OIGC Members Remember Sheila Daar

General

Oct 5

Written By Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir

DAVID BELOVE, BASSIST:

Choir,
I am so saddened to hear that Sheila has passed. She was a driving force (to be reckoned with!) in helping to keep the choir organized and informed during the time she was with us. In addition, she was the one who coined the term “Bandolino’s” for the musicians. It stuck!
That is but a small part of her legacy that lives on with the choir.
May she rest in peace.
David

ANNETTE COFFEY, ALTO:

Dan Strauss & the OIGC Ministerial Committee

Long before AOC and the Green New Deal, there was Sheila Daar – diligently working to help make our planet healthier and freer from harmful pesticides. I had heard that she was a recipient for a California Woman of the Year award – but didn't know why or exactly what for. Sheila never spoke about her many professional accomplishments – I just knew her as the white-haired Alto lady who was our Manager/Agent and helped OIGC land all of its noteworthy gigs – for which she was paid a paltry fee of about $80 – or maybe it was $140/gig. I wrote paychecks to her each month when I was Board Treasurer back in the 90s and marveled at how little she received for all her time and energy on behalf of OIGC. She stood near the curtain of every performance – reminding each of us to smile BIG as we stepped on stage. She was always the last Alto on stage standing at the end of the front row.

I will be forever grateful for all that Sheila did to increase OIGC’s presence and visibility in our city, state, nation, and to faraway places like Australia and Israel. On top of that, she was the producer of our first 3 albums. I have no idea how she worked her magic – but we were blessed to have her for the first half of our choir’s existence. We’ve come a mighty long way but our current strengths and successes were built on a strong foundation that she helped lay from 1986 through 2002.

Today I googled Sheila’s name and discovered much press about her work and numerous professional accolades. I hope you will take the time to read some of the articles listed below – including a wonderful recognition in the Congressional Record by our late U.S. Representative Ron Dellums in January 1998.