I heard a fabulous and unique choir, the New Directions, yesterday afternoon when U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Culver City) hosted a year-end event for activists in her district at the Holman United Methodist Church on West Adams Boulevard.
[img]1300|left|||no_popup[/img]
Reacting to New Directions — surely this is the way audiences felt a few years ago when they heard stars-to-be performing in unintentional anonymity before they were discovered.
Their stunning harmony and versatility may paralyze you.
Doo-wop. Pop. More ethereal, choir-type melodies.
Watching them mill around on stage in a roomy auditorium at the legendary Methodist church before the Bass event began 35 minutes later than advertised, I presumed it was the church choir perhaps warming up for a Christmas performance.
Wrong.
It was the introduction that looped me around the neck and compelled me to pay attention:
The seven (and sometimes eight) of them were presented as “formerly homeless veterans.”
Thereafter, I could not stop concentrating and wondering.
Where are they in the comeback stages of their lives?
An addendum to the intriguing introduction:
Some members still are living at the VA, and all are healing through the VA.
They are immensely professional, bursting with talent, as polished and sophisticated as if they were stepping onto a stage in Las Vegas or Broadway.
They sing a capella, and they will float you to the stars.
Knowing just an emotional slice about their backgrounds colors the prism through which you view them.
You are not likely to hear superior harmony or more heartwarming life-changing stories anywhere in this corner of the planet.
We are told that one of the members was on the streets for 25 years. Now he is a counselor.
Who would have thought the homeless gentleman you passed this morning while you were out jogging owned a voice that could reverse the direction of the clouds.
If you are an impresario and are seeking out a charismatic choir, say, for New Year’s Eve, here is the lady to contact: morganames@sbcglobal.net
