Do ba dwee ba, do ba do wa, za ba da doo ba, scoo bee dwee doot, shoo bop doo bop.
It was fabulous, fun, fantastic to have all these cool kids and their teachers strutting their stuff and bringing audiences to their feet in response to jazz vocals and music flooding the stage and spilling out to the community until residents from Saltery Bay to Lund picked up on the beat and snapped their fingers and tapped their toes as the music lived and breathed and brought two countries together in two days of working and sharing, culminating in two nights of performances, showmanship and young people shining in the spotlight as the Evergreen Theatre at the Powell River Recreation Complex vibrated when Vocal Summit XIII reached a crescendo of jazz and singing and love of music while the community congratulated all the organizers and volunteers who made it happen and have made it happen year after year, bringing fabulous talent to Powell River and having participants ooh and ahh at the beauty that surrounds our town and the friendliness of its residents and the ultimate cool of Peter Taylor.
Razzamatazz, doo wop, skoobie doobie bee bop, bippity bippity doo wop, lula shabazz.
Laura Walz
Editor
Powell River Peak
To Peter Taylor and all involved in the Vocal Summit March 29-31, 2007.
I just wanted to take a moment to send along my sincere thanks for an amazing weekend. I signed of as chaperone for my son's choir from Argyle Secondary at the request of Frances Roberts.
As a music student in my youth, I was a participant at the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales. In my working life I have worked at the Vancouver Symphony, and Vancouver Opera. With Ticketmaster, I handle such clients as Coastal Jazz & Blues Society (including the Vancouver International Jazz Festival), Festival Vancouver, Vancouver Recital Society, Vancouver International Writers Festival, Arts Club Theatre & Ballet British Columbia - not to mention Live Nation Theatrical productions & The Rolling Stones & a host of others.
I was simply blown away with the Vocal Summit and it's program. As a parent I just don't have words to express my appreciation for what the kids received. Not only did they come home full of inspiration and ideas, but I was reminded why I took the path I did, and why I chose to work in and around the arts. It was a truly moving experience. I know these festivals don't just appear out of nowhere - it takes an incredible amount of work from so many, yet you all managed to make it seem effortless and fun.
Thanks again, and congratulations to you all.
John Kearns
Client Services Representative
Ticketmaster Canada Ltd
(printed with permission of F. Roberts)
Peter,
A big THANK YOU to you and your team of volunteers who put on an amazing festival, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and were so honoured to be invited to perform Sat evening. My students had such a memorable time and they grew so much over this weekend as an ensemble/ family and loved singing for the Powell River audiences. We would love to go again, however next year we are planning an overseas trip so we may need to wait till the following year.
I had a super time and am so sorry I couldn't be with you guys at the final reception but being in Lund had a few limitations, although it was a great place to be with my group.
Frances Roberts
Argyle Secondary School
North Vancouver, B. C.
Used with permission/from The Powell River Peak, (on line edition) April 11, 2007
To the Editor:
The just-concluded Vocal Summit was by all accounts a great success ["Singers hit peak at summit," April 4]. Nancy and I enjoyed the event tremendously and the concerts on both nights were something we had not experienced in a long time. The musicianship at these concerts, and for that matter at the entire event, was first class. Peter Taylor and his crew of volunteers deserve the whole-hearted support of Powell River, from city council to everyone in the community.
Any time that someone brings to town so many people (more than 20 choirs), it is of course, good for business. We understand that all of the participants and their support people stayed in hotels. We do not know if any help was given to this event from the city to offset the expenses, but it certainly should have been. This was a very classy event which deserves recognition from all of us.
Peter Taylor and crew not only gave music students a chance to show their stuff, but also gave the rest of us a fantastic music event.
Alexander and Nancy Hollmann
Highway 101
Hi Peter,
Just a quick comment. Having the schedule on the back of the director's badges was an awesome idea.
Karen Snowsell
Choir Director, Dunsmuir Middle School
Victoria, B. C.