After nearly eight decades of performances, the Portland Chamber Orchestra has officially dissolved, canceling its final two concerts and concluding what had been one of the nation’s longest-running chamber ensembles. The board announced the decision on Monday, citing ongoing fundraising struggles and difficulty recruiting new leadership, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

The orchestra, founded in 1946 by Finnish émigré Boris Sirpo at Lewis and Clark College, held a distinctive place in Oregon’s cultural history. It began as an all-women’s string ensemble before expanding into a full chamber orchestra known for blending classical repertoire with contemporary and cross-cultural collaborations.

Board treasurer Mike Nichols said financial shortfalls had become insurmountable in the years since longtime artistic director Yaacov Bergman’s death in 2023. “That kind of took a little wind out of our sails,” Nichols told OPB, describing how Bergman’s charisma and community outreach had previously helped sustain the group through leaner years.

The nonprofit had generally been able to balance expenses with donations, ticket sales, and grants, but the pandemic further eroded that stability. COVID-era shutdowns decimated performing arts attendance statewide, leaving organizations across the Northwest scrambling to rebuild audiences and funding pipelines. By mid-2025, public filings showed the orchestra’s expenses exceeding its income, even as it hired an executive director to shore up management capacity. The gap ultimately proved too wide to overcome.

The closure reflects broader headwinds for performing arts organizations both in Portland and beyond. Many chamber ensembles and regional symphonies have reported similar post-pandemic challenges: declining ticket sales, increased production costs, and donor fatigue. In Cowlitz County, smaller arts nonprofits have expressed comparable concerns, often relying on volunteers and local sponsorships to stay afloat.

For Nichols, 78, the decision brought mixed emotions—relief that an uncertain future was resolved, but sadness that a proud legacy would not continue. “I was hoping I could have retired from this job before something like this happened,” he said. “But on the other hand, I’ve had too many sleepless nights trying to figure out how we’re going to get through all this.”

Local musicians from southwest Washington have long performed with or attended the Portland Chamber Orchestra’s shows, many of which were held at venues such as the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts in Beaverton. The orchestra’s absence will leave a notable gap in the regional arts landscape, both artistically and symbolically, as one of Oregon’s oldest continuously operating ensembles fades into history.

Further information about the orchestra’s history and dissolution is available at the Portland Chamber Orchestra’s website.