(Photo courtesy of VOICE UP LLC)
Ten years ago, Bend voice coach and professional singer Deena Noroian, formerly Deena Kamm, had a simple idea: give her voice students a place to actually use what they were learning.
That idea became Public (ROCK) Choir — and what began as an opportunity for local singers to get out of the lesson room and sing together has grown into a beloved Central Oregon community event that has brought thousands of voices together over the past decade.
On Monday, September 7, Public (ROCK) Choir kicks off its tenth anniversary season with its regular monthly event from 6-8pm at UPP Liquids in the Box Factory in Bend. Public (ROCK) Choir takes place on the first Monday of every month, September through June, bringing the community together for a new night of music each time.
Admission is $20, and newcomers are welcome. No auditions, no singing experience and no ongoing commitment are required. The event is recommended for ages 18 and older.
Public (ROCK) Choir is not a traditional choir.
Participants are encouraged to “SING YOUR FACE OFF” alongside a live rock band in a fun, non-threatening environment where all skill levels are welcome. Noroian leads the group through an entire evening of well-known rock and pop favorites, giving everyone in the room the chance to sing great songs — LOUD. No hymns, chanting or folk spirituals. Just well-known rock and pop songs you know from the radio and pop culture.
“I created Public (ROCK) Choir because my students needed somewhere to go sing,” says Noroian. “Voice lessons are awesome, but ultimately the voice is meant to be used out in the world — by everyone! I wanted people to experience what happens when you put a whole room full of voices together and give everyone permission to really let go and sing.”
Over the next decade, PRC became a regular part of Bend’s music and community scene, bringing together people of different ages, backgrounds and levels of musical experience around one very simple philosophy: Sing Your Face Off.
The ten-year anniversary also comes as Noroian celebrates another milestone: the release of her new book, LOUD: The Voice That Cures Everything.
The book grew in part from what Noroian observed over decades of teaching and leading her choir — including what happened when ordinary people were given permission to use more of the voices they already had.
LOUD explores the connection between the human voice, the diaphragm, the body and emotional well-being, and asks a deceptively simple question: What if the human voice isn’t just a communication tool — but an overlooked part of our physical and emotional health?
Noroian’s work has since expanded well beyond singers. She is the founder of VOICE UP, LLC, where she brings her work with voice, communication and human performance to executives, organizations and other professional voice users. She also continues to operate Sing Bend, her Central Oregon voice studio.
But Public (ROCK) Choir remains the community laboratory where much of it began.
“For ten years, I’ve watched people walk into PRC saying, ‘I can’t sing,’ and then watched them become part of this enormous sound,” Noroian says. “There is something incredibly powerful about that. You don’t have to be a professional singer. You don’t have to audition. You just have to show up and use the voice you came with.”
Public (Rock) Choir — Tenth Anniversary Season Kickoff
Monday, September 7, 2026
6-8pm
UPP Liquids — Box Factory, Bend
Admission: $20
Recommended ages: 18+
First Monday of every month, September through June
No auditions. No ongoing commitment. New singers welcome.
About Deena Noroian:
Deena Noroian (formerly Deena Kamm) is a professional singer, executive voice coach, speaker, author and longtime Central Oregon voice teacher. She is the founder of VOICE UP, LLC and Sing Bend, creator and director of Public (ROCK) Choir, and author of LOUD: The Voice That Cures Everything. Her work explores the voice as both an instrument of communication and an integral part of human physical and emotional expression.
PublicRockChoir.com • youtube.com/@publicrockchoir • GetYourVoiceUp.com
