Live at Aeolian Hall

Pride Men's Chorus London presents Stars & AngelsJump to Info for Pride Men's Chorus London presents Stars & Angels

With Special Guests

Heather Bambrick Jump to Info for Heather Bambrick

Sunday December 01, 2019
2:00 pm   |  Doors Open @ 1:00 pm
$30 Advanced    $35 Doors   

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Pride Men’s Chorus London, with guest artist, Heather Bambrick, will bring you a concert that is filled with just about everything: traditional seasonal & Christmas music, art music, jazz, pop, rock, and some funny tunes that will have your toes tapping and bells jingling.

Here are some examples of what you’ll be hearing: a lovely mash-up of Hark the Herald Angels Sing with Angels We Have Heard on High; a version of Deck the Halls in a rhythm that you wouldn’t think was humanly possible; a lovely pieces set to a beautiful poem called Stars I Shall Find; and two hilarious, adventurous medleys called Christmas Can-Can and Santa Quodlibet. Heather will sing a few pieces on her own and some with the choir backing her up: River by Joni Mitchell; Merry Christmas, Darling as sung by The Carpenters; and the Louis Armstrong favourite, Cool Yule. And much more.

pride men’s chorus london

Pride Men’s Chorus London was founded in 2016 and is a program of Aeolian Hall. PMCL was the 2018 recipient of the Jack Richardson London Music Award Best Classical Vocal (Choir/Group). Since it’s foundation, PMCL has sung to sold out audiences.

Approximately 50 men sing in the chorus. It is a non-auditioned choir and those with all levels of musical knowledge are invited to join us. Pride Men’s Chorus London is part of a movement of LGBTQ2 Choirs in the world. Pride Men’s Chorus London made its unexpected debut at the Vigil for The Orlando Massacre hosted at Aeolian Hall on June 14, 2016. In the global arena of eroding human rights and particularly the rights of the LGBTQ2 community, we sing to enlighten and help those with closed minds and hearts to open up and celebrate diversity and love.

Pride Men’s Chorus London creates experiences through choral music that promote community, inclusiveness and excellence.  With the goal of combatting stereotypes and perceptions, we challenge the heteronormative worldview by inspiring our audience, the LGBTQ2 community and our broader community through advocacy and music. We celebrate victories won, we mourn lives lost, we find unconditional acceptance, and we celebrate all life in harmony, through our songs.

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Special Guest

Heather Bambrick

JUNO-nominated vocalist Heather Bambrick prides herself on being an entertainer through and through.  From her skillful, effortless interaction with audiences, to the variety and breadth of her material, Heather approaches every aspect of her performances with the goal of leaving audiences feeling far better after her shows than before they arrived.  Therefore her concerts have been described as what happens when “Ella Fitzgerald meets Carol Burnett at a Newfoundland kitchen party”.

It’s not only audiences who appreciate Heather’s talent.  Critics and industry professionals place Heather on the top rung of the musical ladder.  “Heather hits every right note”, says Mark Rheume of CBC Radio.  WholeNote Magazine calls her “one of the finest jazz singers in this country”, and All About Jazz says her voice is a “paragon of clarity” and that “she’s the real deal in every way”.

As one of Canada’s top Jazz vocalists, Heather has collaborated with some of the best around, including Phil Nimmons, Fred Hirsch, Gene DiNovi, Guido Basso, Anne Hampton Callaway, Carol Welsman, Jackie Richardson, Ian Shaw, as well as the late Rob McConnell and Peter Appleyard.  She’s a founding member of vocal ensembles The Beehive Singers and Broadsway, and has appeared as a guest performer with numerous Jazz ensembles, as well as with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.

Heather’s solo recordings have each received East Coast Music Award nominations for Jazz Recording of the Year, and her 2017 release You’ll Never Know was also nominated for a JUNO Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.  Heather has been a guest artist on a number of diverse recording projects, from those of the Caliban Bassoon Quartet, to Sophisticated Ladies (the final recording of Jazz great Peter Appleyard), and Just Passing Through (the award-winning recording from Jeff and Don Breithaupt).  She’s been honoured with Canada’s National Jazz Award for Vocalist of the Year.

Heather’s newest release Fine State sees her moving in some new musical directions, with a more Pop-influenced Jazz sound, featuring strong Canadian content, and original material.  Says Bambrick: “This project brings together more of the things that inspire me overall, not just in jazz and not just in music.  The arrangements show influences from rock, pop, and folk music, and the tunes we’ve chosen have a strong connection to the events of the world around me, and the roots of who I am as a musician and a person.”

Never one to wear a single hat, Heather is one of Canada’s busiest voice actors, heard in commercial campaigns and on several Emmy Award-winning animation series, including Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood and Wild Kratts.  She is also an award-winning broadcaster, hosting and producing shows on JAZZ.FM91 in Toronto, and most recently as the co-founder of JAZZCAST, a 24-hour internet-based Jazz station out of Toronto.  Along with all of this, she can often be found in classrooms and music festivals across Canada, acting as an advocate for the Coalition for Music Education in Canada, or fighting to close the “value gap” as a member of the Advisory Committee for Music Canada.

As Heather puts it: “I love doing so many different things and I am incredibly grateful that I am able to do a variety of work that brings me creative fulfillment.  The fact that I can do all of this and take care of the bills is fantastic, because those shoes aren’t going to pay for themselves!”

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