Occidental Community Choir presents
Postcards
Live concerts featuring an eclectic mix of locally composed music, classical and contemporary choral pieces, poetry, and spoken word from our community in the redwoods of Northern California.
When times feel difficult and dark, one of the most powerful things we can do is to connect with others.
Reaching out with a postcard, a call, or a message that simply says “I’m thinking of you” can cut through isolation and remind someone they’re not alone. These small acts of connection matter (often more than we realize) because they carry our presence, care, love, and hope across distance.
This is the spirit that shapes Postcards.
A postcard is small, simple, and deeply human. It quietly says “I was here. I thought of you and thought you would appreciate this. This mattered to me.” Together we’ll gather songs like postcards this Spring, each with snapshots of memory and meaning, carrying stories from a particular time and place.
Some of our musical postcards will arrive joyful and sun-drenched, others a little weathered at the edges, written in the ink of longing or hope. They serve to remind us that our lives are not only measured in years, but in moments that change us, stay with us, and the ones that we pass along.
As a choir, we get to be both the senders and the recipients. We offer our voices as messages; reaching out, holding space, and reminding one another (and our audiences):
you matter, you are connected,
and you are not alone.
Spring 2026 Concert Dates
Join the Occidental Community Choir for Postcards: a concert series filled with music that reaches out to connect us with others, whether they be near or far, past or present. With songs that carry stories from a particular time and place, memories, and meaning, this season’s program celebrates the small moments that bring us together.
May 1st
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May 2nd
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May 3rd
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May 8th
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May 9th
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May 10th
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Support Us
On our 40th anniversary year we observed this momentous occasion by celebrating four decades of making original music in the company of our friends and neighbors. We spun yarns and took trips down memory lane as we revisited some of the best-loved songs written by choir members past and present. We recorded both spring and winter concerts and share them with you in this 2 disk set. $35 covers tax and shipping
40 Years of Music from Home
Limited Edition "Greatest Hits" CD
Get your copy now! One of the unique things about the Occidental Community Choir is that we compose much of our own music; and in the 36 years of our history, we've written more than 400 songs.Here are 19 of the best, composed especially for winter, from choirs past and present.
$20 per CD (price includes shipping and tax)
Note: We ship only within the U.S. Please allow two weeks for delivery
"And we breathe in our daily labors
and breathe out songs in four parts;
we bring life to the notes on the pages,
and the music gives light to our hearts…"
— Choirsong Chorale by Marcy Telles and Doug Bowes
Our Mission
Our mission is both simple and clear: To create, collaborate in performing, and in promoting great music, much of it composed by our members. We mentor and support one another in developing our skills as singers, lyricists and composers. Our music encompasses a wide range of personal experience and reflects the authentic connection we have with one another and the larger community.
Our Beginning
Back in 1978, on Christmas Eve, a group of musically-minded souls from the hills surrounding Occidental, California gathered around a campfire in the center of town to sing carols. We didn’t want to go home, so we started a choir.
Through the decades the choir has solidified its reputation for excellence by producing unique concert experiences that combine humor, storytelling, poetry, varied instrumental accompaniment, and an off-the-beaten-path repertoire.