Leadership

Jason Sabino

Artistic Director

Praised for his “enthusiastic performances” and a “je ne sais quoi well beyond his years” (Oregon Arts Watch), Jason Sabino is in demand as a conductor, clinician, and chorister in the Pacific Northwest. Sabino is the Artistic Director of the Oregon Chorale and teaches choir at Century High School and R.A. Brown Middle School in Hillsboro, OR. He also prepares choruses regularly for the Oregon Symphony and has prepared choruses for the Oregon Bach Festival, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and the Beaverton Symphony. In 2024, he made his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall, leading several choirs including the Chorale.

As a professional chorister, Sabino performs with Cappella Romana, Resonance Ensemble, Trinity Cathedral Chamber Singers, and is a recording singer with Oregon Catholic Press. He has sung under the batons of Helmuth Rilling, Carlos Kalmar, and Carl St. Clair. Other highlights include singing backup for both Barry Manilow and the Rolling Stones.

Sabino earned his master’s degree in Choral Conducting from Portland State University, where he was a graduate teaching assistant and adjunct faculty. He also served on the music faculty at Portland Community College. Sabino received his undergraduate degree in Choral Music from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, and has studied conducting with Ethan Sperry, Jo-Michael Scheibe, Cristian Grases, and Donald Brinegar.

He is also an active member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).

Sabino lives in Beaverton with his wife and daughter. He likes video games, home theater, steak, and root beer.

Bernie Kuehn

Artistic Director Emeritus

Founding director Bernd Kuehn immigrated to Portland, Oregon with his parents from Augsburg, Germany in 1957, when he was 9 years old. Attending Portland public schools, Bernie was active in music through singing and playing violin in orchestra. His conducting career started at Wilson High School, where he was asked to student conduct his school's orchestra. He then spent a summer touring with the Continental Singers, during which he conducted the group for two tours. Bernie's studies culminated at Pacific Lutheran University, where he earned both undergraduate and master’s degrees (with a four-year separation for the Navy) in choral conducting under Maurice Skones. Bernie then moved to Washington County with his wife Karen, where his teaching career began in 1975 at Gaston and Hillsboro High Schools, and led him to Century High School when it opened in 1997.

During his teaching career, upon seeing a growing number of people in Washington County with choral backgrounds, Bernie saw a need to start a family-feel, auditioned community choir for singing and performing significant choral works. This dream was realized with the founding of the Washington County Chorale (now Oregon Chorale) in 1985. Bernie served as Artistic Director for 30 years, retiring in 2015. Under his directorship, the Chorale traveled extensively throughout Europe, produced recordings, and developed a focus on inspiring young singers, creating a high school internship program that is still active today. In partnership with the Hillsboro Community Foundation, the Oregon Chorale has since established an endowed scholarship program in Bernie's name for incoming college students pursuing a career in music.

After retiring from teaching in 2003, in addition to directing the Oregon Chorale, Bernie was active at Pacific University as adjunct faculty, conducting both the jazz and Renaissance music groups. Over the years, Bernie also sang with the Oregon Repertory Singers, was bass soloist and assistant director at First Unitarian Church in Portland, conducted the orchestra at Pacific University, and acted as music director for numerous productions at Theatre in the Grove in Forest Grove, OR. Since retiring, Bernie remains active with both choral and orchestra conducting in the community, when he isn’t engaged with his hobbies of astronomy and model railroading.

Caitlin Stave

Operations Manager

Soprano Caitlin Stave has performed along the west coast as a featured soloist in Washington, Oregon, and California. Her operatic roles include Susanna from Le Nozze di Figaro, Nannetta from Falstaff, Tytania from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Josephine from H.M.S. Pinafore. As an oratorio soloist, she has been featured in the works of Beach, Orff, Sullivan, Fauré, Mozart, Vivaldi, and Bach. Caitlin has also enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate as a soloist with modern composers including Ola Gjeilo’s recording of “Dark Night of the Soul” with the Central Washington University Chamber Choir, and Veljo Tormis’ collaboration with the Portland State University Chamber Choir “On American Shores”.

Caitlin Stave holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Central Washington University and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Portland State University. In addition to participating in international choral competitions, Caitlin has won multiple regional vocal competitions as a classical vocalist. As an educator, she has over two decades of experience teaching private voice and piano, music theory, choir, choral pedagogy, and has extensive experience as a choral section leader and conductor.

As a vocal pedagogue passionate about supporting and understanding the journey of the transitioning voice, Caitlin was published as a contributing author in one of the first articles on the subject of teaching transgender singers in the NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Journal of Singing in 2017.

Caitlin joined the Oregon Chorale in January of 2022 as the Operations Manager. She is the coordinator and voice instructor, as well as a clinician, for the Emerging Voices Internship Program and is currently also serving as the soprano section leader for the Chorale. She lives in Beaverton with her husband and fellow music nerd, Colin, and their son Cieran.

Ryan DeHaven

Accompanist

Ryan DeHaven is a Portland-based studio instrumentalist, producer, recording engineer, and educator. Ryan’s piano accompaniment has brought him to award-winning choral programs and soloists of all genres, exhibiting an impressive library of repertoire ranging from Rimsky-Korsakov to Stephen Sondheim. His pit orchestra work in musical theater has spanned more than a decade and includes work on more than 32 productions at the high school level and above. Ryan has taught music to students of all ages and actively instructs at the middle and high school levels where he encourages the next generation of artists to love themselves through their art.

Ryan has acted as accompanist for the Oregon Chorale since fall of 2021, previously working as an audio engineer for the Chorale’s virtual performances in the 2020-2021 season. Other recent professional credits include musical direction/pianist for Arts and Communication Magnet Academy’s 2024 production of The Drowsy Chaperone, rehearsal/performance keyboardist for University of Portland's 2024 production of The Prom, and as regular accompanist for Westside Christian High School’s fifteen-time OSAA 3A State Champion Concert Choir.

Ryan currently works as a middle/high school band director in the Beaverton School District at his alma mater, Arts and Communication Magnet Academy. Ryan is delighted to be continuing his work with the Oregon Chorale for the 2024-2025 season!