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An interview article by Rosemary Phillips, December
2001
Joëlle Rabu, known across Canada for
her show “Tonight… Piaf”, is one of Canada’s
leading multi-lingual performers. This interview was initiated to
help promote her Christmas concert with the Vancouver Island Symphony
in December 2001 at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo.
Singer Joëlle Rabu creates "A Christmas Fantasy"
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| Joëlle Rabu |
It’s no coincidence! While the world is thrown into turmoil
and citizens around the globe pray for peace, Nanaimo’s multi-lingual
singer/songwriter Joëlle Rabu is busy creating a Christmas
Fantasy with arranger Douglas (Doug) Dodd for the Vancouver Island
Symphony’s special family Christmas concert on Dec. 22 and
23 at the Port Theatre. This will certainly be a Christmas concert
with a difference.
Many know Joëlle for her original songs about different cultures,
sung in various languages. On her album Passport she features Esperanto
in which children sing not only in languages from around the world
but in the combined tongue of Esperanto. Her music has been labelled
by the Vancouver Province as “purely Canadian,” reflective
of the many cultures and religions that live together under the
Canadian flag.
Artistic director Marlin Wolfe has handed over all the writing to
Joëlle and Doug. “It’s so much a part of my passion
and life,” explains Joëlle. “It’s such a
collaborative work. One really exciting part is the writing of a
complete segment for the orchestra. Called The Magic Violin, it
will be narrated almost like Peter and the Wolf, with the orchestra
underscoring the narration of the story which happens in the future.
It’s about language and communication, that music is an international
language.”
Singer Joëlle Rabu and arranger Doug Dodd create orchestra
shows
Joëlle and Doug have done many orchestral shows across Canada.
“Doug is a beautiful arranger for orchestral work. He has
a lush style and really respects the instruments. He sees them as
characters.”
Drawing upon traditional music and Joëlle’s own compositions
from albums such as Noel with Joëlle, A Christmas Fantasy includes
Wonders of Christmas Around The World. “Many different religions
around the world hold celebrations in November and December so it’s
more of the season that we are celebrating with this concert. There
are story songs, and traditional songs. We go into the tradition
and then way out into fantasy. For example, many people don’t
know the whole story behind Silent Night. I intend to do it in its
original language - German.”
In light of events of the world at this time some of the songs are
exceedingly relevant. “Where is the Peace is a story song
set in the future. Children are asking, ‘Where is the peace?
Where is the love?’ Science has made life easier however it
has also given us planes and bombs.”
Members of the children’s choir, Young Island Voices, will
be joining Joëlle. “They will be on stage with me and
will be a part of the story from start to finish. It’s going
to be a big thrill for them. They will be playing characters throughout.”
Joëlle enjoys doing family shows. “You can bring the
young ones because there will also be wondrous things to look at.
It’s a warm and cozy feeling show.”
While working on A Christmas Fantasy Joëlle is also busy writing
the script for Moscow Nights which is being presented to 4,000 school
children in November for the VIS Education Series. “Last year
I wrote about Vienna and had TheatreOne’s artistic director
David Mann play Strauss Sr. This Year I am going to play Katherine
the Great and explain what Russia went through in the years of Revolution.
We show what people were doing during the era that the pieces of
music were written. It helps to make sense of the music. We also
bring a comical entertaining approach to the program for children
to come and enjoy the symphony.”
Joëlle Rabu tours Canada
In addition to her work for the VIS, this is a very busy year for
Joëlle’s own music. “It’s a year of projects,”
she explains. “We toured from Port Hardy to Halifax three
times in the last two years and won the Touring Artist of the Year
Award in May. We were touring both the ‘Joëlle Rabu Concert’
and the ‘Tonight… Piaf’ show. Now we are concentrating
on a French album to be offered to eastern Canada and Europe, and
on selling the ‘Tonight… Piaf’ show to the U.S.”
Joëlle has now been in Nanaimo for six years. “After
12 years in Vancouver, (husband) Dusty and I wanted to move so that
our son could go to a smaller community school. Nanaimo is perfect
because we have our families, and it’s just a short ride over
to Vancouver. Family is very important in our lives. Family is where
I get a lot of inspiration.”
It was in fact because of family that Joëlle began her own
adventures around the world when she was only 16. “I was raised
on my parents’ stories. They were world travellers. There
I was in Winnipeg, growing up on their memories, so I ran away to
do it myself. I started in New Zealand and worked my way around
the world for three years. My parents could have stopped me but
my brother Michel told them I would be back when I needed to. I
heard so many styles of music. I think that’s what gave me
a foundation for what I want to sing about - people and places and
instances in life.”
So, it’s no coincidence! Joëlle Rabu, through her music,
brings the world together.
For bookings and information please visit Caline
Artists Management and also Joëlle
Rabu’s web site.
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