The title i carry your heart with me comes from the modern poet, e.e. cummings, and it also served as the inspiration and title of the most recent performance by Island Voices.

The chamber choir, comprised of members from Campbell River, the Comox Valley and the Discovery Islands, held its latest concert over the weekend, with performances in Comox and Campbell River. They were joined by accompanist Julie Matthews on piano and guest soloist Cameron Boyce on violin.

The cummings鈥� connection served as inspiration for one of the pieces of music by Z. Randall Stroope, who took the poem as a starting point for the composition. Other works included translations of traditional songs from the Philippines and Finland. Alongside these folk pieces, the choir added some contemporary songs by artists like Billy Joel, Bruce Cockburn and Annie Lennox, or collaborations of Broadway composers like Richard Rodgers or Jerome Kern with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, or classical composer Gustav Holst, who provided a take on an old Cornish folk song, 鈥淚 Love My Love.鈥�

While the repertoire told heartfelt tales of romantic love, the show also underscored a love of a different sort, as it raised funds for the local Grandmothers to Grandmothers group. The proceeds support the work of grandmothers in Africa raising grandchildren orphaned because of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.