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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2000)
May 3, 2000 Page B4 ÿlurUanù (0b»eruer iM etro/Religion Darwin Hobbs Vertical M ay 13 w orkshop unites faith community for Mother’s Day march C O N T R IB l TED STORY E very day in our country 12 children die from gunshot w ounds. On M other’s Day, M ay 14, m others and “honorary m oms” will m eet in dow ntow n Portland for the O regon Million M om M arch at the sam e tim e that concerned citizens from across the nation will rally in W ashington D.C. to encourage Congress to pass sensible gun safety legislation. On the eve o f the Portland march, May 13, faith communities in the Portland area are invited to w orship together at an interfaith service at Temple Beth Israel, 1972 NW Flanders, from 7:30 to 8:30p.m . Readings will be offered by leaders from the Christian, Jew ish, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, B aha’i and N ative A m erican com m unities. Participants w ill share prayers and songs for peace, ju stice and the sacred lives o f all children. The service is jointly sponsored by the M illion M om M arch and Ecum enical M inistries o f Oregon. As A rchbishop D esm ond Tutu said on a recent visit to Oregon, “w e are each indispensable, said Leslie Sackett, religion outreach coordinator for the Million Mom March. “O ur styles and expressions o f w orship may be different, but at the heart o f all faith traditions is a love o f God and Even greater happily m arried years; T raci-to w hom Vertical isdedicated- rem ains second only to the Almighty him selfin D arw in’s life. “S he’sn o ta m usician, and she has nothing to do w ith the m usic business,” Darwin explains, “and th a t’s been one o f my g re a te s t b le s s in g s . S h e is n ot im pressed at all with ‘ D arw in Hobbs, Recording A rtist.’ She keeps me honest and accountable, and real. A nd sh e’s m y constant source o f love and encouragem ent. 1 can’t even conceive o f doing any o f w hat I’m doing w ithout her.” D arw in w as b o m an d raised in C incinnati, w here h e’d discovered at age 10-on his first day in church choir- his phenom enal, G od-given gift for s in g in g . H e s a n g c o n s ta n tly th r o u g h o u t h is c h ild h o o d an d adolescence, in church and school, both as a soloist and in various ensem bles. Frustrated as a yorng adult w ith life in the w orkday world, but uncertain how to even approach a c a re e r in m u sic, D arw in had a reverence for the sacredness of G od s creation. T he O regon M illion M om March will begin Sunday m orning, M ay 14, at 11 a.m . at S W Park and Salm on, and w ill conclude with a rally at Pioneer C ourthouse Square. M archers from faith com m unities are encouraged to carry sings or banners that identity their congregation or faith group. T he O regon M illion Mom March is sponsored by the O regon PTA , O regonians A gainst G un Violence, Episcopal D iocese f Oregon, Ecum enical M inistries o f O regon, Ceasefire Oregon, C om m unity Action Forum, Salem-Keizer Strengthening FamiliesCouncil, O regon N urse A ssociation, D istrict #1, and the National Council o f Jewish Women, Portland, Oregon Section. T he goal o f the M illion Mom M arch is to keep guns out the hands o f children and out o f the hands o f criminals w ho can hurt children. For more information about the M illion M om March, please call 888-989- M O M S, or visit the M illion M om M arch W eb site at w w w.m illionm om m arch.com . Form oreinform ation about the M ay 13 interfaith w orship service call Teri Ruch at Ecum enical M inistries ofO regon, (503) 221 - 1054, o r Leslie Sackett o f the M illion M om M arch, (503)284-7141. CONTRIBUTED STORY tor T he P ori land O bsery er Cole Porter tribute to close 1999- 2000 Symphony Pops series CONTRIBUTED STORY C o le P o rte r, o n e o f th e m o st sophisticated creators o f A m erican popular song, will be paid tribute in the final O regon Sym phony Bank o f A m erica Pops concert o f the 1999- 2000 season. M ay 27 - 29, at the A rlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in the Portland C enter for the Perform ing Arts. Associate C onductor Norm an Leyden will conduct the program featuring aw ard-w inning vocalist S usannah M ars and the L eyden Singers. O regon Sym phony Pops concerts are sponsored by Bank o f America. M edia support is provided by N ew s / Talk 750 KXL, K PTV O regon’s 12 an d M e d ia A m e ric a . “ W o rd s an d m u sic m u st b e so inseparably w edded to each other th a t th e y are lik e o n e ,” P o rte r r e