Saturday, May 15

 Music of the Nations will move you

 On Saturday, May 15 the Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir will take to the Christian Life Assembly stage along with the chamber choirs of Langley Fine Arts School and Walnut Grove Secondary School.

 Called Music of the Nations, the concert will move beyond the VWMC’s Welsh origins to include music from around the world. It will also support education, arts and culture by raising funds and awareness for Langley’s International Festival, the Langley Arts Council, and Langley Fine Art School’s Project Kenya.

 Great music and great causes all in one entertaining package!

 The backdrop for the Music of the Nations concert is the influence of music throughout human evolution. As populations have migrated and intermingled there has been a remixing of cultural ideals and the musical modes that express them. 

 Archeologists have found musical artifacts dating back to the origins of human kind. As societies and cultures developed music was used to carry messages over long distances, tell tales, sooth babies, worship and celebrate. The rhythm and beat of music has accompanied all kinds of activities, bringing communities together.

 Recent technologies have exposed us to a vast range of complex music and redefined the role of music in our lives.  Recorded music often serves as an opportunity for deeply personal and private experiences. Personal, selective listening has upstaged the experience music as a vehicle that brings people together to sing in unison: many voices – one song.

 So, does music affect society, or does society affect music?

 Easy to debate, difficult to answer. But one thing is certain: the Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir live is more an experience than an event.  Their one-hundred voices form a wall of sound, enveloping body and mind, then they modulate their power into a cradling sweetness.

 For Jim Sparks, Music Director of the Langley Fine Arts’ Chamber Choir and Executive Director of Project Kenya, this opportunity is a double whammy.  Not only will his students perform alongside world-class musicians, they will highlight the school’s commitment to Kenya, where money raised by the project helps provide schools and other services.

 The Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir performance will be a moving experience and a highlight of the musical calendar.

 "This is an amazing opportunity," said Langley Arts Council Executive Director, Alison Brotherton.  Added Shar Dubas, Executive Director of the Langley International Festival, "This choir sells out world wide. This is a great opportunity to experience music with an international influence.”

 Both sponsoring organizations recommend getting tickets early. They can be purchased online at langleyartscouncil.com or atvwmc.ca. Tickets can be picked-up at Tourism Langley's office in the Langley Events Centre, 7888 - 200th Street.