SINGING WORKSHOP
There is also a workshop before the show, from 5 to 6:30pm in the Community Room below St. James Hall, led by Moira Smiley and VOCO. Expand Your Vocal Colours: Do you want to sing Balkan music? Or Irish & Appalachian song? Are you curious about improvising and arranging with your vocal ensemble? Want to expand your repertoire? Renowned vocal ensemble, moira smiley & VOCO offer ONE-TIME-ONLY SINGING WORKSHOP. Designed for advanced as much as beginning singers, you'll learn solid vocal techniques, freeing exercises to "GET" these singing styles, improvisation exercises and rare & beautiful harmony songs. Workshop is fast-paced and fun; expect to learn at least two songs, warmups, exercises and tips for fine ensemble singing. Please contact if you'd like to register.
The No Shit Shirleys (BC)
VOCO (USA)
8pm, ThursdayApril 9th '09St. James Hall3214 West 10th Avenue at Trutch St. in Kitsilano
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Stompin' rebel-harmony with cello & banjo: Original songs steeped in Appalachia & Eastern Europe. Moira Smiley & VOCO sing powerful, emotional music with lush harmony and the delicious vaudevillian combo of cello, accordion and banjo. Named #1 acappella band in the U.S. in 2007, Moira Smiley & VOCO's 2008 Live EP "Circle, Square, Diamond & Flag" received a national NPR feature and rave reviews. The title refers to Shape Note Singing, which is featured on the CD. This is a truly phenomenal act, combining the energy of urban street singing with first-rate musicianship and folk roots. Some of you may have seen them at last Summer's Mission Folk Music Festival, or earleir last year at Heritage Hall on Main Street.
VOCO is: Moira Smiley, Jess Basta , Jessica Catron and Christine Enns. They create post-folk, improvisation-built songs while digging into old Americana and Eastern European sounds. Sprinkled throughout their songs are rompin' stompin' body percussion sets - always a show-stopping pleasure. Joyous, magnificent, hair-raising harmonies – music that mourns and dances at the same time.
"Persuasive, near perfect musicians...ethereal and gritty." — Herald Times
Website: www.moirasmiley.com
The USA has Sweet Honey in the Rock, Belgium has Zap Mama, and now Canada appears ready to seed its own entry into the field of world- class global female vocal choruses. The No Shit Shirleys - or "The Shirleys," as they are known to media who can't say the "s" word – are a Vancouver-based Septet that sing the songs that move them; everything from Cuban Carnival music and tragic Russian love songs to sweet Mandarin flirtations and wrenching Appalachian protests. The Shirleys sing songs that reflect the global desire for a better, more joyful world – and they do it with an enthusiasm that is infectious. The Shirleys are: Yael Blum, Karla Mundy, Keona Hammond, Dawn Pemberton, Samantha Fletcher, Victoria Oginski and Karen Lee-Morlang.
Website: www.noshitshirleys.com