Gabriola Pops! 2023 presents
Beautiful World
The Gabriola Pops! is a fun, easy, accessible two-week "pop-up" choir program and performance that gives Gabriolans and visitors an opportunity to sing some of their favourite pop tunes with a top-notch band. The Cultivate performance would be the culmination of this program.
The inaugural pops took place in August, 2013, with a tribute to the Music of the Beatles. In 2014 we presented Joy to You and Me: A Tribute to the Music of the 70s; in July, 2015, we presented A Brief History of Soul (Gabriola-Style); and in July, 2016, we presented Happy: A Multi-era Tribute to Feeling Good. Choir attendance was 40-50 participants, and the shows all took place in the (packed) Community Hall, with audiences singing along joyfully. These concerts were in collaboration with the Gabriola Chamber Ensemble.
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And now the Pops is back! I'm thrilled to announce that Gabriola Pops! 2023 will be on the theme of Beautiful World and will feature songs to celebrate both the human and more-than-human communities that inhabit our beautiful and fragile planet.
I am pleased to propose the Gabriola Pops! 2023 concert for this year's Cultivate Festival, and look forward to the possibility of bringing together our diverse communities with the love of singing and pop music.
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Thank you for considering my proposal.
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From past Pops!
Here is a promotional video of the Happy show (sound track is not the Gabriola Pops! choir):
Here are posters from past shows:
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The Gabriola Pops! Director
Leah Hokanson is a choral conductor, singer/songwriter, pianist, and vocal sounding explorer based on Gabriola Island, BC. She directs the Song Keepers Women’s Choir and JoySounds Choir, and leads workshops of original chants. Leah is also co-founder (with Lynette Jackson) of Sound, Belonging & Wholeness and facilitates vocal sounding circles and workshops that explore the voice as a vehicle for healing and transformation. She has recorded two albums: Facets and Diamond Chants: the Heart, and an EP: Portals. She is also founder of the Lulu Performing Arts Society.
The Gabriola Pops! Band
Brian McMahon moved to Gabriola in 2018, and has enjoyed the cycling, kayaking, and trail walking opportunities that this wonderful island offers. Connections with the Gabriola musical scene began in 2019, and Brian now finds himself very busy collaborating with many of the amazing musicians living here.
Frank Sehr is a skilled and versatile guitarist whose influences range from Classic to Blues, from Rock to Jazz, and from Latin to African music. He's had a successful career as lead guitar player and composer of diverse Rock and Blues bands in Germany and Austria, before moving to Vancouver in 2000. He has also played with Nigerian and Congolese bands. Currently Frank is involved in multiple musical projects and bands on Gabriola island.