The Village Voices of Qualicum Beach are getting an inspiring boost of youthful energy for two upcoming performances, which will feature young performers from the Parksville Qualicum Beach area.
Scheduled for Saturday, April 7, at Knox United Church in Parksville and Sunday, April 15, at Christian Fellowship Centre in Qualicum Beach, the Youth Infusion and Young at Heart concerts will have performers ages 10 to 17 years old doing a variety of acts, either with the choir or as their own presentations.
Youth performances will include classical piano, music theatre numbers, dance, solo singing pieces, speech arts and a comic singing act in which the song If I Only Had a Brain is turned into If I Only Played Piano, said Patricia Plumley, the choir’s recently installed musical director.
Plumley said that, in most cases, the youth performers brought their own ideas for their acts.
“It was, ‘What do you want to showcase about yourself?… It’s a reciprocal (bring something) that you know your audience will appreciate, and you will feel great about bringing to them.”
“I think (the performances) will highlight a number of delights for people in terms of youth,” she said.
The Village Voices have also stuck to the theme of youth for their repertoire, she said.
“It’s all about young love and ‘you make me feel so young,’ and looking back on your school days… all the favourites that make people feel good and remember why youth is important — Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka.
“So it’s given us a chance to go back and remember what that feels like, and in many ways remember what music is to us and why music makes us feel so good, and performing and bringing our talents out.”
That musical rejuvenation has also been getting around beyond the Village Voices, said Plumley.
The choir has done a rehearsal at the Gardens at Qualicum Beach, “and to watch all the residents enjoying those numbers — I mean, they know the words, they can sing along, and you know that inside, it’s kindling their youth. So it was very, very satisfying.”
The performances (with different youth acts each time) are April 7 at Knox church (345 Pym St. in Parksville) starting at 7 p.m., and April 15 at Christian Fellowship Centre (825 Village Way in Qualicum Beach) starting at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults from Mulberry Bush bookstores or at the door. Students and children get in free.
For more info on the Village Voices, go to www.thevillagevoices.ca.