News of gala fundraising concert on 2004-03-05: Vancouver, Fairmont Hotel; fundraiser for Vancouver General Hospital - with Diana Krall
Vancouver Sun, 2004-01-19
- Kerry Gold

 

Stars to sing at VGH benefit

Diana Krall, Elvis Costello and Elton John to perform at an exclusive concert for a group of hospital donors

Kerry Gold
Vancouver Sun

Newly married Diana Krall and Elvis Costello will bring pal Sir Elton John along when they perform at a cozy fundraiser for Vancouver General Hospital.

Krall, Costello and John will perform for an intimate group of 600 hospital donors at the black-tie dinner-concert at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver on March 5. Krall, her sister Michelle and mother Adella, who died in 2002 from a form of cancer that affects the immune system, started the fundraiser six years ago.

"This event is about celebrating life and love," Krall said in a news release.

"Having the event without our mother Adella will be difficult but she is a source of inspiration for us to continue.

"We are very grateful to the hospital for the care she received."

It was natural for John to get involved since he and Krall are good friends, said Krall's co-manager Steve Macklam. Nanaimo-bred Krall, 39, and British singer Costello, 49, were married in early December at John's castle in England, with Sir Paul McCartney among the 150 guests.

"Elton has been very good friends with Diana for some time now, and she just asked him," Macklam said. "She had done a number of his AIDS-oriented charity fundraisers. He's a very generous man."

Krall's mother lived six years after being diagnosed with incurable multiple myeloma. Krall's previous benefit concerts on behalf of VGH's bone marrow transplant program raised more than $500,000. The money has been used to purchase equipment and to support out-of-town patients and their families from around B.C.

"The remarkable thing about it is it's going to be a very small, very intimate setting, and very unique," Macklam said.

But don't expect to dial up Ticketmaster for a ticket to the exclusive event. Tickets for the show sold out long before the announcement. Letters had been sent to previous donors in December, inviting them to purchase tickets that cost $550, $800 and $1,000. Tickets sold out in two days.

Members of Krall's family and nurses who'd cared for Adella Krall were also sent letters. Organizers plan to sell another ticket on auction site eBay.

"If we made them completely public the trouble is that people who had been supporting this from day one wouldn't get a chance. And that wouldn't be fair either. So yes, it's a little more selective ... but it's not like it's a 'who's who' glitterati crowd at all."

The fundraiser is held in a small setting to ensure it remains a special annual event, Macklam said. If such a concert was held at GM Place, for example, it would probably work better as a one-off event.

As well, he said, "We are concentrating on honouring Adella and drawing attention to the fund. And the show might out-shadow that if we were to make it too big and too public."

© Copyright 2004 Vancouver Sun