p o r te d ly s a id . T h e p r o lif ic songw riter achieved this goal perhaps m o re s u c c e s s f u lly th a n a n y songw riter o f his day, o r since. The Pops program w ill feature Porter standards such as “ L e t’s D o It,” “Y o u ’re the T op,” “ W hat is This T hing C alled Love” and “N ight and D ay,” as w ell as lesser-know n gems such as “ R osalie,” “ L ove for Sale” and “ A lw ays T rue to Y ou in My Fashion.” Susannah M ars, a Leyden Singer alum nus and four-tim e winner o f the Portland D ram a C ritics Award, w ill be the featured vocalist. P e rfo rm a n c e s are sc h e d u le d for Saturday and M onday, M ay 27 and 29, at 8 p.m . and Sunday, M ay 28, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets range in price from $ 17 to $54 and may be purchased at th e O regon S ym phony T icket O ffic e (9 2 3 S .W . W a sh in g to n ) M onday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or ch arg ed by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343. Tickets also m ay be purchased at all Ticketm aster outlets (790-A RTS) or through Ticketm aster On-line, via the S y m p h o n y ’s w eb s ite at w w w .orsym phony.org. Service fees m ay apply. SUSANNAH M ARS O ne o f the brightest stars o f m usical theatre and cabaret hailing from the Pacific N orthw est, Susannah Mars w as m ost recently seen at A rtists Repertory T heatre in her one-w om an show , “M ars on Life: T here’s M ore.” D u rin g th e p a st y e a r, sh e also appeared in Portland C enter S tag e’s “A C hristm as C arol” and w as Fanny B ric e in T h e M u sic a l T h e a tre C om pany’s m uch-lauded production o f “ Funny G irl,” for w hich she won the 1999 P ortland D ram a C ritics A w ard. In the recent past, Ms. M ars w as seen in “C h a p s” at A rtists Repertory Theatre, for w hich she won the 1998 Portland D ram a C ritics A w ard. She also opened th e new Bullitt Cabaret at A C T in Seattle w ith her show “M ars on Life,” and played Eva in “Evita” at th e C oeur d ’A lene Sum m er Theater, w here she also was M eg in “ B r ig a d o o n .” A prolific actress, Ms. M ars has perform ed the role o f C onnie Lee in Scott W a rre n d er’s "T h e January Book” at T he V illage T heatre in Seattle. She also appeared as Suzanne in “T he T w ilight o f the G olds” at T rian g le T h ea tre and w as Reno S w eeny in T he M usical T heatre C om pany’s production o f “A nything G oes,” for w hich she won the 1996 Portland D ram a Critics A w ard. She A value-based violence prevention initiative cuttnuBcrtDiafiRY for T he P ortland O bserver The Value Based Violence Prevention Ini tiative(VB V PI)isa 18month Weed & Seed Initiative adm inistered by the National Congress for Com m unity Econom ic D evelopm ent (N C C ED ) th ro u g h its N e ig h b o r h o o d R estoration Program (N R P). T he initiative’s purpose is to encourage public safety strategies in addressing fam ily-based crim e prevention, to build safer and healthier com munities for our children and fam ilies and to support current efforts o f fam ily r e la te d c o m m u n ity - b a s e d organizations. T h e V B V P I is a c o m m u n ity collaborative o f service providers and faith based organizations w hose goal is to reduce crime committed by youth. T h e pro g ram w o rk s to p re v e n t v io le n c e by p ro v id in g h e a lth y a lte r n a tiv e s f o r y o u th and stren g th en in g ch ild ren an d th eir families. T he Portland VBV PI is a partnership that com plem ents the c u r r e n t e f f o r ts o f E m m a n u e l C o m m u n ity G en eral S erv ices (a c o m m u n ity s e r v ic e agency, established in 1988), W eed & Seed Steering C om m ittee, Portland W eed & Seed C oordinator D ora A sana and the faith-based com m unity w hich includes V ictory O utreach, City Life Ministries: Youth forC hristand W e’re Here, W e Care. The col laborati ve wi 11 serve 30 at risk youth in the N orth/ N ortheast Portland area throughout the year. T he collaborative strongly believes that it takes the com m unity to raise a child. F or fu rth e r in fo rm a tio n , p le a se contact La-Tisha W illiam s or Curtis Kim brough at 503/281-0355 or Dora A san a, P o rtlan d W eed & S eed Coordinator. w as seen in “Das Barbecu” at A C ontem porary Theatre and played Dr. C harlotte in “ Falsettos” at the G roup T heatre in Seattle. Ms. Mars appeared in Oregon Stage C om pany’s production o f “C loser Than Ever” and originated the role o f Mary Reade in the w orld-prem iere production o f “ A P ira te ’s L u lla b y ” at A rtists R epertory T heatre. She also was delighted