Freight Singers Community Chorus w/ Zoe Ellis & Bryan Dyer

Mondays, 6:30-8:00 pm, Monday September 11 - December 11

$25 materials fee, plus pay-what-you-can

(no rehearsal Oct. 2nd)

Final performance Dec. 18th opening for SoVoSó

The Freight Singers is a new community chorus based at the Freight and Salvage, led by Zoe Ellis and Bryan Dyer. The chorus will introduce singers to music from a variety of cultures inside the U.S. and around the world with an emphasis on traditional/roots music. Participants will learn about the historical and cultural context of the music, as well as the style and technique, including basic body music techniques.

There are no auditions, but singers will be asked to participate in a brief assessment with chorus directors. Singers should be able to sing on pitch and hold a part. Ability to read music is not required. Singers should be at least 14 years old.

Zoe Ellis has been singing all her life. Starting in elementary school with light opera, she moved on to gospel, R & B, soul, hip-hop, and house music. She added a capella improvisation to her repertoire when she joined SoVoSo and Keith Terry’s Slammin All-Body Band. Alongside her brother, jazz saxophonist Dave Ellis, she leads Zadell (Zoe and Dave Ellis), which showcases her original compositions, highlighting both the power and emotion of her voice, and its softer, soul-stirring side. Together they recorded Zoe Ellis: Live at Anna's Jazz Island. She is currently co-lead of Darryl Anders~AgapéSoul and holds a chair with Linda Tillery’s Cultural Heritage Choir www.culturalheritagechoir.com. You can find her music on Cdbaby, iTunes and Youtube as well as updates on shows and events at www.facebook.com/zoeellismusic.

Bryan S. Dyer is a multi-talented musician who not only sings but plays and teaches several instruments including bass guitar, percussion and piano; writes and arranges music, conducts choirs and groups, and works in television, radio and film. A veteran of some of the Bay Area’s top vocal groups including Street Sounds, SoVoSo, Slammin All Body Band, Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir and CHELLE! and Friends, he also performs with The Funk Revival Orchestra, Rankin Scroo and Ginger, Juke Joint, and the percussion and dance ensemble Crosspulse. For several years, Bryan led the gospel choir at Camp Cazadero, and was also a choir director at Beebe Memorial Cathedral in Oakland for nine years. His musical experiences have him taken around the globe and to many legendary stages including the Montreaux Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and Lincoln Center in New York. Bryan’s talents have landed him alongside such artist as Al Green, Bobby McFerrin, Michael McDonald, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, to name a few. He is also a member of The Recording Academy and a voting member of The Grammy Awards.