World famous children’s musical entertainer Charlotte Diamond is returning to perform in the lakecity this month with her latest album Diamonds by the Sea created with her musical son Matt.
Diamond says Williams Lake was one of the first communities she was invited to perform in 30 years ago when she decided to put aside her teaching career to entertain children full time.
“I am looking forward to returning to Williams Lake to share my music with your families,” Charlotte says. “As I have visited William’s Lake five times in the past, there may be some parents who grew up on my songs.”
Born and raised in Vancouver, Diamond has an interesting background in dance, science, music, writing songs and languages that eventually drew her to becoming the internationally known children’s entertainer that she is today.
“It’s a very interactive show,” Diamond says of the latest show she is bringing to the Gibraltar Room in Williams Lake on June 9 with her son, Matt, who is launching his own musical career in family music.
She says there will be lots of opportunity for everyone to sing and for children to get up and dance at the show which starts at 6 p.m. There will also be lots of laughter with Matt’s comical antics and collection of hats and props.
“I love it when everyone sings along.” Diamond says. “The songs are really easy to sing and there will be lots of opportunity for kids to get up and dance. It is a great show for little kids right up to grandparents.”
In creating her songs and music, Diamond says she tries to inspire children to care for each other and to celebrate the diversity of our cultural mosaic with songs such as Leave the World a Little Better.
Charlotte and Matt released their new CD Diamonds by the Sea in the fall of 2015 which has songs about nature such as Ottie the Otter and Moose on the Loose.
They will be singing some of the songs from that album as well as many of her famous and popular songs, some of them in French, Spanish, Russian as well as English.
“Languages are fun for me,” Charlotte says, adding that learning to sing songs in different languages is a great way to learn about other cultures.
She says that one popular song they sing, May There Always Be Sunshine, was originally Russian. Someone translated it into English, and she has since learned how to sing it in various languages including French, Spanish, Italian and Cree.
For the show in Williams Lake, she says they will have everyone sing it in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Cantonese.
Charlotte graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Secondary Education, majoring in zoology and French. While at university she took courses in ballroom dance.
After UBC she studied French at Laval University, Quebec.
Then she taught science, French and music at the junior-high school level at New Westminster Secondary for 10 years.
She sang with local folk groups, including performing intro sets for Pete Seeger and Tom Paxton.
When her own two sons came along, she began singing and writing songs for them and also developed a preschool music program.
This led to performances for her children’s parent-participation preschool, which mushroomed into requests for workshops, school concerts and family shows around Vancouver and throughout B.C.
After forming her Hug Bug Band she released her first album 10 Carrot Diamond, that won a Juno Award in 1984 and became a Certified Gold Record in Canada.
Charlotte has 14 albums to her credit including three in French and two in Spanish.
She is a frequent headliner for the Vancouver International Children’s Festival with favourite songs such as Four Hugs a Day, I am a Pizza, (Je suis une pizza, Soy una Pizza), Octopus (Slippery Fish), La Bamba, All the Nations Like Banana, and Dicky Dinosaur.
Octopus (Slippery Fish), was published in 2013 as a Children’s Board book, Slippery Fish in Hawai’i.
Charlotte tours throughout Canada and the U.S. and has had three concert tours to Costa Rica, on the invitation of that country’s First Lady, UNICEF and the Canadian Embassy.
She has a string of awards to her credit including five Parents’ Choice Awards; three American Library Association Awards; the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal “in recognition of her exemplary support of UNICEF,” and was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, “in appreciation of significant assistance given to the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.”
She has two nationally televised videos, and created two music/resource books.
Charlotte says she is always putting together material that will help teachers to bring music to their students.
While she is in Williams Lake, Charlotte and Matt will also give two performances at Nesika Elementary School for Kindergarten to Grade 9 students on Wednesday, June 8. The Grade 7 to 9 students will be coming to Nesika for the morning concert from the Lake City Secondary School’s Columneetza Campus next door.
Younger students will have their concert in the afternoon.
Nesika is home to the French Immersion elementary school program in Williams Lake. The Williams Lake Branch of Canadian Parents for French is hosting the Charlotte Diamond concert.
Tickets for the Gibraltar Room concert are available in advance for $15 at Kit and Kaboodle and Taylor Made Cakes.
They will also be available at the door for $20.
Charlotte says she and Matt will stay after the concert to sign autographs and have pictures taken. They will also have a sampling of their albums available.
Her latest CD, 24 Carrot Diamond – The Best of Charlotte Diamond, features 24 of her best-known songs, recorded over the past 25 years. For more on Charlotte Diamond go to www.charlottediamond.com.
