A tribute to Leonard Cohen
The spring after Leonard Cohen died, I worked with Salt Spring Arts executive director Yael Wand to produce an evening of poetry and song celebrating his life. But neither of us was quite prepared for the huge turnout.
All the chairs we’d set out were full and people kept streaming into historic Mahon Hall. Several times we had to pull out more chairs and try to fit them in among the art displays.
Besides me and Yael, performers throughout the night included:
- Cindy Orser who shared a moving personal reflection.
- Poetry from william brown, Mary dela Torre, Murray Reiss, and Eliad Shankar-Levi.
- Songs from Martin Adam, Vaughn Fulford, and jazz vocalist Wanda Nowicki. Vaughn especially brought down the house with his Cohen repertoire.
To close the night, Yael and I led a singalong backed by Hannah Brown, Leslie Corrie, and Julianna Slomka on vocals and an impromptu band we’d pulled together for the night featuring Nikki Lax on bass, John Moore on sax, and Suzanne Gay on keys.
The last song was, of course, Hallelujah. So many voices raised together in grief and hope.
Photo by Takahiro Kyono is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Image converted to greyscale.
Photo description:
Leonard Cohen - King’s Garden, Odense, Denmark, 17 August 2013.