South Surrey’s Common Sound Women’s Choir will join forces with emerging indie-folk quartet The Crescent Sky to perform a concert of the latter’s original music, I Am The Storm Saturday, June 11 at 7 p.m. at Mount Olive Lutheran Church (2350 148 St.)
It’s a natural match of the two ensembles, according to Common Sound director Elizabeth Berwick, who got the idea for the concert after hearing the band live at a house concert fundraiser in South Surrey last year.
Since forming in 2018, the Lower Mainland-based The Crescent Sky has continued to gain recognition for their distinct vocal harmonies and dynamic instrumentation, performing across B.C. and beyond, including the Harrison Festival of the Arts (B.C.) and the Pigeon Lake Music Festival (AB).
In a recent press release, Berwick said it struck her immediately that the band’s compelling four-part harmonies would be a good fit for the 25-member choir.
“Wouldn’t it be amazing to do a collaboration with this band and sing some of their fabulous harmonies?” she said. “It could be an awesome way to wrap up our inaugural season.”
With an earnest desire to connect people through the healing power of music, performing the original compositions of a local ensemble is a natural extension of the choir’s mandate, she noted.
The band was thrilled by the idea, and thought this was an excellent way to continue to explore new possibilities for their music, members Anna Luth and Jason Ratzlaff said.
“Many of us in the band grew up singing in choirs, and I think we carry forward that magic of collective singing in our songwriting,” Luth said.
“I’ve always wanted to apply the theoretical knowledge and notation skills I acquired in music school to a project of ours – this was the perfect opportunity,” Ratzlaff said.
For Common Sound– who have taken admirable strides during their inaugural year – I Am The Storm reflects their aspirations as a community-oriented choir, Berwick said.
“This multi-generational group of women aims to connect with audiences and each other through various genres, including folk, classical, jazz, and more,” she added.
This is not the first time The Crescent Sky’s music has found resonance with a choir, the release noted.
Their song Northern Lights previously grabbed the attention of a choir director from Illinois as it reached thousands of streams online. He notated the music for his university choir, evolving the guitar and four-part harmonies into a compelling arrangement featuring 30 voices.
Since then, the band has been eager for opportunities to work with more choirs and share their music in this way, Luth and Ratzlaff added.
Tickets are available at www.commonsoundchoir.ca or www.thecrescentsky.com