Join Lala Simpson, Dayle Anderson, Richard Hardie, and Jonathan Berkahn in an evening of French Chansons and songs from Madagascar.

We have added some new songs by our favorite French chansons singers such as Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Yves Montand, and Charles Aznavour to our repertoire as well as songs from Malagasy well-renowned artists Fanja Andriamanantena, Bessa, and Lalao Rabeson which have a special meaning to Lala and her growing up in Madagascar. We will be joined by fabulous choreographer Sacha Copland and dance group Le dance who will add their flair to some of the songs.

All profits will go to the World Food Program's emergency fund for the Southern part of Madagascar and Seed Madagascar.

WFP aims to reach one million people with emergency food assistance in the Grand Sud region, where food insecurity levels are highest. As of May 2021, WFP has been scaling up its response and reaching 700,000 people per month through general food distributions as well as supplementary nutrition products. In 2021, WFP has provided treatment for over 111,500 children under 5 years old in six of the worst-affected districts in the south.
Integrating the food security, vulnerability, and nutrition assessments of different agencies into a single process that operates from the village to the national level, WFP implements preparedness and early response actions in the country with the National Disaster Management Authority and the national institute of statistics.

SEED Madagascar (Sustainable Environment, Education & Development in Madagascar) is an award-winning British registered charity (number 1079121). Operating in southeast Madagascar, they manage a wide range of sustainable development and conservation projects across the Anosy region. Alongside this, they aim to raise global awareness of Madagascar’s unique needs and build constructive partnerships to aid development. They aim to enhance to enhance the capacity of individuals, communities, organizations and government in fulfilling sustainable environment, education, and development goals in southeast Madagascar.

Lala Simpson (Vocals) is a singer, song leader, and community music educator from Madagascar and fluent in French. She has been singing and performing since she was a young girl. She spent much of her childhood listening to Radio France International with her parents and singing along to French songs in the evening. In her teenage years, she fell in love with the songs of Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel and would sing "Non Je ne regrette rien" and "Ne me Quitte pas" to the amusement of her friends who thought the songs too old-fashioned. Lala's past performances have been claimed as moving and deeply touching. Her rich voice and extensive range mixed with her mastery of the French language bring depth to the songs and a new understanding for the audience.

Jonathan Berkahn (Accordion) is a Wellington-based performer, composer, and conductor. He studied organ and harpsichord with Douglas Mews, before diversifying into many other fields of general musical usefulness. He has accompanied the Festival Singers for over two decades now, and conducted them between 2013 and 2019. Around about 2000 he started playing the accordion that his brother-in-law loaned, then gave him, and has never looked back. He is a regular at Tuesday night's Irish session at the Welsh Dragon in Courtenay Place, a co-founder of VicFolk (the Victoria University folk club and ceilidh band), a ceilidh-caller, and member of various dance bands of different genres, from Eastern Europe to North America. He met Lala in 2015, taught her children piano, and they have been musical collaborators ever since.

Dayle Anderson (Piano): Dayle Anderson performs a variety of music as an accompanist in Wellington. For many years she was a rehearsal pianist and accompanist for the Festival Singers under the direction of Guy Jansen and Rita Paczian, performing with them in concerts locally and overseas. She accompanies instrumental and vocal students for examinations and auditions and has played for a number of amateur musical productions. In recent years she has worked with Lala and other musicians in a number of concerts, presenting the music of French artists such as Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel. Dayle enjoys making music with others and is part of the team of musicians at St. John’s in the City in Wellington.

Richard Hardie (double bass): Studying under Dale Gold, Richard graduated several decades ago with a Performance degree from Victoria University. Following a short tenure with the Auckland Philharmonia, he traveled to the USA where he completed a Masters in Double Bass Performance from Rice University, studying with the legendary Paul Ellison. During the 90s Richard spent 10 years in North America playing in a variety of orchestras and ensembles. A highlight was spending two summers as part of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra in Hokkaido, Japan. He returned to New Zealand in 2000 where he lectured for 7 years at Victoria University. A special area of interest for Richard is the history of Jazz in New Zealand. In particular, he is a leading authority on the long-running Tauranga Jazz Festival. Richard now works for the Government which means he can enjoy freelancing with a variety of orchestras and ensembles.

The irrepressible and unique Le Dance is a genre-bending performance that combines music, dance, and a pinch of comedy to sweep audiences off their feet and provoke whoop-inducing joy. Choreographed by Sacha Copland, who has garnered critical acclaim over a storied 17-year career in dance, and full of futuristic surprises, expect a unique mix of jazz, folk, contemporary, and body percussion set to hypnotic melodies and wild infectious rhythms that move through the city.

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