Balladeers Director Scott Tuomi Wins Two Awards

Balladeers Director Scott Tuomi, DMA, has been honored with two professional awards in recent months. In January, he received the John McManus Distinguished Teacher award from the Oregon Music Education Association. This honors music teachers who have a lifetime of service and a “highly distinguished record of professional accomplishment.” Dr. Tuomi described the McManus award as, “extremely meaningful and I am honored to be recognized.”

In April, he was named as Distinguished Professor at Pacific University, a recognition based on university service, excellence in teaching, and recommendations from colleagues. The latter criterion is of particular significance.

Dr. Tuomi began teaching at Pacific University in 1988 and is currently Chair of the Music Department, including specialty programs in music therapy and music education in addition to choral studies and music performance. He served as president of the Oregon American Choral Directors Association, where he helped to set new criteria for the standards of judging high school choirs. These criteria now include diversity of repertoire with works that show connections to marginalized cultures and communities.

In 2013, Dr. Tuomi was unanimously selected from a pool of 10 candidates to become the Balladeers’ Music Director. During his 10-year tenure at MAC, the group has seen an increase in both the number of singers and the quality of their performances.

Dr. Tuomi has willingly juggled his university schedule to conduct Balladeer appearances, often at unusual times and places. For example, the Balladeers usually sing in the early evening in Pioneer Square during the Christmas season — often a dark and chilly night — and have sung The StarSpangled Banner and America the Beautiful with an early morning call time in the Mark Hatfield Courthouse as part of naturalization ceremonies for new citizens. On one such occasion, a member of the Balladeers was himself naturalized, and the presiding judge invited him to leave his seat among the other newly sworn citizens to sing with the Balladeers — a lovely surprise for all.

And, while summers have a different rhythm for the Balladeers, it is not out of the question that they sing when requested: in June at the Korean War Memorial in Wilsonville for three years; outdoor midday appearances in July at the Alpine House, a senior residential home in Beaverton; or at the mid-summer Festival of Flowers in Pioneer Square.

Dr. Tuomi’s roots, along with most of his professional career, are in the Portland area. He attended Rex Putnam High School, and his further education included Portland State for his master’s degree. His study at PSU occurred between undergraduate work at the University of Arizona, and his doctoral degree at the University of Southern California.

It is largely Dr. Tuomi’s generous sharing of his time and efforts with the Balladeers that underlies their selection as winners of the McAlpin Award in 2021, the first time this social-contributions recognition was awarded to a MAC group activity rather than an individual. His contributions to the musical lives of college and high school students in Oregon and southwest Washington, to the cultural vitality of the entire region, and to the weekly uplifting of spirits of the Balladeers is a unique achievement.

In addition to frequent appearances in the greater Portland community, the culminating Balladeer event is the annual concert each spring in the MAC Ballroom. The first selection on this program in 2022 was the Ukrainian National Anthem, sung in Ukrainian, with the national flag prominently displayed.

Another facet of Dr. Tuomi’s resourcefulness emerged during the COVID-19 crisis. Most choral groups were inactive due to the extraordinary challenge of singing while masked. Dr. Tuomi embraced the opportunity for weekly ZOOMing, initially organized by Tenor Eric Wilson and Chairman Jon Lee, as both a social outlet and encouragement to continue some singing exercises and music-related chatter. From this, and with the assistance of Paul Nelsen, the Balladeers accompanist and information technologist, the group was able to make video recordings of a half-dozen songs and also contribute to a three-choir ensemble in a virtual Christmas program in December 2020. The challenge was for each singer to record by himself, guided by a pre-recorded piano score, and submit his solo performance to Paul Nelson, who merged the 25 or so voices and videos together, resulting in time-integrated, high-fidelity songs available to audiences online. The first such “performance” in June 2020 was Happy Birthday for MAC legend Bud Lewis to help celebrate his 100th birthday.

Subsequent recordings included a version of the national anthem and several other songs from the group’s repertoire. (On YouTube, search for “MAC Balladeers.”)

The last such recording Dr. Tuomi fostered was based on a familiar tune, Nothing Like A Dame, but with the title, There is Nothing Like the Dame — a tribute to Trail Blazers star Damian (“Dame”) Lillard. Dr. Tuomi not only was the musical director, but he wrote the lyrics for this ditty, which received coverage by several Portland media outlets. Congratulations and many thanks to Dr. Tuomi for his fortissimo dedication to the MAC club and its Balladeers singers.

— Karl Wetzel, MAC Balladeer