{"id":42050,"date":"2023-09-01T01:57:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T08:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=42050"},"modified":"2023-08-29T16:35:24","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T23:35:24","slug":"trio-launches-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2023\/09\/01\/trio-launches-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Trio launches campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Citizen West performs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver annual campaign launch Sept. 10, 7 p.m., at Congregation Schara Tzedeck. (photo from Citizen West)<\/em><\/p>\n

The word \u201cfun\u201d came up more than once in the Jewish Independent<\/em>\u2019s interview with the three tenors who comprise Citizen West. The group will help launch this year\u2019s Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver annual campaign on Sept. 10, and the audience should expect a wide range of music, an abundance of positivity and a high-energy \u2013 and fun \u2013 performance.<\/p>\n

Marc Devigne, Cody Karey and Omer Shaish are all accomplished musicians in their own right. Internationally renowned individually, together they have entertained audiences in more than 150 countries. With their multilingual repertoire, their message is that \u201cwe are all global citizens and, through music, we can connect with individuals of all cultures and backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic unites and connects us through harmony and a common rhythm and is spiritual in its nature,\u201d Karey told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cI feel my most spiritually connected when experiencing a profound shared moment, and singing or performing from a stage, especially with such amazing company, really does that for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karey, who is based in Vancouver, explained how he, Toronto-based Devigne and Miami-based Shaish, came together.<\/p>\n

\u201cCitizen West is the product of all of us colliding at slightly different times over the last several years,\u201d he said. \u201cWe all set out as solo artists and ended up having parallel careers. Initially, we were competitive rivals, but, as we all became connected and got to know each other, it was clear to us that we could really do something special if we combined our efforts and worked together. The three of us have been officially performing as Citizen West since 2020, but our individual connections and the idea of Citizen West go back years earlier. Our pianist, Trevor [Hoffmann], was instrumental (pun intended) in the earliest days of Citizen West as we developed our repertoire and arrangements, so this reunion performance alongside him will be a little extra special.\u201d (Hoffmann is from Maple Ridge.)<\/p>\n

While living in different places and following their own professional paths, Shaish said the trio see each other relatively often.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe perform a lot as headliners on cruise ships,\u201d he said, \u201cso we get to sing together and travel the world together. It\u2019s a lot of fun! The ships have brought us to some really interesting places, such as Alaska, Easter Island and even Antarctica. Those were great experiences to share with these two. We also perform on land, of course, and we come up with new repertoire all the time. We have four produced sets and, on top of that, we try to cater to our clients\u2019 vision and needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding that, campaign director Gayle Morris shared with the Independent <\/em>Federation\u2019s vision of the Sept. 10 event. \u201cThis year, we wanted to try something fresh, drawing upon the incredible success and positivity of last year\u2019s \u2018Amazing Happens\u2019 campaign,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want our community to leave the evening inspired and excited by a creative approach to campaign opening. Citizen West are an incredible trio of tenors and a<\/p>\n

pianist, whose extensive repertoire of music means there\u2019s something for everyone to enjoy!\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked for a hint about the repertoire they will perform at the launch, Shaish said, \u201cI don\u2019t want to give away too many spoilers, but I can say that there\u2019s going to be a wide variety of genres, from classical music and Broadway to pop music, rock and even a splash of Hebrew!\u201d<\/p>\n

For Shaish, who is from Tel Aviv originally and grew up in Israel, this show will be special.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiving in the U.S., I often find myself shifting between my roots (Jewish\/Israeli music) and my other passion toward pop music and musical theatre,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m truly excited about this performance, because this is the first time that these two worlds collide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always so much more to learn, live and experience, and I feel that it\u2019s with this outlook that Citizen West can explore and take stylistic chances with many genres,\u201d added Devigne, who grew up in a small French community in Manitoba. Karey grew up in Fort St. James, B.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a fraternal sense of camaraderie and connection when we work together,\u201d said Karey. \u201cOur slightly different quirks and styles complement each other well and create a compelling blend. The experience of being on the road is very different when you have good people to share that with. It\u2019s also quite fun!\u201d<\/p>\n

Devigne echoed this sentiment. \u201cThere\u2019s a sense of brotherhood that comes with being in a group,\u201d he said. \u201cIt opens up more creative opportunities as an artist and brings more colour, layers and texture to songs. It\u2019s a nice feeling to be on stage and know you have people you can rely on to support and elevate a performance. We feed on each other\u2019s energy on stage and it makes for a great time. We draw inspiration from each other and I truly believe it lifts us all to be better artists and performers when we perform together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it goes with the theme of this event,\u201d said Shaish, referring to the Federation campaign launch. \u201cWe all discovered the \u2018power of community\u2019 or the \u2018power of together.\u2019 There\u2019s something very special and powerful in sharing the stage. When the three of us blend with harmonies and our unique chemistry, it feels like true magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The campaign\u2019s opening event \u2013 \u201cCelebrate the Power of Community\u201d \u2013 takes place Sept. 10, 7 p.m., at Schara Tzedeck Synagogue. It also features Eric Fingerhut, president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federations of North America, as keynote speaker; Barak Loozon, strategic advisor to the office of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, speaking about Herzog\u2019s dialogue initiatives; and campaign chair Shay Keil, a senior wealth advisor at ScotiaMcLeod and supporter of many Jewish community organizations and initiatives, sharing his story about how Federation campaign donors helped inspire his Jewish journey. For tickets ($18), visit jewishvancouver.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Citizen West performs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver annual campaign launch Sept. 10, 7 p.m., at Congregation Schara Tzedeck. (photo from Citizen West) The word \u201cfun\u201d came up more than once in the Jewish Independent\u2019s interview with the three tenors who comprise Citizen West. The group will help launch this year\u2019s Jewish Federation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5432,22560,22562,3128,21758,3649,22561,3036,22563,2763],"class_list":["post-42050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-annual-campaign","tag-citizen-west","tag-cody-karey","tag-fundraising","tag-gayle-morris","tag-jewish-federation","tag-marc-devigne","tag-music","tag-omer-shaish","tag-philanthropy"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}