Spiritsong bridges cultures with music

BONNERS FERRY — Music, for Vicki Blake Thompson, is a bridge. Metaphorically, yes, but also one that has carried her to the far corners of the world. At this point, the only continent she has not crossed over to is Antarctica.

She will make yet another crossing next June, as she leads the Bonners Ferry-based choral group, Spiritsong, on an extended trip to Greece. In past years, the singers, instrumentalists and dancers have traveled to China, Ireland, Tanzania and Costa Rica.

“I’ve traveled with other choirs and I really believe in music as a bridge — anything we can do to unify our globe,” said the director, whose first such trip took place in 1984, to what then was still known as the Soviet Union.

“It’s amazing,” she went on. “You can be there as a singer with no language between you and still feel totally connected. It changes forever your perspective on a place.”

The tour of Greece — scheduled for June 14-22 — also offers a trip extension that will take group members on a multi-day cruise of the Greek Islands.

“That’s more the tourist part of it,” Blake Thompson said. “Sight-seeing is part of the trip and we do a lot of what I call ‘guerilla concerts,’ where we’ll be standing in a parking lot, somebody starts a tune and off it goes.”

Over the course of the almost two weeks that Spiritsong will spend in Greece, the musicians and dancers will travel to Peloponnesia, Athens, and several islands. The tours also involve school performances and cultural exchanges, where singers from both countries share their music.

“We have a sort of mini-choral festival on the spot,” the director said.

One highlight of the trip will be a large concert in Athens — a performance that combines Spiritsong with a half dozen other choirs traveling from the U.S.

“In a sense, the music becomes a bridge that connects us across this country, as well,” said Blake Thompson.

Without having to travel at all, the choral group has forged cross-border connections. Approximately half of its members hail from Creston, British Columbia, Canada, with the remainder coming from Bonners Ferry and as far south as Coeur d’Alene.

The director said she “fell into” leading the group in 1996, after teaching choral music at the high school level. She also has led a children’s choir for the past 18 years, most of that time in Bonners Ferry.

“My degrees are in dance, choreography and theater,” she said. “But within two months of directing (Spiritsong) I knew, ‘This is what I’m supposed to be doing.’”

In theater and music alike, Blake Thompson has been impressed with the vitality of the arts in Bonners Ferry.

“I’ve been astounded,” she said. “For a little community, it’s quite unexpected.”

As plans for the tour of Greece take shape, the director already has about two-thirds of the spaces filled, despite being more than eight months out from the June 14 departure date.

“We have 22 people so far,” she said. “I probably won’t take more than 35. That way, people get to know each other and have real sense of being part of a group, instead of little, multiple groups.”

Members of Spiritsong are selected by audition, where Blake Thompson has them match pitch and sing enough for her to get a feel for the general quality of each voice. The ability to sing carries considerable weight, but the director also looks for people who are simpatico, philosophically.

“More important to me than great solo voices is having people who share the vision of changing the world with music,” she said.

Along with being a bridge to a better world, Spiritsong is designed to act as a vehicle for introducing its members to different genres of music. On tour, Blake Thompson pulls from both sacred and secular works, with the venue defining what the music will be.

“We sing a little bit of everything,” she said. “When we sing in cathedrals, we have music that’s appropriate for that place.

“You don’t sing African songs in a cathedral — you’d get muck,” she added, referring to the long sustain and reverberation that are sonic characteristics of those large spaces. “But you don’t sing cathedral music outside on the savanna, either.”

Auditions for “Spiritsong to Greece” currently are being held by appointment in Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry and Creston. The choir is open to members of all ages, though travelers under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or designated adult. According to the director, those who take the trip will come home with more than memories and souvenirs.

“For me, travel is an education — not only about who I am, but who we are as a human species,” she said. “You start to think as a global citizen and I love that part of travel.”

Weekly rehearsals for the tour will begin in late February and will be held on Monday evenings at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bonners Ferry.

Cost for the June tour of Greece is $3,325 per person, which includes airfare, all hotels, ground transportation, tours, most meals and all tips and taxes. The extension cruise of the Greek Islands costs an additional $895.

To audition for the group or learn more about the tour, call Vicki Blake Thompson at (208) 267-0854, or e-mail her at: vickiblake1@me.com.