GME Act of the Week: Opus 20 ... Coming Together in Perfect Harmony!

Opus 20 Rehearsal

Sometimes I find myself wasting loads of time on Facebook, and ocassionally this wasted time pays off. Responding to a post by Mike Hopkins who was looking for singers to join his 20-piece Jazz Orchestra was one of those ocassions.

I grew up in a very musical household and my music education basically came from the Gospel music that filled our house from sunrise to sunset and beyond. I am the youngest of seven kids, and we all have a love for music and would have to be quite cunning in order to sneak a listen to other types of music besides Gospel. Enter Soul, Funk, Blues, R&B and what has become my favourite genre of music, Jazz. The seeds were planted as a small child to what has now blossomed into me fronting a 20-piece orchestra.  

So, if the seeds were planted when I was just a kid, those seeds were watered the night I was flicking through the channels on TV and landed on the local PBS station that was airing Natalie Cole's 'Unforgettable' concert. While watching that show, I saw myself doing exactly what Natalie was doing, fronting a Jazz orchestra.  

Prior to seeing this concert at some point in the early 1990's I had only been singing Gospel music and had begun to work professionally on the Gospel circuit. However, those early seeds were planted, watered and starting to grow and almost 15 years later I saw the first buds started to bloom as I performed a 20-minute cabaret spot on a Celebrity Cruise Ship with a 7-piece orchestra in 2004. I remember feeling completely at home during that 20 minutes. I didn't do a full jazz set, but I did enough to realize that becoming a Jazz vocalist would become my focus.

Fast forward to 9 December 2013 when I am standing on a stage in Bournemouth Square, in England, providing the vocals for Opus 20, and I was back home again. After many detours and loads of discovery about what my voice is capable of doing, I feel most at home surrounded by Jazz music. 

Next Show - 16 December, 7:30pm

This is what I was most struck by on the night ... once all the instruments were set up, everyone was playing randomly making sure their instruments were ready, I was humming and warming up my voice, and collectively, we sounded like a hot mess. Then someone said, let's tune up and hit a single note and everyone joined in ... awesome, the sound of unity ... unison! Then the count was given for the first song and all those dots on all that sheet music no matter how different it looked on the page, came to life in perfect harmony. Then I had the magical experience of lending my voice to this amazing sound and I felt it, and the people watching felt it too ... Joy!

In a word, that is what springs forth from the musical seeds that were planted and watered over the span of my musical career ... Joy!  I feel it everytime I sing and try very hard to share it no matter what genre I'm singing!

Opus 20 gave me the gift of Joy this past Monday! It was an absolute Joy to sing and listen to my favourite style of music, Jazz, and to share the stage with such wonderful musicians! I am excited to see what the future holds for Opus 20, and I am looking forward to sharing the Joy!

Opus 20 are presenting a Festive Cabaret on Monday, 16 November at the Newtown Conservative Club in Poole!  Join our FB event if you are able to attend!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1430692270482985/

If you have an event next year and you want to do something big and unexpected, contact GME today to find out how you can book Opus 20. 02392 280829.