Stockton Soul uses the power of music to heal the soul
Darcy Ford is the co-founder of Stockton Soul. Her love of music started at an early age.
"I've always loved music since I was a child, so I would say, yeah, from the top, maybe in the womb, because I came from a musical family," Ford said.
The Stockton string specialist and music teacher studied and played the Western classics. But in 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, Ford decided to make a bold move.
"The music that I love is Black music and I want to promote Black music and show that it's valuable and worthy of study," Ford said.
So, she leaned on fellow musician and friend Jonathan Ivy.
They both studied music at the University of the Pacific and together they started a Black-led orchestra.
"I remember very vividly in my car talking to him on the phone while I was driving and saying, what do you think about Stockton Soul? And he's like, 'I love it. That's great,'" Ford said.
The group of trained musicians tapped into familiar music like R&B, Hip-Hop and even Spoken Word.
Just as they began rehearsing, tragedy struck. Ivy, who suffered from depression, died by suicide.
"I remember screaming because I felt like, you know, we built we built this," Ford said. "I felt like I needed him, and I didn't feel like I could go on without him."
Ford then consulted with the other musicians, including Jelani Brown who was also friends with Ivy.
As a group, they decided to push forward. Their first performance was at Ivy's memorial.
"The hardest thing about losing him is not paying attention to the signs," Brown said.
So, Stockton Soul's mission is to address mental health at each performance and within the group.
"It just made me realize even more that it's just like, OK, number one, I need take care of my mental health," Brown said. "I need to make sure I need to make sure I'm asking for help."
They demonstrate that the power of love, self-care and music can really help heal the soul.
"The one common thread that we can all come together on is music. You know, especially this music that is this African Black music that is the soundtrack of our country," Ford said.
Stockton Soul is made up of 10 musicians but during larger performances, the orchestra brings in more musicians.
Stockton Soul is scheduled to perform at the Haggin Museum in Stockton on Feb. 15 for Black History Month.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
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