Gettin' Higher Choir 20th Anniversary Concert

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Friday, June 10th, 2016
7:30 PM to 9:30 PM

Victoria’s 300-member Gettin’ Higher Choir will celebrate its 20th anniversary in concert with internationally-renowned singer-songwriter Ann Mortifee.

These concerts will mark two extraordinary decade’s of the choir’s relationship with development projects in Mozambique which were inspired, and are now managed by, a refugee family then living in Victoria. Mortifee performed at the first choir fundraising concerts for these projects in 1999, and since then, events with her and other notable musical legends have raised more than $400,000 for them. Shivon Robinsong founded the Gettin’ Higher Choir in 1996, and soon afterwards connected with Mozambiquan refugees Perpetua and Joseph Alfazema, then living in Victoria.

That connection blossomed into a lasting relationship with the people of Kapasseni and Sena, in the Caia District of Sofala Province in Mozambique. Since 1999, Denis Donnelly, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and arranger, has co-led the choir with Shivon. Each year since the choir has ended its spring season with these life-changing benefit concerts.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS:

Ann Mortifee’s extraordinary four-octave voice and compelling stage presence led to years as a concert artist performing with such luminaries as Harry Belafonte and John Denver. She has sung with symphony orchestras throughout North America and Europe and written ballet scores, including the much-acclaimed “The Ecstasy of Rita Joe.” She has created film scores, musicals, one-woman shows and CDs, all of which have led to her being honoured with the prestigious Order of Canada. Having grown up on a sugarcane farm in Zululand, Ann has a lifelong passion for Africa. This will be her fifth time supporting the Gettin’ Higher Choir in their Mozambique benefit concerts. Three other fine musicians from Vancouver – Ed Henderson on guitar, Bill Sample on piano, and Finn Manniche on cello – as well as Victoria’s Lanny Pollet on flute, will also all collaborate with Mortifee and the choir for an unforgettable evening of music.