Subaru by Day, Singer by Night
Sheila Soares
Ready to get jazzy? From July 29th to August 1st, the Newmarket Jazz Festival will be held at 100 Eagle Street West in Newmarket.
NewRoads is excited not only to sponsor this event, but also have our artistically talented crew members participate. In particular, Sheila Soares, who works at NewRoads Richmond Hill Subaru, but uses her spare time to sing and explore her musical talents. Sheila began singing when she was a child and was a soprano and soloist with Vocal Horizons Chamber Choir from 2010-2015 and in 2013, she started singing solo Jazz at Toronto’s Girl’s Night Out Vocalist Jam.
Her passion does not end with singing, as song writing is also something that Sheila recently began and, in the fall of 2015, she recorded and released an original seasonal song that is for sale on her website or on CDBaby or Itunes.
Sheila enjoys community musical events such as the Newmarket Jazz festival because in this day and age, people lead very busy lives and often don’t go out regularly to see live music. She is quick to point out that, “festivals are often still well attended and they provide a place for artists to perform. In the case of the jazz festival, this helps perpetuate the great art form of jazz music.”
Sheila goes on to say that festivals “foster relationships between the artists and the people attending the venue so all can share in the enjoyment of the work. Jazz is communal in nature. Musicians communicate as they perform to support each other and create work inspired in the moment. This is the key element of jazz improvisation.” In her view, community festivals allow for this unique creative opportunity to happen and all who partake in it can experience the beauty of the music.
Along with singing, song writing and participating in festivals, Sheila also volunteers her time to a non-profit organization called JPEC. The organization exists to “promote and perpetuate the great art of jazz with the ultimate goal being to one day establish a center for jazz in the GTA, similar to Jazz at the Lincoln Centre in New York. We run a concert series and a school outreach program.” The school outreach is very important to members of JPEC and they strive to bring top-level jazz artists into schools, particularly those lacking resources and/or a music program.
To read more information visit: https://jazzcentre.ca/
Sheila’s passion for music and jazz is exciting and the Newmarket Jazz festival will be a great event to bring together talented artists and exceptional volunteers. Come out and join Sheila and other NewRoads volunteers for this spectacular musical event.
Don’t forget to check out Sheila’s website and go support her at the Relish Bar and Grill in Toronto, on August 8th.