VOICES OF NATURE DAY
Another form of concert model is "Voices of Nature DAY". Schools are invited to sign up their students to participate in the concert as part of the audience in a day time concert or field trip. Teachers are then sent rehearsal CDs for their classes so they can learn the songs ahead of time to sing along with band and feature choir.
Three years in a row, this model was adopted for the annual Edmonton project hosted by the University of Alberta (that started in 2007) and was held at the 2500-seat Jubilee Auditorium. The 2015 concert was shot as the Water For Life TV special.
The Wilds and all the singers rock "Mr. Douglas" in Edmonton in 2014. The band was David Sinclair - guitar, Shawn Soucy - drums, Mike Lent - bass, Andrew Glover - keys... with the singers from Bishop Savaryn and Callingwood schools.
In 2013, Voices of Nature Day took place in Burnaby at the Michael J. Fox Theatre and in Surrey at the Bell Performing Arts Centre. The concert in Surrey had such a great response from schools wanting to sign up that we had to hold three concerts over two days to accommodate all the schools that wanted to take part... and there were still schools on the waiting list.
300 singers on stage at the Bell Centre in Surrey in 2013