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Nanaimo’s Heart of the Island Chorus to perform at Malaspina Theatre

‘Just Press Play’ concert to feature Tidesmen men’s chorus

Leslie Hofman says it’s rewarding to share music with one’s community and see the effect it can have on people.

“It brings a lot of joy for people, they love it and I think it’s a lot of joy for us as well,” said Hofman, musical director of Nanaimo’s Heart of the Island Chorus.

“We like to be able to give back to the community and we like to draw from the community to get members and we enjoy sharing music with people.”

Over the holidays the four-part harmony a cappella group performed at the Origin at Longwood long-term care home and the group is currently in rehearsals for an upcoming show at Malaspina Theatre on Feb. 4. The concert, entitled Just Press Play, will feature the Tidesmen men’s chorus and include a selection of tunes dating from the 1930s to the present day.

“The premise, I don’t want to give too much away, but basically people will have an opportunity to notice all the times they’ve just pressed play in their life. In music and memories,” Hofman said.

The program follows a narrative structure with the songs connected through characters and a script. Hofman said the songs were not selected specifically for the show, explaining that “the script has become a container for what we’ve done throughout the year.”

“As the musical director, I choose music that I think is going to be fun and audience-pleasing and so throughout the year we’ll choose music that we think is gonna be a great vehicle for our chorus,” Hofman said.

“We like to incorporate the music that we sing and we love to sing and we’ve taken that and we’ve woven that into the script.”

Hofman added that that those interested in joining the chorus can do so my emailing info@heartoftheisland.org or attending a weekly practice at the Lantzville Legion on Wednesday nights from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

WHAT’S ON … Heart of the Island Chorus presents Just Press Play at Malaspina Theatre on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students and $5 for children 12 and under. Available at the door or at info@heartoftheisland.org.



arts@nanaimobulletin.com

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Members of the Heart of the Island Chorus rehearse at the Lantzville Legion for their upcoming performance at Malaspina Theatre. (Josef Jacobson/The News Bulletin)