“Northern California Dreamin'”

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CoastSing helps open the holiday season with a concert for all ages. Come enjoy the music Sunday, December 4 at 4 pm as CoastSing offers entrancing melodies from Iran & Israel, Appalachia, and the Americas, plus a Sleigh Ride for the Holiday Season. CoastSing will be joined by guest artists Harrison Goldberg on sax, Karl Young on flute, and the Arena Elementary “Avatar” Chorus. Tickets are $25 for adults and are available at Gualala Arts, Dolphin Gallery and EventBrite.com. Ages 7-17 are free.

The concert will not be exclusively Christmas Carols, and everyone will be moved by the solo voices singing Gracias a la Vida and by the mellow take of Take on Me. One more familiar song of the season may have you singing along: Sleigh Ride. Bring your own bells and jingle along!

Sue Bohlin took over direction of CoastSing (formerly the Coastal Singers) in 2017 and has put her musical stamp on the group ever since. Her husband, Robert Geary, a successful choral conductor, sings tenor in the chorus and steps in as conductor to allow Sue to focus on her piano accompaniment.

Bohlin expects good results from her singers no matter where they start in the life-long study of music. One of the definitions of music is Euphony, a word which came to us through the French, the Romans and the Greeks, meaning a “pleasing sound”. Music breaks down to about seven definitions and, coincidentally or not, there are seven notes in the western musical scale, which is essentially the alphabet of music. Bohlin believes in this as strongly as she believes in a spiritual guiding force greater than herself. She tends to select repertoire to celebrate that belief and the upcoming concert on December 4th is no exception. Part of the program, which lasts about an hour, will include an Appalachian chant, Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah, a gospel version of Michael Praetorius’ arrangement of the 15th century German carol, Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming, with Harrison Goldberg accompanying on saxophone, and an uptempo spiritual, Lord, I Know I Been Changed.

The pleasing sound Bohlin strives for comes to the audience via the drone of a standup bass played by Wayne Harris, who also sings bass in the group. He and flute player Karl Young will be part of the performance of a duo of Middle Eastern tunes: one from Iran and the other from Israel, two arrangements married in style as well as key.  Karl Young will also play the Shakuhachi flute with Adiemus (familiar to people who have seen the movie Avatar). Children from Arena Elementary and Middle School’s “Avatar” Chorus after-school class will join the adult chorus on this popular song, along with Mary Mackie on piano, and Cassy Grossman and Kevin McCoy on percussion.

CoastSing practices on Mondays 4:30-6 at the Gualala Arts Center. For more information or to try out, please contact Sue Bohlin at 707-884-5477 or visit the CoastSing Facebook page.