James Bond concert in Kitchener, ON, Canada this weekend

Event: Music of James Bond performed by KW Symphony
Location: Centre in the Square, Kitchener, ON, Canada

Dates:
Friday 14th May @ 20:00
Saturday 15th May @ 20:00

Shaken, not stirred. Enjoy the most memorable movie music of all time! Hear your favourite Bond themes including Dr. No, Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, For Your Eyes Only and many more!

John Morris Russell, conductor
Marcia Whitehead, vocalist/Bond Girl

Tickets start at $20.

Centre In The Square
101 Queen Street North
Kitchener Ontario N2H 6P7

Box office 519-745-4711, toll free1-888-745-471, or visit the event website.

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It’s not often a classically trained opera singer can add “Bond girl” to her resume, right after mezzo soprano and actress, reports The Record.

“I think it’s awesome,” said the delightfully funny and excitable Whitehead, referring to her singing role for the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony’s Music of James Bond concert this weekend.

“People love things they are familiar with,” she said. “They feel a real connection to the music, many are attached to it.

“Some of the music for James Bond, For Your Eyes Only, I remember as a kid. I was only seven or eight years old. I never thought I’d get to be (the singer) Sheena Easton.”

The concert, part of the Symphony’s Pop series and conducted by John Morris Russell, will feature music by some of the most beloved contemporary composers, talents such as Burt Bacharach (The Look of Love), Marvin Hamlisch (Nobody Does It Better), Quincy Jones (Soul Bossa Nova), Henry Mancini (Peter Gunn), David Arnold (Tomorrow Never Dies) among others.

“This music is difficult to pull off and sound just like the movie,” said Whitehead. “It’s big and broad and needs full throttle energy.”

The singer noted that Bond music spans several eras, from the 1960s through to this century. Consequently, it’s important to her to “respect the genre it came from,” the pure sound of the 1960s, the rock of the 1970s to the modern digital techno-sound of recent songs.

“It’s a balancing act,” she said, noting the importance of the music as a way to propel the movie’s storyline forward. “You’re glued to it because of the music. It tells a story without saying a word.”

With the entire symphony behind her, Whitehead will really have to power up, be less operatic and more cabaret, a switch she makes easily.

“I’ve sung many genres of music,” said the Toronto-based singer. “It’s always fun to switch it up. I’m classically trained but I’ve done musical theatre. I end up singing the fun pieces, the cabaret pieces. It helps keep you fresh.”

Critics have described Whitehead’s voice as both dark and elegant and her singing style as dramatic and stellar. She holds a music degree in voice from the University of Manitoba and has studied at the Professional Actor’s Lab, L’Atelier Lyrique de L’opera de Montreal as well as the Banff Centre. Most recently, she did the Cinderella tour with the Calgary Opera.

This will be Whitehead’s debut on the Centre in the Square stage and with the symphony.

“The musicians will be picking up their instruments and having a good time … and I get to wear a gold dress.”

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