John Vooys is a singer/songwriter/choral composer, based in Calgary. And yes, his last name is pronounced like “voice”. (Very fitting!) From a young age, John has been composing and playing music; originally as a piano player, but later for guitar and for voice. He first joined a choir when he was 20, and the art form particularly won him over – nothing makes him feel things quite like voices harmonizing well. He spent several years arranging works for his own choirs, but then began to write original music – partly because, as he says, he “discovered the complexities of copyright law.”

Though his solo work tends to be a blend of jazz and folk, John has a deep love for the video game soundtracks of his youth – Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger in particular – and he is quite pleased when people notice these influences shining through

When not performing on his own, John is the Associate Artistic Director with ARC (Adult Recreational Choir), and leads chapel music at Ambrose University.

For this concert, John will be performing as a soloist, with songs for piano, guitar, and voice. He’ll perform a selection of his own music and several familiar folk and jazz numbers, with special attention to the theme of mountains and rivers. In addition, he hopes to enlist audience members to help him create a song or two, and perhaps even join him in the performance.

This concert is a proud community co-presentation with the High Performance Rodeo, Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts!