www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, September 25, 2015 | 22 Artscene by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff "Connected to your Community" Suzanne Brown serving Afternoon tea with Gerswhin Suzanne Brown, popularly known as Suzie Sunshine, says singing is all she's ever known and cannot remember a time when music wasn't her life. The Bahamas-born, Oakville performer started singing at age nine and hasn't stopped since. On Sunday (Sept. 27), Brown is sharing her love of song -- especially the revues of the old standard music of famed composer George Gershwin -- with an Afternoon tea with Gershwin performance at St. Joseph's Banquet Centre, 30 River Oaks Blvd. "People can expect a great time," she said. "Lots of music, fun, food and, of course, Gershwin." Running from 1-4 p.m., the leisure concert will include pianist Bruce Harvey, drummer Jeff Halischuk and Peter Telford on standing bass. Gerry Tymstra will also be playing piano before the start of the performance. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased by calling 289-837-4709 or visiting www.seniorsoiree.ca. Brown began singing professionally at age 15, writing, singing and recording music -- her first recording included a jingle for Delmonte bananas. At age 18, she received a full musical theatre scholarship to a school in the U.S. where she also studied opera. She toured with Gordie Tapp in the U.S. for three years and has performed with Ronnie Prophet in Branson, Mo., and Canadian actor/singer Michael Burgess. Brown sings everything from Broadway hits, pop, operetta (soft opera) and standard tunes to oratorios, large-scale musical works for orchestra and voices, typically with a narrative on a religious theme. The light leggero soprano has also been a church soloist for more than 30 years. And singing definitely runs in Brown's family. Her mother, Patricia Maix was a singer in the Bahamas and the host of her own variety show at age 17. "I used to watch her sing in the Bahamas, in music theatre. My dad sang too, but he wasn't a professional singer," Brown explained. "So, I've always been around music... I've never not sung. "Even when I had children, I'd be soloing the Sunday before I gave birth and then be back again the next Sunday. I've never stopped." Brown's three sons -- Robert Clark, 28; Daniel Clark, 23; and Aaron Brown, 22 -- all have music and performance in their blood. Daniel was Chip in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast and he and his brother Robert have also appeared on television -- all three have been in feature films. "It thrills me to no end that they have the freedom to express themselves through music," admitted Brown. For the Oakville resident of 20 years, music is an expression of joy and the soul, she says. "It's one of the most effective forms of communication and it's also therapeutic," said Brown. "There's no greater joy in life." Her Suzie Sunshine program, launched in 2010, is an early childhood education music course for children aged four and younger. Brown introduces children to the "great composers," such as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, and musical terms, such as rhythm and pitch and tone. "The great composers are a big part of music appreciation and development," according to Brown. "The earlier you can introduce children to it, the more it opens up their world. Children learn music the same way they learn a new language." In addition to entertaining audiences from age two to 105, Brown has worked in daycares and schools, and performed in seniors' centres, across North America, and also done work for the Special Olympics, including writing and singing the theme song The Courage to Shine in 1996. Oakville singer Suzanne Brown, also known as Suzie Sunshine, is putting on an intimate concert Sunday (Sept. 27) afternoon. | photo courtesy Suzanne Brown In the Arts... com for a schedule of fall classes. Red Moon Road in Oakville Winnipeg-band Red Moon Road is bringing its tour of its new album Sorrows and Glories to Oakville on Oct. 1 at the Moonshine Café, 137 Kerr St. There is a $10 cover. For more information, contact www.themoonshinecafe. com or www.redmoonroad.com. Naoko Matsubara exhibit Oakville artist Naoko Matsubara is showing her latest exhibit Dancing with Wood: 50 years of woodcuts. The show's opening reception is Thursday, Oct. 1, from 6-9 p.m., and runs until Oct. 31 at Toronto's Abbozzo Gallery, 401 Richmond St. W., Ste. 128. Oakville Improv at Culture Days Oakville Improv Theatre Company will present a free drop-in workshop during Culture Days Saturday (Sept. 26) at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, 2302 Bridge Rd., from 2-2:30 p.m. in Music Room 1. A show will also be held at the Black Box Theatre from 3-4 p.m. Moonshine Comedy Jam Oakville Improv Theatre Company is hosting Comedy Jam at The Moonshine Café, 137 Kerr St., Sunday (Sept. 27) from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10. Visit oakvilleimprov.