All-woman, cross-cultural concert will support Downtown Eastside music therapy program

An eclectic concert with an all-woman lineup will aim to keep a unique music therapy program going strong in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

The WISH Drop-in Centre,which works toimprove the health, safety and wellbeing of women in Vancouver's sex trade, began offering the program a year ago in a bid tohelp the women who use its services.

The therapy program was founded by the all-female Allegra Chamber Orchestrain partnership with the organization Music Heals.

From Vietnam to Iran and Mexico

On Friday, March 2, in celebration of Music Therapy Month and International Women's Day, amulti-genre music concert and fundraiserwill take placeat Notional Space on Pender Street, with all proceedsgoing towardthecontinued support of the WISH program.

Not only will Allegra perform, but a host of diverse female musicians will also showcase their talents using instruments from a variety of cultures.

MusicianHoang Bic will perform using a danbau,a traditional Vietnamese one-stringed zither. Iranian musician SainaKhalediwill be playing the santur,a Middle Eastern stringed instrument.

Spoken word artist Christine Bissonnettewill be premiering poetry written for the occasion.

The concert will close with a performance by the mariachi band Las Estrellas de Vancouver.

"I'm very excited about it and very honoured to be part of this event," saidMichelle Cormier,creator and director of Las Estrellas de Vancouver.

"It will be a spectacular event."

With files by North by Northwest