Alison Denham
Eric Dozier, supreme musician and cultural activist, is a force to be reckoned with. His singing workshop in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin over the weekend 12-15 July will be treasured for ever by Dunedin Community choir members and leaders, and those who came simply because they love to sing.
All of us – soaring sopranos, edgy altos, bluesy tenors and down and dirty bases – experienced such elation, and also intense moments of sadness, through the music and through the stories and teachings of this man.
Raised in a little town called Bakewell in Tennessee, Eric Dozier was immersed in gospel music through his family life, playing the piano in his local church at the age of five. Many of his extended family members and cousins sang, and the stories behind those songs are in his bones. Eric became involved in a programme helping young people to express themselves through music and drama. Following that, he became active in Unity Youth Choir, believing absolutely in music’s ability to unite the people of the world, one song at a time.
The living room was a riot of freshly picked forget-me-nots. Every corner of the room was filled with vases and bottles, the little blue flowers exploding everywhere. In the middle of the room the usual furniture had been pushed back or taken away. A coffin, occupied, lay there, with two hardback chairs facing it. Made of walnut, the box was simple and unadorned. The deceased lay in state. The body was wearing a midnight blue dress, white face so pale against the dark surrounding it. A small bouquet of forget-me-nots was clutched in cold, stiff hands.