Leeav Sofer says bringing music to Skid Row is important.
Ten years ago, he co-founded the Urban Voices Project, a performance choir that supports individuals affected by homelessness and isolation on Skid Row.
The Urban Voices Project will celebrate its decade anniversary with a concert on Saturday, May 24, at the Colburn School.
“There’s so much music down there,” Sofer said.
“We don’t bring the music as much as amplify it. The whole experience is so empowering. That’s the way it was from the very beginning.”
Christopher Mack co-founded The Urban Voices Project with Sofer in 2014.
“Christopher, who is known as the ‘Urban Sage,’ loves to sing and he thinks singing is powerful,” Sofer said. “He was an outreach worker at Wesley Health Centers.”
Mack and Sofer assembled The Urban Voices Project with folks from local encampments and shelters. They assembled the group in eight weeks for a performance at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
“I’ll never forget it,” Sofer said. “People showed up for the gala on the 51st floor dressed in ball gowns and tuxedos. We got the choir showers after we went thrifting looking for suits and dresses.”
It was akin to a Cinderella story for the participants.
“It was incredible,” Sofer said. “There were standing ovations. People were crying. Mascara was running. It was such a powerful concert and what was so wonderful was that the performers felt so empowered and respected. They were doing this art form that people look up to. After the show, they were back on Figueroa Street walking toward their tents on Skid Row.”
The Urban Voices Project raises self-esteem. As a result, participants have secured jobs and housing over the years. Those who stick with the project are buoyed by the Coffee House Program, which offers a springboard to success. The CHP offers private coaching, voice lessons, sessions with a live band backing them up, headshots, a makeover and an artist biography. At week eight, their performance is captured on video.
“It’s such an empowering transformational thing, Sofer said. “We started that part of the program in 2016, and it’s been a major success.”
Those from the early days of The Urban Voices Project will perform along with current members at the anniversary concert.
“This is going to be one of the biggest landmark events in our history,” Sofer said. “What makes it special is that we invited all of the alumni down for the event. the concert will tell our history through song.”
“This is Me,” from “The Greatest Showman,” a song about self-advocacy, is one of the featured cuts. “It’s a song about those in freak shows that had to stand up for themselves,” Sofer said. “People on Skid Row feel the same way.”
“I Smile,” a gospel track from Kirk Franklin, will be one of the highlights and the concert will close with John Legend’s “Coming Home.”
“That song is perfect since it’s about longing for home,” Sofer said. “These people all long for a home. They’re wonderful people and they’re themselves onstage. We don’t sing perfectly. We’re not trained like the LA Master Chorale. We have amateur singers. But you know what they do better than any professional choir? They emote. We don’t perform like zombies. This is like a raw rock show that you will never forget.”