“The Grant Royal Blues sing with joy, passion and dedication. Their performances are uplifting and beautiful and there is a clear comaraderie among the students. I wish every high school student had the opportunity to belong to a group like this.”
- Susan Nielson, Executive Director, Portland Workforce Alliance
The Royal Blues bring joy and inspire our community to come together with a collective voice.
The Royal Blues, Grant High School’s premier chamber ensemble, has been bringing music to audiences across the city and state in high-quality choral performances for over 40 years! They are a highly sought after performance choir that has performed with Pink Martini, at Blazer games, and wide variety of other notable private events and venues.
The Royal Blues give philanthropic performances to uplift the spirits of a number of local communities including the children at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, public schools throughout the city and the residents of local retirement homes.
Members of the choir also serve as interns at local junior high schools’ choir programs and pursue careers in music education. Every penny earned by The Royal Blues is used to support the Grant choir program, benefiting all 350 choir students at Grant High School.
Hear some inspiration
The Royal Blues’ repertoire encompasses a wide variety of styles and eras from renaissance madrigals to jazz standards, contemporary choral selections to spiritual and folk ballads. But, we know some our crowd pleasers are songs you’ve had on repeat for years. We do it all!
“Grant Choir is one of the greatest things I’ve ever been apart of. I’ve made so many friends and connections with my peers. Before Grant, I was never able to truly enjoy a real performing arts program.”
— Hannah Rainge, Royal Blues Alto, 2022 - present
2024 European Tour
As Grant High School embarks on its Centennial Celebration this year, The Royal Blues have an opportunity to perform at the American Festival of Music in Austria, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia. They’ll represent Portland's artistic excellence and commitment to the arts. The Blues will need community support to ensure that every member of the choir can experience this incredible opportunity, regardless of their financial means.
About the Director
John Eisemann started as the Director of Choral Activities at Grant High School in the Fall of 2012. He’s spent the lsat decade developing Grant’s choir program into one of the best in the state of Oregon. John is an alum of Grant High School and is a former member of the Royal Blues. John Holds a BA in Music/Education from Knox College and an MA in Educational Leadership and Design.
Aside from his work at Grant, John is an active member of the NW choral community. He is the founder and Artistic Director of In Medio, a semi-professional chamber choir for young adult singers and sings with the Nexus Vocal Ensemble.
“The best thing about the Blues is the incredible sense of community while singing incredible music — and I’ve learned that my favorite songs were written 400 years ago.”
— Kai La Forte, Royal Blues Tenor I, 2022 - present
2022-2023 Royal Blues
The Royal Blues Conductors Circle
A special thanks to local businesses that support the Royal Blues!
