Checo Tohomaso's Bio
Music Director, Checo Tohomaso, brings a wealth of musical experience to the
Vancouver Outreach Community Sweet Soul Gospel Choir (VOC). Born in Florida, and
raised in Hawaii as well as Okinawa Japan, he has entertained with many notable
performers throughout his career. Checo was honoured to play keyboards,
percussion and sing background vocals for the last European tour of Motown
legend, Marvin Gaye. As a keyboard player and background vocalist for the Green
Machine, the band providing the sound for The Commodores and Lionel Ritchie, he
continued to tour the world extensively until Expo '86 brought Checo to
Vancouver.
Checo’s musical journey began in early childhood where his first performances
were as a member of a church choir. The son of an African-American Christian
mother and Peruvian/African-American Jewish father, Checo grew up surrounded by
different styles of ethnic music. When asked how his passion for Gospel music
began, Checo points out “ninety per cent of American Soul, R&B, and Jazz singers
have their musical foundation singing Gospel music in the church and I was
heavily influenced by those artists at a very early age”.
Following Expo ’86, Checo toured the Canadian school system exposing youth to
ethnic and soul music. In addition, he worked extensively with the First
Nations population to provide positive motivation, from the perspective of a
person of colour, and deliver messages of staying in school, staying off drugs,
and racial tolerance.
Checo’s current focus is to communicate the positive, healing qualities of soul
music to as many people as possible. He notes, “at home, everyone sings Gospel
and the spirit and culture are strong. People in Vancouver are longing for real
music and my goal is to bring it!”
In order to achieve his goal of "bringing soul to the city", Checo also
coaches soul, R&B, gospel and light jazz-style vocals, and teaches both
keyboards and bass to students from across the lower mainland.
