A Warm Welcome for Our New Lighthouse Director!

It's an exciting time of year! The air is fresh with the promise of Fall, everyone's rested from Summer and ready to hit the books again (theoretically at least), and our choral groups come back from their break full of energy and enthusiasm! We are gearing up to begin a new Lighthouse season, under the directorship of Ian Adams-Dirks, whom our singers know from his work with PSU's The Green Note. Ian comes to us with a background in choral and a cappella performance and arranging that fits perfectly with Lighthouse's unique vision as a young, close-knit, contemporary ensemble. 

Born and raised right here in Portland, Ian started his music career playing piano at the age of 4. For the next 10 years he picked up instrument after instrument before finding choir. As a sophomore he sang in the Royal Blues at Grant High School and began arranging music at the age of 15. As a senior, he got his first a cappella experience in Cloud 9, which paved the way for singing and directing collegiate a cappella Groups Outspoken from Oregon State University and The Green Note from Portland State University. While singing with PSU's The Green Note, Ian received the award for Best Vocal Percussion at the ICCA West Quarterfinals two years in a row. His choral arrangements have also won awards, and have been performed by groups all over the country. Ian is also a Co-Founder and the Music Director of The Portland Timbre, an all-male professional a cappella group. In addition to directing choral groups and creating musical arrangements, Ian also teaches private voice lessons.