‍“And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father.”—Black Elk

This quote from Sioux holy man, Black Elk, is the inspiration behind this show’s theme of unity. We are all connected, interlocking hoops: families, communities, and more. Draw the Circle Wide isn’t about an existing circle, necessarily, but drawing a new, wider circle to bring in everyone.

Everyone’s actions have ripple effects. We can support and care for each other, instead of fighting and turning away from our fellows. In this divisive time, music can be an antidote.

“That’s one thing I love about choir,” director Vicki Blake Thompson says. “People from all walks of life, occupations, and politics, with diverse worldviews and perspectives come together to create something together.” Everyone has a part to sing and together, they make a beautiful whole.

Vicki Blake Thompson has been conducting choirs in North Idaho for 27 years. She directed the children’s choir, Swinging on a Star, for 17 years and the Community Choir in Bonners Ferry for 20.

There will be two choral ensembles performing in Draw the Circle Wide: Spiritsong, a women’s choir, and the Boundless Choir, which consists of a women’s ensemble and a men’s ensemble. Both choirs have performed all over the world, from China to Iceland. Spiritsong will be traveling to Cuba at the end of the month for the International Choral Festival. And Boundless will be performing at Carnegie Hall for the second time on April 22 with choral groups from around the world.

Both groups are comprised of members from Bonners Ferry and Creston, and Spiritsong has members from Sandpoint as well.

For Draw the Circle Wide, the choral ensembles will be joined by some percussion, guitar, and an electronic wind instrument, but the show will be mostly a cappella. Songs will be drawn from a variety of sources, from familiar favorites like Lean on Me to contemporary classical.

Draw the Circle Wide comes to the Pearl Theater on October 20 and 21 and also to KRSS Auditorium in Creston BC on October 22. Tickets for Creston are available at the door.

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