The Island Soul Choir is back and with new spirit.
Last year, the announcement was made that music director Brian Tate was stepping down and this fall marked Karla Mundy’s first full session as the new director.
The choir members are certain its concert at Knox United Church November 23 and 24 will show how Mundy’s energy, clarity and youthful spirit has captured their hearts.
The choir will present Feel the Spirit Saturday, November 23 at 7:30 p.m., and again Sunday, November 24 at 2:30 p.m.
Island Soul Choir is a community choir with more than 100 singers. The group’s repertoire covers gospel, spirituals, world music, blues, pop, R&B and any type of music that touches, moves or inspires the soul.
Mundy travels from Vancouver, which means Island Soul Choir rehearses just once every three to four weeks in Lantzville, unlike typical choirs that rehearse weekly. This extended schedule attracts singers from all over Vancouver Island as well as Quadra and Gabriola Islands.
Soloists add a whole different level of spirit and energy to the songs they sing, that creates a unique symbiosis between them, the choir, and the audience. Given that this is a community choir of non-auditioned singers, there is a very wide range of skill levels. Among its membership, Island Soul Choir has a number of husbands and wives singing together.
Mundy is a vibrant and soulful vocalist, pianist, arranger and choir leader. She directs four community choirs in Vancouver in addition to Island Soul Choir, and performs and teaches extensively with her vocal trio, TriVo, with Brian Tate and Dawn Pemberton. Karla released her first solo CD, Way Back, in early Dec. 2012.
The vocal trio Shine will be returning as the choir’s special guests for these concerts, having first performed as concert guests in Spring 2011.
Both concerts will be held at Knox United Church, 345 Pym Street, Parksville. Adult tickets are $18, seniors and students tickets are $15 and children 12 and under are free. Tickets are on sale through the choir’s website at islandsoulchoir.com and at various outlets in Nanaimo, Oceanside, Courtenay and Comox. For outlet locations and other information, visit the choir’s website at islandsoulchoir.com, or call Penny at 250-802-3345.
— NEWS Staff/Submitted by Penny Mitchell
