbershop Quartet the day he was born, much to his mother’s dismay. Mom and Dad both sang in their Methodist church choir, and when he was 10 they began taking him to choir practice with them.. From then on, he was part of one choir or another until he graduated from seminary at age 27.  He has sung in choirs that required a rigorous audition and were composed of highly-trained musicians, but he prefers choirs of volunteers who share a love of music and a passion for fostering joy, justice, and peace.

Music was the bedrock of his life through the turbulent 1960s.  As he pursued conscientious objector’s status during the Vietnam War, the music of protest spurred him on.  He took inspiration from Pete Seeger and his rendition of “How Can I Keep from Singing.”

While he has never earned his living through music (he was a parish minister, executive director of a homeless shelter, an advancement officer in higher education, and a capital campaign consultant), it is music that has made life worth living.  He has always interpreted the world and his work through musical metaphors.  He says, “To build harmony from the various melodies of people’s lives, and in doing so, to cultivate joy, justice and peace is what I live for.”

Accompanist Dr. Mikiko Petrucelli

Mikiko Petrucelli was born in Tokyo, Japan, where she started playing piano at age 4. She attended the Mushashino Academia Musicae and received her undergraduate degree in Piano Performance. She then moved to Germany and earned a Performance Degree from Hochschule für Musik.

After she returned to Japan, Mikiko  played with the string chamber group Uovo as their guest pianist, touring Japan and in Germany, giving chamber and solo concerts as well. She has played on the national public radio station in Japan, and won a special award at the Josef Dichter Competition in Vienna, Austria in 2001.

In 2003, Mikiko moved to the United States and received a Master’s of Music from Baylor University and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.  Currently, she is the accompanist for the Rogue Valley Peace Choir, the Rogue Valley Chorale, Siskiyou Singers, and Ascension Lutheran Church choir.  She is also a collaborative pianist for the SOU music department and has done many world premiere performances by local composers.

Rogue Valley Peace Choir Board of Directors (Effective July 2023)

Elizabeth Bingham (President, Alto)

Elizabeth joined the Rogue Valley Peace Choir in its first season in 2003 and has served in many roles since that time including on the board and as a section leader. She is a retired middle school teacher. Elizabeth also currently serves on the board of the Storytelling Guild.

John Lulich (Vice-President, Bass)

John is a Civil Engineer for the Bureau of Land Management in Medford, Oregon.   He has been a Professional Engineer for over 25 years and was a high school math and technology teacher for 6 years in the Portland and Bend Public Schools.  He also is a Neighborhood Coordinator for the Medford Food Project.

Anne Beaufort (Secretary, Alto)

Anne has been a writer in corporate public relations (Pacific Bell in San Francisco), an administrator, researcher, and teacher in higher education  (emeritus professor,  University of Washington) and is currently a mental health counselor in private practice.

David Teegarden (Treasurer, Tenor)

David has been a member of the choir since its first season in 2003 and served three terms on the Board of Directors,  including board President  from 2010–2011. He is a retired medical doctor, certified by the American Board of Family Practice, and served as medical director of a number of community clinics.

 

Gregory Scott (Assistant Treasurer, Bass)               

Gregory Scott has worked as a computer journalist, technical writer for NIOSH, and editor of college-level political science textbooks. Originally from South Dakota and then Michigan, he moved to Oregon in 2000 and has sung with the choir since.

Michael Silversher, Tenor

Michael is a songwriter and composer for film, television, theatre and concert stage. He and his co-writer, Patty Silversher, have written over 100 songs for Disney and Jim Henson. They have been nominated three times for the Emmys and have won a Grammy. Michael was founding composer and music director of the Tony-winning TheatreWorks in Silicon Valley.

Barbara Settles, Tenor

Barb Settles is a retired international teacher who volunteers for several Ashland community groups. Barb served on the Carbondale Colorado Arts Council Board and is involved with environmental protection agencies and is an advocate for inclusion and community action, especially through music.

Why We Sing

  • We believe singing for peace is a joyful, powerful act that opens our hearts and models vulnerability and trust—elements of peace building that connect us to others in celebration of life. When we sing, we open joy sources within us and for our audiences that we never knew existed.
  • We believe in the ability of music to transform the energy and consciousness of our world. Singing in the choir contributes to such a shift in both the choir members and our audiences, thereby creating a more just and loving world.
  • We value singing to audiences of all ages, races, religions, and sexual orientations, inspiring them to lean toward a world filled with peace, social justice, and environmental integrity.
  • We make a special effort to sing for children as they are our best hope for a future world of peace and harmony.
  • We believe that singing together is fundamentally good for our health, as a recent Washington Post article documents.

Our Commitments as Choir Members

  • We value a warm, friendly, inclusive, and nurturing atmosphere at our rehearsals and other choir events. We will go out of our way to introduce ourselves and greet and welcome both new and returning members and help them feel included.
  • We work together with respect and appreciation for each other, our Choir Director, our Board, and our leadership teams.
  • We believe that our best efforts will be brought forth by being a learning organization, where we can use different perspectives, talents, and energies to continually improve the songs we sing and our organization, using differences and missteps as opportunities to learn and grow stronger.
  • We model good communication skills, showing respect and compassion for others. We will use peaceful means to resolve differences and disputes, including alternative dispute resolution and other methods, recognizing that differences may erupt into conflicts if not tended to in a timely manner.
  • Each of us is an ambassador to enlist interest and support for the RVPC in our community so as to grow its influence.

I n 2003, Diane Garcia returned home to Ashland after living in Eugene. where she had loved singing with the Eugene Peace Choir. Diane contacted friends Su Rolle, Dawn Sinnott, and neighbor Linda Gail Campbell to help organize a similar choir in the Rogue Valley. She knew Dave Marston, and he agreed to direct, so fliers were posted around town. “If 25 people showed up, we would have been happy,” recalls Diane. “  Seventy-five people arrived that first September night, and the Rogue Valley Peace Choir was born.

The choir has performed  at events such as World AIDS Day, Earth Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances. In 2006, thanks to the inspiration of local Hiroshima survivor Hideko Tamura, the choir traveled to Japan to sing at the Hiroshima Memorial site, stayed in homes of survivors or relatives of survivors, and met with peace organizations.  Those who participated in the Japan exchange speak of it as a high point in their lives.   Also, during the 2014-15 season, the choir hosted a sold-out event at Southern Oregon University featuring peace choirs from throughout the Northwest.

The late Dave Marston directed the choir for six years, followed by Heather Hutton for three years, and Rob Griswell-Lowry for eight years. After the COVID pandemic hiatus, Jerry Campbell was hired to lead the choir and continue the choir’s mission to sing for peace, social justice, and stewardship of the earth.

The Rogue Valley Peace Choir is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. We have two paid positions—our artistic director and our accompanist.  The rest of its ambitious roster of activities is led by choir members and the choir’s Board.