Beth Basham (left) and Megan Lapp | Photo Courtesy of Youth Choir of Central Oregon
The Board of Directors of the Youth Choir of Central Oregon (YCCO) announced that founder and Artistic Director Beth Basham will retire from YCCO following the choir’s 30th Anniversary Concert on May 9. At the same time, the Board announced the appointment of Megan Lapp, the current artistic director of the YCCO Debut Choir, who will become artistic director for YCCO following Basham’s retirement.
Basham started the Youth Choir of Central Oregon in 1990 with one 60-member choir of children ranging in age from nine to 13. During her tenure, she expanded the organization from one to three choirs with more than 150 children ranging in age from six to 18 participating each year. In the past 30 years, she has influenced thousands of choristers who have shared their passion for music with friends and family — even becoming parents of today’s choristers.
Lapp, who has worked with Basham for the past 2½ years at YCCO, has more than 23 years of private piano and voice teaching experience and has taught primary and secondary students in the United States, Canada and Saudi Arabia. In addition, she holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington in Seattle and Bachelor of Arts degrees in both education and music from the University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia.
Basham’s final two concerts as artistic director will be the Winter Concert on February 1 and the 30th Anniversary Concert on May 9. Both events will be held at Bend Senior High School.