The economy is in limbo, the value of oil has dropped and the Canadian dollar isn’t worth what it once was.
But that doesn’t mean there’s no reason to hope.
At least that’s the message that the Island Bel Canto Singers hope to get across at their upcoming spring concerts.
Next weekend, the singers will perform their spring concert, I Dream a World, at Brechin United Church and at the Nanaimo Ecumenical Centre.
Under the guidance of their artistic director Sharon Sinclair, the Island Bel Canto Singers will be joined by self-directed female vocal ensemble Panache.
Island Bel Canto’s communication director Laurene Coleman said Sinclair selected music that will inspire people during a time of uncertainty.
“She wanted it to be something that was positive and uplifting and gave people some hope and sense of optimism in a world that is kind of challenging these days,” Coleman said.
The Island Bel Canto Singers will perform popular songs such as Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern’s All the Things You Are and Roy Orbison’s Blue Bayou.
The group will also perform Malala, Pakistani Girl, a song that pays tribute to Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani teenager and activist who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban. The song was written by Vancouver composer and choral director Larry Nickel.
The Island Bel Canto Singers will perform with Panache at Brechin United Church, 1998 Estevan Rd., on May 2 at 2:30 p.m., and again on May 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Nanaimo Ecumenical Centre, 6234 Spartan Rd.
Tickets for both concerts are $15. Children under 12 are free.
For more information about both concerts, please visit www.islandbelcanto.com or call 250-248-2097.
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