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Spencer Brewer & Esther Siegel

Multi Arts; Performing Arts: Music; Visual Arts: Constructions/Collage, Mixed Media, Sculpture

Spencer Brewer & Esther Siegel Overview Transforming the everyday cast-off into something extraordinary… Spencer Brewer & Esther Siegel have a passion for creating quirky and fantastical pieces of art out of re-purposed, or ‘found art’ materials. From the whimsical and humorous to the punk and dark, each piece is one of a kind. Creating “new compositions” from vintage or unusual objects, they inspire viewers with a sense of delight, surprise and sometimes awe. Working both separately and as a team, Spencer & Esther confer regularly on their artwork. “We don’t always have the same vision, but we always listen and that feedback can open new doors.” Their studio is a wonderland of eccentric odds and ends and then some. Nicknamed the “Barn of Curiosities, Oddities and Light”, one discovers a much venerated collection of eccentric obsolete ephemera & vintage electromechanical obscura giving these artists endless options for their transformative art. Esther Siegel Esther’s “late in life artist” emerged from the scrapbooking world. From there she expanded to unique one of a kind greeting cards and then moved into ‘found art’ sculptures. Her pieces are a mixture of the whimsical and dark humor. They range from Barbie Doll parts (Altered Barbies) to old neck ties (Awards), to horse and doll parts (Horse People) and antique toasters (Twisted Toasters). She describes her creative process as sometimes very slow and frustrating and goes through many variations on a theme before settling on the finished piece. Spencer Brewer Spencer Brewer has been creating art and music since he could walk. For much of his life his focus was on pianos, composing, creating, recording and producing music. He also worked on over 20,000 pianos, crank phonographs and pump organs which gave him the opportunity to collect unique and obscure vintage mechanical objects along the way. In 2006 he began to focus his creative energy on ‘re-purposed or found-art’, using parts he had amassed over the years to create unusual sculptures. “I love vintage 60-150 year-old beautifully designed parts and objects. The graphic design and engineering of the industrial to the science fiction eras inspire me.”

Spencer Brewer

Performing Arts: Music, Vocal

For over 30 years, Spencer Brewer has been a composer/pianist/performer on the cutting edge of instrumental music, – inspiring audiences and listeners worldwide with his piano skills and hauntingly unique melodies. Spencer Brewer is a world recognized composer, pianist, entrepreneur and producer inspiring audiences and listeners worldwide with his piano skills as well as his creative business acumen. He has 16 solo recordings to his credit and over 250 recordings and film scores produced in his Redwood Valley Laughing Coyote Studio. His music has been featured on Home Alone 2, LA Law, Sex & the City, Thirty Something, The Opray Winfrey Show, The Barbara Walters Show, over 15 years of Olympic World games, NPR, CNN, virtually every airline in the skies and 100’s of TV programs and movies across the globe on a daily basis. In 2003, he started the Ukiah Music Center and has been restoring, buying, selling, tuning and doing virtually anything with the piano for over 30 years. While donating dozens of private concerts over the years for local non-profit agencies, he started and produces the highly successful “Sundays in the Park” concert series in Ukiah. He also created the series’ ‘Live at the Playhouse’, ‘The Professional Pianist Series’, ‘Happination’, ‘BandSlam’, ‘Acoustic Café’, ‘Sunset at the Cellars’, “Lightening Jam’ and is a consultant to many performance organizations, individuals and businesses throughout the area regionally around promotion, publicity, media relations and events. He and his wife operate their home as an emergency foster care home for high-risk youth and in 2001 he was one of three people to be nominated for Ukiah’s “Citizen of the Year” award and in 2008 he won the Mendocino County Arts Champion Award.

Alexander DeGrassi

Performing Arts: Music

Helene Eve

Performing Arts: Music

Vocalist Helene Eve performs an eclectic variety of styles, either accompanying herself on guitar, or backed by other players. She has performed in solo or duo combos at Art in the Gardens at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and Mendocino Art Center Fairs, and at various Mendocino County venues including Mac Callum House Restaurant/Gray Whale Bar, Heritage House, Django’s at the Noyo Harbor and local coffeehouses such as Headlands. Accompanying herself on guitar, she presents soulful and sweet music from classic standard tunes, to bluesy, jazzy, folk, pop, country and several original tunes As a jazz vocalist, she has performed with the CR Stage Band on the coast, at Jazz on the Lawn Series at the Art Center, the Ellington Festival, and at the Sequoia Room backed by jazz trios. For a sampling, go to Soundcloud.com and search for Eva Yo Teh He. Sample here: Helene Eve singing on Robert Dease Jr. original song– Autumn. https://soundcloud.com/user-787626977/autumn-peter

