With Valentine's Day on the horizon and love in the air, one concert will bring together singers of every genre to pay tribute to the notorious "prophet of love."
St. John's Anglican Church will host a Leonard Cohen tribute concert on Feb. 12 and no favourite will be left unsung. The performance will feature local singers and musicians, but the night doesn't end with the entertainment - a wine and cheese bar, a silent auction and a Leonard Cohen discussion will make the evening complete.
An avid Cohen fan himself, David Dranchuk is thrilled to be organizing the event.
"I think of him [Cohen] as a prophet," Dranchuk said. "This is something I've been meaning to do for years and the opportunity just came along, so I was more than delighted to oblige everyone."
The money raised will go toward a new roof for St John's - the one installed 10 years ago has a leaky envelope and, since the company the church hired went out of business, the church needs to absorb the entire cost of $162,000.
Dranchuk said this sparked the need for the event, and the Valentine's Day's theme seemed appropriate for a Leonard Cohen concert.
"Valentine's just makes sense because Leonard Cohen was just so preoccupied with love," he said. "What a wonderful opportunity to give him some recognition for exploring the many facets of love."
Dranchuk said although Cohen's music is full of Biblical references from both the Old and New Testament, his music is as much spiritual as it is religious and explores the theme of erotic love.
"Leonard Cohen has such a following among the spiritually inclined, not necessarily all church people," he said. "Religion and spirituality aren't the same thing, but many people who are spiritually inclined are big, big fans of him.
"Cohen seems to have married mystical and religious themes to sexual themes - he blends sexuality to spirituality like no one else."
Dranchuk said a good example is Cohen's much celebrated song Hallelujah: "I remember when I moved in you. The holy dove was moving too. And every breath we drew was hallelujah."
According to talented local singer Kelly Coubrough, who is singing and arranging all the performers, all 12 singers will sing Hallelujah toward the end of the concert.
Admittedly a recent Cohen fan, Coubrough looked through dozens of songs before deciding to perform "Bird on a Wire."
"I am definitely a Leonard Cohen fan now," she said. "I really hadn't heard much of it before this project and it's been great - he's an excellent songwriter for sure and his music is really accessible and adaptable to all sorts of genres and styles: rock, classical, folk."
She said Cohen's adaptable songwriting style is evident from the number and diversity of performers coming together.
"We have a lot of local singers and musicians coming together under one roof from all genres folk, rock, classical" she said. "I see it as a testament to Cohen's music that so many people are keen to be a part of the tribute."
St. John's large hall will be decorated with long-stemmed roses and candles. People can enjoy wine while the performances are taking place and there will be a long intermission so the audience has a chance to look over the silent auction items and converse with the entertainers.
"People who love Leonard Cohen also just love talking about Leonard Cohen with other people who share their interest," Dranchuk said.
Silent auction items follow the Valentine's theme as well and include a weekend at an oceanside cottage, spa packages, beauty products and bundle of Leonard Cohen CDs and DVDs.
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 12 at St. John's Anglican Church. Tickets are $20 and are available at the Squamish Adventure Centre, Billie's Bouquet and at the door.
