Mar24
ONE GOOD REASON TO COME AND SEE “VOCAL SUPPORT”
Many of you reading this are participants, and/or fans of the arts in Toronto. One thing I have learned in my short time in this city working as pianist/MD/vocal/repertoire coach is that WE HAVE A LOT OF TALENTED SINGERS IN TORONTO!
But working behind the scenes with these talented singers are equally talented people. They are they ones that prepare you for your audition, work on your technique so that you can sing safely and with longevity, improve your ab...ility as a singer, and inspire you to understand the meaning behind the song and help you present that meaning to the audience. There work can sometime be under-appreciated but there is no doubt:
WE HAVE A LOT OF FANTASTIC VOCAL COACHES IN TORONTO!
But here is a little secret I have learned. I play piano a lot for these coaches and sometimes they actually SING! It might be a warmup exercise, or a few bars by means of demonstrating their teaching point. Sometimes when they do this I think:
“OH MY GOD – YOU SING LIKE AN ANGEL!”
Don't you think it's time these people came out from backstage and into the spotlight! Wouldn't you love to hear your vocal coach perform? Singing a few bars is one thing but wouldn't you like to hear them actaully sing IN a bar? Well now you can!
LOU CORBETT live! ALAN REID live! PATRICA WARNOCK live! MEGAN BENJAFIELD live!
You know their work. Now come and hear them sing their favourites! I will be on piano duties as well as singing a couple of my own tunes too.
Here are the deets. Book the day off and invite all your friends – please share widely so we can get a lot of people out to support these wonderful people:
SUNDAY MARCH 24TH @ 4PMDOMINION HOTEL (500 Queen St East Toronto) ANOTHER GOOD REASON TO GO SEE “VOCAL SUPPORT” The word “support' has another meaning for this concert. As well as recognizing Lou, Alan, Trish and Megan there is a family in BC who REALLY need our support: Whether you're new to Canada or your family has lived here for generations, you likely appreciate what it means to be Canadian and how lucky you are to live here. That’s definitely the case for Jose Figueroa – he loves Canada and does not want to leave. He legally came to BC to escape political violence 15 years ago -- he's married and has three kids who were all born in Canada… But the Harper government has deemed him a "national security threat" due to his former ties with a group in El Salvador called the FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) from 20 years ago when he was a university student. The Canadian government has labeled FMLN as a terrorist organization despite the fact that during El Salvador's civil war, the organization was internationally recognized as a legitimate opposition group… and the FLMN is currently the government of El Salvador. So why are the feds still trying to deport him? Two years ago Jose's supporters formed the "We Are Jose" campaign to put pressure on Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to grant an exemption to the deportation order... yet the deportation order still stands. Not all you will know about what went on in El Salvador in the 70's 80's and early 90's. It was horrible. The government there was one of the worst human right abusers ever – people who opposed the government were tortured and murdered -70,000 to 80,000 in the 1980's alone. Part of Jose Figuero's work which the Canadian government is now deeming to be “terrorist” was protecting university students from being carted way and tortured to death! Here's another thing. After the peace accords were signed and the war was officially over the FMLN became a legitimate political party. Two years ago they won power through the ballot box in an election deemed free and fair. Canada has diplomatic relations with the new FMLN government and even sent Peter Kent (the current environment minister to the inauguration of the new FMLN president! So why are we deporting people who twenty years ago were “associated” with the FMLN if we as a nation SUPPORT the FMLN? Would we deport Nelson Mandela because of his anti-apartheid work? This man stood up for human rights and democracy – things Canada is supposed to believe in. We should be proud to have him in our country. And it's not just Jose and his family. Other people are getting caught up in this ridiculous definition on 'terrorism”. The threat of deportation is very real for many refugees. A nation-wide campaign has been set up to protect these people – it is called the “WE ARE JOSE” campaign. They want to launch a legal challenge to the laws that declare people like Jose 'terrorists”. They need to raise some money for this. I want to help them. You can help by attending this concert. Entry is by donation - $10 suggested minimum. No maximum! Money well spent I think. So consider yourself invited. It is going to be an entertaining concert with heart – please come! Robert Graham
www.robertgraham.org
robertgraham70@gmail.com For more info about Jose and his family and their deportation order plese visit www.wearejose.com.