to play Trina in T riangle T heatre’s production o f “Falsettos,” again being nom inated fo ra Portland D ram a C ritics Award. O ther favorite roles include Jill, Debbie, Betsy, and April in “The Heidi Chronicles,” Lucy in “Y o u ’re a Good Man, Charlie Brow n,” Ruth in “Blithe Spirit,” and Sister R obert A nne in “N unsense,” for w hich she w on the 1992 Portland D rama Critics Award. V ertical. W ebster dictionary defines it as being “at the zenith; upright, upw ard and straight.” In the lexicon o f D arw in H obbs, w hose new ly released second album bears the same nam e, those adjectives fit to a point, but still only scratch the surface o f th e m u sic an d m e ssag e o f th is extraordinary artist. “W ith this record every song was written strategical ly to represent some aspect o f our relationship to G od and H is relationship to us,” said Darwin. “O ften w e sp en d so m uch tim e building our relationship w ith the people around us— our horizontal relationships— that w e neglect our most crucial, vertical relationship with G od. I w anted the m usic on this record to focus people on that.” H aving sung for several years w ith a roster o f superstar acts that reads like a w h o ’s-w ho o f m odem gospel and pop m usic-including CeCe W inans, M ichael M cD onald, Carm en D onnie M cC lurkin, and M ichael C ard - Darwin em erged in 1999 with his solo debut, M ercy, as one o f the music in d u stry ’s best-kept secrets. The secret o f his o n e-in -a-g en eratio n voice-bold and beautiful, righteous, rocking and right - w as not kept hidden for long. A nd w ith Vertical, the sig n atu re v o ice and sin g u lar sound o f Darwin Hobbs are back in all their glory. A lthough the enorm ity o f D arw in’s m usical gift is glaringly obvious throughout the album , the m essage o f V ertical place this project am ong the m ost striking pieces o f U rban Praise & W orship m usic released in recent years. Songs like “C ast All Y our C ares,” “Crow n H im ” and the deeply m oving “ Praise M edley” are reflective o f the passion and spiritual sentim ent found in the m usic o f such G o s p e l h e a v y w e ig h ts as F re d H am m ond, D onnie M cClurkin and C eC e W inans. T hose artists continue to have a personal im pact on the m usic and m inistry vision o f Darwin Hobbs. H am m ond produced the m ajority o f M ercy, and D arw in has shared both studio and stage w ith M cClurkin and W inans. His regularassociation with artist o f their caliber extends beyond the G ospel m usic m arketplace. epiphany at m id-‘90s C eC e Winans concert. Realizing he could servethe Lord he loved with music he lovedled him to a friendship w ith W inans’ m anager, Roger Ryan. Impressed w ith D arw in’s talent and enthusiasm, Ryan suggested D arw in and Traci relocate to N ashville, w hich they did in 1996. W ithin only a few weeks D arw in, to his am azem ent, found h im s e lf sin g in g on m a jo r-la b el projects by an ever-w idening array o f established artists. A sh em ark ed h is six-m onth anniversary in M usic City, D arw in began receiving the first song o f serious interest in him as a solo recording artist. “T hings have happened incredibly quickly,” Darwin adm its, “B ut w e’ve m anaged to stay pretty level-headed about life. W e felt a strong sense o f reassurance from the Lord w hen w e left hom e for Nashville, alm ost as if H e w as saying: ‘OK, strap on your seatb elts, because y o u ’re getting ready to go on a serious ride! W e’ve tried to keep him first in everything, and then to ju st keep up w ith Him and everyw here H e’s taken us. It really has been quite a ride.” W ith V ertical as the next stop in that ride, the m usical jo urney o f Darwin H obbs prom ises to be phenom enal. You are Invited to be Our Guest! Family of One Prayer Breakfast Wednesday, May 10, 2000 • 7:30 - 9:30 am Doubletree Hotel Lloyd Center 1000 NE Multnomah complimentary parking and full breakfast Keynote Speaker Clive O. Callender. M.D., F.A.C.S. Howard University College of Medicine F ounder o f N a tio n a l M inority O rgan/Tissue Transplant E ducation P rogram (M O TTEP) R.S.V.P. needed by May 5th, (503) 494-7888 Space limited to 300. Please no admittance without reservations. A Coalition fo r African-American Organ & Tissue Donor Awareness and Kidney Disease Prevention A Tisket A Tasket The place for cards, gifts and baskets Mothers Day Special $10.00 off any basket over $40.00 Fresh Flowers Balloons Candles Journals Cards Candies Give the perfect gift fo r Mothers Day! 1305 NE Fremont Portland, Or. 97212 284-7344 tisketgifts@yahoo.com
