SING THE BLUES AWAY
Opera singer Cara Lianne Mcleod belts out vocals from her fourth-floor balcony in Edmonton on Sunday, as even social distancing couldn’t stop the music.
An Edmonton singer is taking her vocal talents to a Cloverdale balcony to spread hope and joy in a time of social isolation.
Cara Lianne Mcleod received national attention for her balcony performance of four songs Saturday afternoon, an idea she got from the scenes in Italy of neighbours enjoying music on their balconies while self-isolating due to COVID -19.
“I feel so grateful that I can still do this because I know how much music means to me. I don’t know how to put it into words. It really connects people in a different way,” Mcleod said in an interview Sunday.
Mcleod, an opera performer and music teacher, has started filming videos of songs she receives by request.
So far, there have been two stages for the performances — her living room and her balcony.
The news got out that Mcleod was planning to sing from her balcony, and neighbours tuned in for the performance.
“I have some really great neighbours that live below me who hear me singing all the time,” she said.
Mcleod’s balcony performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow was shown on national newscasts. Watching local coverage, Mcleod said she was shocked to get texts from friends in Toronto who saw her singing on TV.
One song request that came in on Friday was Lean on Me, which Mcleod said was fitting to celebrate the work of front-line employees working through the pandemic.
“I want to thank the thousands of people working in hospital, working in grocery stores, takeout places delivering food and people doing a lot of work to keep society sane and well,” she said.
Mcleod lost work due to the pandemic, including a job adjudicating the Drayton Valley Music Festival.
As a music teacher, it wasn’t the lost gig that worries her, but the lost performance opportunity for the children who’ve been preparing all year.
“I’m sad for the students,” Mcleod said.
“So many of them have worked all year and this was their big performance.”
It’s unknown when the next balcony performance will be, but Mcleod said she is planning to continue them and host one around sunset for a picture-perfect scene.
She invites Edmontonians interested in hearing some music to watch her public concerts, from a distance, on the footbridge in Cloverdale at 96A Street and 98 Avenue.