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CONCERTS AT THE LIBRARY Kay Alsop They'd have been hanging from the rafters - if any rafters had been within reach! As it was, the 300 eager attendees lucky enough to be admitted to the June 22 , Friday night concert at the West Vancouver Memorial Library stormed every inch of the main floor and gallery, mounted the reception counter or simply stood around on tiptoe, happy to have made it inside before the doors closed. It was the largest audience since the Friday Night Concerts began in November 2004. What they had come to hear was Portuguese fado, as performed by sultry-voiced Sara Marreiros and her two accompanying guitarists. And even without knowing a word of Portuguese, or having any knowledge of that sunny European country, everyone was totally captivated by the evening's performance. Sara's smoldering voice conveyed all the passion, longing and heartache that so typifies Portuguese fado, said to be Portugal's equivalent to what the flamenco is to Spain and what the blues are to America. Amazingly our fadista, Sara, is Victoria-based, but with a father whose red-blooded background is Portuguese. It was he who first encouraged Sara to explore her ancestral homeland, its history and customs. She did so, fell in love with that whole culture, and became totally enchanted with fado music in particular. She has not, though, confined herself to this genre alone. She has been recognized both locally and internationally for her unique vocal talents, and in 1994 she was awarded top honours as outstanding jazz vocalist in the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. Sara performs regularly with different musicians, but for this particular concert she chose two guitarists as her accompanists - Dan Weizenburger, and Galen Hartley. Both are skilled instrumentalists, with Hartley playing both an electric guitar and a traditional Portuguese "guitarra". He claims proudly to own one of only three such instruments in B.C., admires its "sparkling" sound, and admits that it has been difficult to master its techniques which are totally different from those of the usual guitar. In introducing the group, Fiona Black, program director of Capilano College Theatre, announced that this event was the kickoff to the North Shore's International Jazz Concerts. That might account for the larger-than-usual audience. On the other hand, the Library's Friday Night Concerts have become extremely popular in our community, appreciated for their excellence and diversity. What a wonderful legacy our benefactor Robert Leslie Welsh left us, and how well librarian Sue Kent administers it! As always, the Friends of the Library offered punch and cookies to the audience before the performance. Though it was difficult to reach everyone, Edda Davis, June Harris, Marlene Scott, Sophia Weremchuk and Kay Alsop did their best. Inevitably, it had to be "first come, first served". Latecomers take their chances.