I obtained tickets to this concert because it was The Toronto Symphony Orchestra playing with headliner Steve Bell at Massey Hall. I didn’t know who Steve Bell was but I could just hear in my mind the strains of the TSO ringing through the fantastic acoustics of Massey Hall. That was motivation enough.
Turns out Steve Bell mus be Canada’s best kept secret as a singer songwriter. http://www/stevebell.com. He has won 2 JUNOs, 2 Western Canadian Music awards, numerous Covenant and Prairie Music awards including Producer of the Year (2002). Along with Mike Janzen http://www.mikejanzen.com who scored the magnificent Musical arrangements. Mike Janzen is an award winning Jazz pianist, winner of the 2006 Covenant Award for Best Jazz album.
It never ceases to amaze me the talent we have here in Canada that is hidden and not fully supported. We need to get on board with supporting our Canadian musicians and artists.
The Concert was put on by a New Charitable group started in 2010 known as the Hope Exchange. The Hope exchange is a charity to help care-givers http://www.hopeexchange.ca
In December 2010, Tim founded The Hope Exchange, after working for 25 years among homeless youth and adults. In 2001, he pioneered Youth Unlimited’s Light Patrol, a mobile outreach program to Toronto’s most hard-to-reach homeless youth and young adults.
Tim’s first project, Frontlines Youth Centre,operates today in the neighbourhood of Weston, Toronto. During his career, he has worked with deaf, developmentally and physically challenged children. Tim has several published books with stories about his experiences.
The focus of this charitable group seems to be to bring hope to the hope bringers. They did not explain clearly how this is done. However, our caregivers are one of the most unsupported groups in our society and if you know someone who is a caregiver they may find some excellent help here. So check out their website.