According to various rock songs and clich茅d phrases, love can be a whole lot of things -often contradictory ones.
For instance, it heals all wounds, says one well-known oldie, but it also hurts, according to that song by Nazareth.
Squamish soprano Kelly Coubrough and pianist Laurel Parsons showcase a variety of songs that cover those different aspects of the thing called amour on Sunday (Nov. 20) at Quest University.
"The recital is called As Long As It Isn't Love," Coubrough said. "It's a cabaret-style format with songs about love - some done tongue-in-cheek."
Coubrough sports an impressive list of singing credits.
In January and October 2010, she performed in a newly composed touring opera The Lives of Lesser Things by Isaiah Bell in Alberta. She is also in her seventh year as a member of the Vancouver Opera Company Chorus.
"I'm singing in their production of Romeo and Juliet right now," she said.
She has also been a featured soloist with various local choirs including the Whistler Singers and the Sea to Sky Singers, as well as the Durham Philharmonic Choir and, most recently, with the Vancouver Bach Choir and Orchestra at the Orpheum.
Coubrough directs The Sound Youth Chorus and The Sound Children's Chorus and teaches from her Squamish home. She was also president of the Howe Sound Performing Arts Association (HSPAA), where she met Parsons, a local pianist.
"She is a teacher at Quest University, and while HSPAA and Quest were building a relationship, we met each other and she found out I was a singer," Coubrough said. "She asked me to do a workshop with her choir, and we liked working together."
Before teaching at Quest, Parsons taught music theory and/or aural skills at the University of British Columbia, the University of Oregon, Kwantlen University College and Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.
Parsons is also Chair of the North Vancouver Community Arts Council.
Coubrough said the concert is a perfect example of how the HSPAA and Quest can collaborate for community arts.
It also gives her a chance to sing some of her favourite songs.
"It came together as pieces I really wanted to sing," she said. "As it started to develop, the theme just became obvious."
The program is varied, too.
"The songs range from opera to cabaret-style, musical theatre pieces to some contemporary-not-quite-pop songs," she said. "And they will be in multiple languages as well - German, Italian and English. How can you sing about love without going into Italian?"
The HSPAA and Quest University present Kelly Coubrough and Laurel Parsons with As Long As It Isn't Love on Sunday (Nov. 20) at Quest University's Multipurpose Room at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $20 for adults, or a donation for students, available at Billie's Bouquet, or at the Quest University main office.
You're sure to love it.
