Alan Brown
Special to Black Press
In these times, we have often found ourselves physically disconnected from both our special places and from one another. At their upcoming concert “In Time and Place”, Island Voices will try to reconnect us to where and when we gather, think, feel, believe, and share.
The chamber choir will perform songs from as far away as Latvia and the Philippines, and as close as Penticton and Winnipeg, ranging from a piece written 300 years ago to a song composed in 2020. Despite their various ages and origins, all of them speak to us of our shared feelings and humanity.
“The art of choral music transcends the poetry, and the poet; it also transcends the composition, and the composer,” said choir director John Hooper. “It exists in the heart and mind of the listener.”
For example, we all remember travelling by Greyhound bus. In a Canadian premier, Island Voices will perform “Now Boarding”, a piece written by Penticton composer Nicholas Ryan and lyricist James Iwasuk. The composition not only evokes the sights and sounds of a Canadian bus terminal, but our memories of travel as well.
Island Voices invites you to enjoy “In Time and Place”, presented at Campbell River United Church (415 Pinecrest Rd. in Campbell River) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 12. There will also be a Sunday matinee at 2:30 pm on March 13 at St. George’s United Church (505 6th St. in Courtenay).
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in Courtenay at Benjamin Moore House of Colour, in Comox at Blue Heron Books, and in Campbell River at The Music Plant. For more info, call 250-202-1227 (Campbell River) or 250-898-4773 (Comox/Courtenay).
All current COVID protocols will be followed, including proof of vaccination and the wearing of masks as required by public health orders.
