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Music
Director, Checo Tohomaso,
brings a wealth of musical experience to the Vancouver Outreach Community Soul Gospel
Choir (VOC). Born in Florida, and raised in
Hawaii as well as Okinawa Japan, he has entertained with many notable
performers throughout his career. Checo was honoured to play keyboards,
percussion and sing background vocals for the last European tour
of Motown legend, Marvin Gaye. As a keyboard player and background
vocalist for the Green Machine, the band providing the sound for The
Commodores and Lionel Ritchie, he continued to tour the world
extensively until Expo '86 brought Checo to Vancouver.
Checo’s
musical journey began in early childhood where his first performances
were as a member of a church choir. The son of an African-American
Christian mother and Peruvian/African-American Jewish father, Checo grew
up surrounded by different styles of ethnic music. When asked how his
passion for Gospel music began, Checo points out “ninety per cent of
American Soul, R&B, and Jazz singers have their musical foundation
singing Gospel music in the church and I was heavily influenced by those
artists at a very early age”.
Following
Expo ’86, Checo toured the Canadian school system exposing youth to
ethnic and soul music. In addition, he worked extensively with the
First Nations population to provide positive motivation, from the
perspective of a person of colour, and deliver messages of staying in
school, staying off drugs, and racial tolerance.
Checo’s
current focus is to communicate the positive, healing qualities of soul
music to as many people as possible. He notes, “at home, everyone sings
Gospel and the spirit and culture are strong. People in Vancouver are
longing for real music and my goal is to bring it!”
In order to
achieve his goal of "bringing soul to the city", Checo also
coaches soul, R&B, gospel and light jazz-style vocals, and teaches both
keyboards and bass to students from across the lower mainland. In
addition to teaching and leading the choir, he performs on his own,
singing Motown, 60’s, 70’s, 80's and 90’s-style music at various venues
throughout Greater Vancouver and Victoria. |
