The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
610 University Avenue, 2nd floor
October 18, 2023 12-1 pm
Laura Marks (vocals)
Ben Bishop (guitar)
Mark Eisenman (piano)
Chris Banks (bass)
Norbert Botos (drums)
Photograph by: Maggie Broda
Poster by: Laura Marks
We were delighted to be participating in the Music In The Atrium programme for the first time since October 2019. There was an extra long interval between our performances at the hospital while the pandemic was at its worst. It was great to be back and so much fun to create an hour of happy diversion for the patients and the medical staff! Singing with such a brilliant group of guys was quite a thrill for me, too. It was the first time I’ve sung with Mark Eisenman. I hope there will be many more opportunities!
The ten songs we performed had a common theme: love. It wasn’t intentional but it was timely. The world needs more! One of the high points of the event had to be when an elegantly dressed man at the back of the room started dancing to “Minor Mishap”. He had to be a pro because he danced so well. We had a pretty good crowd, and the people near him would have seen him, but otherwise the audience was watching the band and wasn’t necessarily aware of our dancer, who was amazing.
When the concert ended I enjoyed a brief conversation with one of the patrons of the programme, Mrs. Spiro. She pointed up the atrium at all of the storeys leading towards the ceiling and said, “Do you see all those doorways? They open onto rooms where patients and medical staff can all hear you, so you have a much bigger audience than you might realize from our immediate surroundings.” I was really happy to discover that we were sharing the love in ways that we didn’t even know about. The programme, Music in the Atrium is in its 27th year. Long may it continue!