The Crescent Cardinal

Amber Leigh resides in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. A young, resilient woman with a passion for music, nature and art, Amber is known for giving back to her friends, fellow creatives and the local community. She is an advocate for oppressed voices in the world, speaking up and taking action on issues such as mental health, disability, drug abuse and the rights of indigenous people. She is also the mind and visionary behind her musical sobriquet, The Crescent Cardinal. An authentic blend of self-taught and classically trained material, these songs are a window into Amber’s creativity as a singer-songwriter. She bolsters this with her second skill set of being a modest multi-instrumentalist, with the acoustic guitar, ukulele, keyboard and—of course—human voice all featured. On special occasions you may catch her streaming on Twitch.Tv developing her music production skills while also playing wind instruments such as alto saxophone, clarinet and flute. The collaborative effort “| Virtual Uke Group | Community Online | The Crescent Cardinal”, is an online group that provides a landing space for a ukulele community that meets once a month as an online ukulele circle. Many in person ukulele circles have been limited in cities nearby. This is one channel through which Amber offers her musical output to the world. She is also a contributor behind the scenes for online book launches, solo fundraisers, group fundraisers, supports Live at The Creative Cafe and Co-Hosts a virtual vocal jazz jam online alongside the fearless Vancouver, British Columbia Canada singer-songwriter jazz vocalist Nancy Newman. Amber’s songs are inspired by, and represent, a journey of being vulnerable, having imperfections, healing, and cultivating resilience with love. Often her songs describe different journeys life takes us on when - life has different plans. May 2020 behind her musical sobriquet, The Crescent Cardinal was the start of organized multiple instagram live stream events to raise awareness with members of the invisible illness community paired with musicians for sparking conversations. These topics included and were not limited to World Ankylosing Spondylitis day 2020 and Canadian Mental Health Awareness week. August 2020 Amber took part in the Great Cycle Challenge Canada where she created a live stream Facebook event: Cycle and Sing. This involved her dressing in 80’s fashion, stretching, riding her recumbent bike, playing saxophone as well as singing and playing music at the same time. She raised $543.00 for the Sick Kids foundation to help prevent childhood cancer. While riding, she was doing so in memory of “Grandma June” who passed away recently from cancer during the pandemic. Grandma June, helped raise a dear friend of Amber’s and was a former educator who loved inspiring the minds of young children. September 2020 despite a concussion found a way to continue raising awareness off screens to help #STOPOVERDOSE with the Food For Soul Project Society - a counselling, addiction and methadone/suboxone treatment programs and S.T.O.R.M. A multisector group that is a local community action team of municipal and community partners that supports the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows community for at risk individuals. Most recently, in October 2020 Amber was nominated as a candidate for the Music BC Industry Association where members can vote for her chance to sit in one of the six seats on the board of directors. Amber’s statement when nominated as a candidate was drawn from her personal experience with Mental Health. Her message comes from her heart in response to the struggles she sees in current creatives within the music industry:

“Taking care of mental health is an essential preventative measure that can reduce daily suffering. More individuals are currently facing mental health challenges as a result of socio-economic breakdowns from COVID-19. Mental health support will aid the [music] industry’s recovery by giving opportunities for resilience, now and in the future. When a person is faced with crisis or trauma, early support, intervention and prevention are key. [...] I hope to lead and become a role model for resilience by creating ripples of change immediately around mental health […] there is an urgent need for accessible mental health resources to reduce and prevent further suffering and trauma. We are grieving, and need help to heal”. There are sixteen other candidates that have been nominated and three that are up for re-election. Amber says:

“Having the urgent message to musicians and creatives heard - to be kind to your mind regarding mental health support is validating being out in the public eye. So, seat or no seat on the board of directors of the MusicBC Industry Association. It’s the message that counts and I’m honoured to be alongside candidates I myself am inspired by. It’s not me - just in case you got any funny ideas haha!”. Amber will continue to advocate for mental health awareness in hopes of ending the stigma around this topic and will continue her journey with other causes close to her heart. Unafraid to collaborate with others or to reach out online - She welcomes the online community with open arms and it’s potential for the resilience of the music industry to be something new online. This is based on her experiences being welcomed into the invisible illness community online and connecting with others before the pandemic existed when previously faced with social isolation from drastic health persistent multiple barriers. An active user of social media, she spreads her positive message and vibes via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Twitch, forging bonds with contacts new and old. Stop by one of her cross-platform LIVE streams or stay tuned for a SideDoor Access Show - either way there will be something happening with The Crescent Cardinal, definitely a laugh and for the time being it will be the only place you will hear her music in it’s full free-form entirety! Join the community online and before you know it, she will make you feel like you have known her for a long time by simply being there with you - in the moment.