Imagine you are an 18 year old high school senior. You’re old enough to enter the real world, but you’re still very much under the supervision of your parents. But what happens if one day, a new person comes into your life that just turns everything in your world upside down. Would you stay at home or run off with this person? This is the challenge facing “Starr” the main character of “asymphonyforportland”. She makes her choice and finds herself a part of a small homeless family headed by “Jordan,” a young homeless man and his partner “Aaron”. She shines a light into their world, but will it be enough to keep from the darkness that exists for them all.

Christina Clingerman Hemphill is an accomplished organist and pianist, who for the past several years has been focusing on composing when she isn’t directing church choirs. Growing up in Indianapolis, Indiana, she played her first wedding in sixth grade. In high school she added trumpet to her resume and often arranged music for friends. She attended Butler University, Jordan College of Music, also in Indianapolis, so she could continue lessons with Mallory Bransford, PhD., her beloved organ professor. While at Butler, she was also fortunate to participate in the college’s production of Bernstein’s “MAss”, with Mr. Leonard Bernstein attending and giving notes to the group.
Marriage brought her to Texas where she raised her family, and eventually returned to college to become a paramedic. It was her years as a paramedic, in Texas, that she experienced firsthand the trials and tragedies of the homeless. And now, after having encountered homeless youth in Portland, Oregon, she has taken her medical experiences, her musical talent and her compassionate heart, to tell a story that she hopes will help prevent homelessness of teens and young adults.