At Times Such As These

The times that we are currently facing are, beyond a doubt, harrowing. Through this concert, Island Soul Choir will support you through their music, to guide you through this uncertainty with hope and possibility.

Under the direction of Tom Arntzen, Island Soul Choir will look back at 60s songs by Jimmy Cliff, Sly and the Family Stone, and the Pointer Sisters. They’ll add in songs by Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, and the newer sounds of Abbey Lincoln and Sarina Partridge, along with a few other songs. By the end, you will come out feeling positive and light-hearted, with hope for a better tomorrow.

The choir is delighted to have two guest artists for this concert:

• Tai Williams, a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Duncan BC,captivates her audiences with a unique blend of jazz, folk and pop stylings. Her own songs are a scintillating blend of soaring melodies and poignant storytelling inspired by her own life. Tai’s lyricism arouses her audiences’ memories and feelings, drawing them in and capturing their attention. Tai has been performing at local venues and festivals over the past few years, and earlier this year, she performed in The Port Theatre’s Discovery Series. She is currently recording her debut album, to be released later this year.

• TrebleMagic is a women’s a cappella ensemble from the Parksville-Qualicum Beach area. Formerly known as Oceanside A Cappella, these 12 women/friends sing a wide variety of musical genres in three- and four-part harmony under the direction of Rosemary Lindsay.

Island Soul Choir is a community choir in its purest sense. The choir welcomes members from all over Vancouver Island, from Victoria to Port Hardy, and from Bamfield and Ucluelet to neighbouring easterly islands including Gabriola, Protection, Salt Spring, Cortes, Lasqueti and Quadra. Members don’t need to have any prior choir experience; they don’t even need to know how to read music—they just need to love to sing.

NanGo Grannies will partner once again with Island Soul Choir at this concert. They will be selling crafts and baked goods in the theatre lobby before the concert and during the intermission, and all proceeds will be used to support The Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers-to-Grandmothers Campaign. Even after almost two decades since the Campaign’s inception, thousands of grandmothers and “grand/younger-others” are more committed than ever to raise awareness, build solidarity, and mobilize funds for community-based organizations that support African grandmothers and the children in their care who have been orphaned by AIDS. We encourage our audience to take advantage of this opportunity to support this truly worthwhile endeavour.

We hope to see you there!

Phenomenal! We’ll absolutely be back for another concert… So exhuberant!… Loved being part of the uplifting energy… Lots of fun… We just loved it!… Thanks for such a lovely show… The singers are so enthusiastic!… Wonderful! We really enjoyed it… Very uplifting!… Absolutely delightful… Fabulous… Makes you want to join… Really fun to watch you guys… Always great… Fantastic!