BRATTLEBORO-Southern Vermont–based jazz combo Kwartetto Mambo will share the stage with the Fiery Hope chorus Sat., May 2, at the Beloved Community Center, 18 Town Crier Drive in a 7:30 p.m. show.
Kwartetto Mambo is Dan DeWalt (keyboard and trombone), John Clark (French horn), Julian Gerstin (percussion), and Wes Brown (acoustic bass).
Fiery Hope, a western Massachusetts-based chorus, is made up of members who hail from several New England states. They will present recent original material as well as songs in a variety of languages, including Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, and Kalanga (from Zimbabwe). They’ll also sing choral arrangements by the late Peter Amidon, whose work has inspired singers far and wide for decades.
“We’ve chosen some songs to raise the roof, and others to soothe souls and inspire hearts in this challenging era,” Fiery Hope Founder and Director Eveline MacDougall said in a news release. “People of all ages and from all walks of life are welcome to join us for a truly community-based evening.”
Fiery Hope brings songs of celebration and solace to audiences in senior centers, libraries, prisons, schools, homeless shelters, town halls and many other community gatherings, as well as to intimate settings like memorial services and (in small groups) to the bedsides of those at life’s end.
Founded in 1988 under the name Amandla, the chorus has collaborated with South African luminaries Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as well as education advocate Malala Yousafzai.
Fiery Hope has performed with folk icon Pete Seeger, gospel music expert Dr. Horace Clarence Boyer, civil rights activists Wally and Juanita Nelson, singer-songwriter Fred Small, and internationally renowned poet Martin Espada.
Although donations in the $10–$25 range are gratefully accepted, no one will be turned away. For more information about Fiery Hope, visit fieryhope.org.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.