about
DOUGLAS OROFINO
Douglas Orofino (he/him) is a choral conductor and countertenor based in Portland, Oregon, with a deep commitment to using vocal music as a tool for connection and community-building. His diverse background spans choral conducting, classical voice performance, private teaching, and music education advocacy.
Rooted in the Pacific Northwest, Douglas serves as Artistic Director for the West Linn Community Chorus and the Director of Choirs at Ida B. Wells High School in the Portland Public School District. He currently serves as the Community Choir Repertoire and Resources Chair for the Oregon chapter of the American Choral Director's Association.
A dedicated educator, Douglas brings both rigor and accessible to his teaching, rehearsals, and performances. His pedagogical approach draws from years of experience across divers contexts: from faculty work at the Merit School of Music in Chicago, to a teaching post in Honduras with the NGO Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, where he produced a choral CD, Hoy en Oración with their children's choir.
Douglas holds a master's degree in classical voice performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) where he served as Graduate Assistant for Music History, assistant conductor of the CCPA Choral, and co-founded the Eleanor Ensemble, a gender-inclusive, conductor-less chamber choir committed to equal voice, trust, and camaraderie through singing. He also co-authored a Social Justice Seed Grant that established the Collaborative Music Project, a presenting agency connecting emerging professionals and dedicated amateurs through the Unsung recital series, which highlights underrepresented composers in classical and musical theater repertoire.
As a performer, Douglas showcased his operatic talents in roles such as Arsamene in Act I of Handel’s Serse during CCPA’s OperaFest XVI, and Valetto in Monteverdi’s L'incoronazione di Poppea.
Douglas holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from the University of Portland, where he graduated magna cum laude. He is a native of Placerville, CA, and believes that the stories we tell through music have the power to shape us and the society we live in.