Fans of Ol’ Blue Eyes and The Genius take note, the Westshore Community Concert band has you covered this Saturday (April 22, 7 p.m.) with its 10th annual Cafe Suite.
Indeed, regular listeners of Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles should leave Langford’s Our Lady of the Rosary Parish Hall satisfied, as the band performs favourites from the famous artists, as well as a host of other popular tunes as part of an evening of fun music in a “cafe” style.
“We expect to hear the clanking of tea cups and coffee cups and a little bit of chatter,” noted conductor and Colwood resident Mike Dominy.
Beyond tunes from the two notable entertainers, the audience can expect to hear familiar, fun songs as well as one traditional concert overture, the title of which Dominy and company are keeping under wraps.
A silent auction and door prizes will also be a part of the evening.
Dominy, one of the group’s founders, says the long-standing success of the band – this is their 15th season – stems from a dedicated group of core members.
“Like every community group, numbers fluctuate. Younger people that may be in university go off somewhere to find jobs and that sort of thing, but we’ve got a pretty solid core,” he said.
The group currently numbers in the 40s, an ideal size for Dominy, although they are always accepting new members into the band.
“It’s a good mix of people from all of the western communities,” he said, noting that the skill level ranges from retired professionals to people who learned to play in high school and have a rekindled interest in music.
The latter group tends to struggle a little bit with the music at the beginning as they relearn their instrument, Dominy said.
“It takes a little bit of time to get that skill set back, but it is kind of like riding a bike.” We have some people that haven’t played for about 20 years – they come back and they may struggle a little bit in the first season, but the second season they are playing and they’re sort of matching everything everyone else is doing,” he said.
“We’re fortunate in that the group is very welcoming and very encouraging.”
The band can be heard at numerous community events throughout the year, including Remembrance Day, Canada Day and around Christmas. Anyone interested in joining can contact Dominy at conductor@westshoreband.org.
For ticket information for this weekend’s concert, call Emma at 250-858-5805.
joel.tansey@goldstreamgazette.com