Local women’s vocal ensemble Key of She will open Circle of Song at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 at St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church. A second performance will be presented 3 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Pearl Theater in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Performances will include a wide variety of musical styles with vocal, choral and instrumental selections.
Key of She is conducted by Anita Stushnoff and accompanied by Monte Anderson. The ensemble, which has been in existence for nearly a decade, was founded by Leah Jones. There are currently 11 singers in the ensemble.
The repertoire for Circle of Song includes familiar popular tunes like “Blue Moon”, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”, “Fields of Gold” and “And So It Goes”. Contemporary choral works will include “Hold Me, Rock Me”, “Prayer of the Children”, “The Circle” and “One Voice”. Instrumental features include Gail Southall and Anita Stushnoff in a raucous piano duet titled “Fiddle Faddle”, a lilting jazzy selection by Vicki Blake Thompson on flute, and Shirley Cameron on an electronic woodwind instrument with Sue Jorgenson on guitar in a Celtic song. The program features members of the Key of She in small group and solo work as well the full ensemble.
Circle of Song is a powerful metaphor for the women of this ensemble who love weaving their voices together. As member Trish Bartlett put it, when comparing singing alone to singing in a group, “It is better by far to stand in a circle of friends and blend my breath, my voice, and soul with all of theirs until we are truly singing the same song.”
Tickets for the Creston performance are $12 in advance, available at Black Bear Books and Creative Fix, or $15 at the door. Tickets for the Pearl Theater performance in Bonners Ferry are $10 US in advance, available only at Black Bear Books, or $12 US at the door.
—KEY OF SHE