On Saturday March 7 the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra with guest conductor Janna Sailor performed a concert with headliner, vocalist Sonia Reid titled Soul Diva: A Change is Gonna Come, in front of a packed Sagebrush Theatre.

Plenty of rhythm and blues, pop, soul music and gospel was performed. Ms. Reid is an amazing vocalist and was very comfortable handling the genre shifts. She paid homage to the musicians who performed the songs in the past. The pop songs were from The Beatles, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack. The Tina Turner version of River Deep, Mountain High was a crowd favourite. Some protest tunes came from the catalogues of Nina Simone and Sam Cooke. Gospel was represented by Mahalia Jackson with How I Got Over and a combination of Precious Lord/I Wish I Knew. The very exuberant audience waved their arms, danced in their seats and at end of the evening gave two well deserved standing ovations.

Both Sonia Reid and Janna Sailor are from Saskatchewan and were in town for two shows. The talented Kamloops Symphony provided wonderful accompaniment for these musicians. Numerous solos added to the gorgeous musical texture. It was a very enjoyable evening.