Island Soul Choir turned to their choir members to choose the repertoire for this concert. They came up with 10 of their all-time favourite songs to entertain you, although with 90 songs to choose from, selecting just 10 was almost impossible for most of them!
=0D=0A=The songs selected are an interesting blend of African, Afro-Cuban, Southern gospel, sprirituals, rock and world music. To round things out, Karla Mundy, the choir’s conductor, selected 3 new tunes for the choir to learn, including a popular new jazz piece by Coco Love Alcorn, a Canadian pop and jazz singer-songwriter.
=0D=0A=The reason for this Reflections concert was two-fold: one, choir members had been asking for an opportunity to revisit some of their favourite music; the other, the choir wanted to take a truly representational repertoire with them on their 6-day performance tour to New Orleans this May. Island Soul Choir was privileged during their 2013 Cuba performance tour to spend a half-day working with Novel Voz, an internationally reknowned vocal jazz ensemble of 3 men and 4 women. When news broke that Novel Voz was coming to Canada to be the Artists-in-Residence at this year’s Kathaumixw International Choral Festival in Powell River, ISC instantly decided to return the favour and invite them to be their guests at this concert and share their unique and unforgettable sound.
=0D=0A=Novel Voz (Spanish for “new voice”) has been making a cappella music together since 1999 and have recorded 3 CDs. Their repertoire includes the traditional Cuban music they’ve grown up with—son, chacha, bolero and rumba—plus an array of international pieces. They’ve been described as a “vocal orchestra” for their stunning vocal imitations of instruments, such as percussion, strings, and piano, to accompany their singing.
=0D=0A=This concert will be Novel Voz’ first appearance in their 2016 BC Goodwill Tour that is being sponsored by Canada-Cuba Sports and Cultural Festivals, a company that organizes arts, sports and education programs in Cuba for Canadian students, sports teams, and choral groups.
=0D=0A=For information about CCS&CF, visit www.canadacuba.com.
=0D=0A=Island Soul Choir is a non-auditioned community choir that draws its members from all over Vancouver Island, from Victoria to Port Hardy, as well as Gabriola, Salt Spring and Quadra Islands. It is truly an all-Island choir! Their repertoire covers gospel, spirituals, world music, blues, pop, soul, R&B… basically any type of music that touches, moves or inspires the soul. Members don’t necessarily have any prior choir experience — they may not even know how to read music — they just want to sing.
=0D=0A=With 140 members and many of them experienced singers, there’s definitely safety in numbers for newcomers to find their singing voice. Given that Ms Mundy lives in Vancouver, Island Soul Choir rehearsals are scheduled only five times per session about a month apart, unlike traditional choirs that rehearse weekly. The choir is now in its 9th year in spite of (or maybe more due to) this unorthodox rehearsal format.
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