Lavender Grace

Media; Multi Arts; Performing Arts: Actor/Actress, Dance, Music, Radio/Television, Spoken Word, Storytelling, Theatre, Vocal; Visual Arts: Graphic Arts, Performance Art, Performers and Writers

“Music is my medicine, my story of healing. my offering to you, on your journey, to help you find your Medicine in your own song, within your own rhythm.” Lavender Grace is dedicated to the tools of Heart Song Medicine, for the good of all, for the collective evolution of all beings. She is a Sacred Ecology Specialist, and facilitator of Intuitive Drum Song, a course created by the lands and people of Northern California, informed by the lineage of her Celtic Ancestors & the influences of Moorish song and dance. At the very core, Lavender Grace is instructed by the Bees. She moves to the rhythm of the hive, the path of co-existence, the life song path, the life dance to the beat of the heart drum. Dedicated to the shared responsibility of our times, to elevate our consciousness. Come, show up, be courageous, you are needed! She is a facilitator, musician, actor, dancer, poet, artist, and consultant to those in need of her services. For more info visit www.honeyhivemendo.com

Janice Hawthorne Timm

Performing Arts: Actor/Actress, Music, Theatre, Vocal; Pianist & Accompanist, Musical Theater Director

Originally from Montgomery, Alabama, Janice has lived in the Ukiah area since 1987. She currently directs the Mendocino College Choir and Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and performs with the Mendocino College Jazz Band. She also works locally as a music director with the Ukiah Players Theatre and SPACE, and is often the accompanist for musical theater productions at Mendocino College and Ukiah High School Vocal Music performances. As a choral conductor, and music director, Janice brings 30+ years’ experience directing choirs and teaching singers of all ages, ranging from preschoolers to elders. Her goal is to help each person to find their voice — and to use that voice with joy and confidence in collaborative music-making and performing.

Dorian May

Performing Arts: Music

Today, people in Mendocino County know me as a jazz & Latin pianist playing with a variety of ensembles throughout Mendocino County and beyond. I moved to Mendocino County in 2002 and got inspired to develop as a jazz musician after attending a Sunday jazz jam at Headlands Coffeehouse hosted by local pianist Richard Cooper. The creativity and fun coming from the bandstand was just inspiring and so where the beautiful chords and improvised solos. From Concert Pianist to Rock Keyboardist In my early music career I mainly focused on classical music and studied to become a concert pianist at Cal State Long Beach, where I received a degree in piano performance. However, instead of playing piano concertos, I started working with one of the top professional cover bands in Los Angeles as a keyboardist and started touring with them throughout California and neighboring States. World Music In my 30s I started exploring world music and learned various percussion instruments, which lead me to being able to perform as percussionist and accompanist at colleges such as Chapman University and at the Idyllwild Jazz Festival. I was fascinated by the poly-rhythms found in Middle Eastern, African and Cuban Music and recorded several odd meter pieces in my home studio. Music sample: Teaching Career Jazz and classical music came back to my world when I had the opportunity to complete my student teaching for my music teaching credential with Jeff Towers, who had an award-winning high-school jazz and concert band program. After teaching band at various schools in California & Oregon, I eventually settled into a part-time teaching career at River Oak Charter School in Ukiah, where I teach band and elementary music. In addition to piano, I play trumpet, trombone, flute and drums. Piano Artistry Today my piano artistry shapes together classical, modern and Latin jazz with Bach harmony and counterpoint, world and poly rhythms. My diverse collection of influences and continual study of the jazz masters like Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans allow me to develop my unique voice in the jazz world. I love the improvisatory nature and creativity offered by jazz as an art form Ensembles You can see me perform at many different venues throughout the local counties but also in Sonoma County and beyond including the Headlands Coffeehouse, North Coast Brewing Co., Barra Winery, Sea Ranch Lodge, Soper Reese Theatre, etc. with a variety of ensembles including the following: BongoLatte Latin Jazz Quartet https://www.reverbnation.com/dorianmay/song/7622527-besame-mucho Live @ the One World Festival 2013 Mendocino– “La Bamba Descarga” https://youtu.be/FlJE9a8aFVg Dorian May Trio and Quartet Trio – Gualala Arts Center – “Stranger in Paradise” https://youtu.be/eAnd2va3jWs 40s Style Quartet with Jim Leonardis (sax & clarinet) “Take the A Train” at Soper Reese https://youtu.be/0wswyQbri3U “Mack the Knife” at Mendocino Film Festival 2015, Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation https://youtu.be/1ai71Sw-Gfo Trio with special guest Harrison Goldberg (Sax) – Whale & Jazz Festival May 2015- “Take Five” https://youtu.be/eM0OVVVxmZA Mad Cow Jazz (five-piece swing jazz combo with vocalist) Dorian May’s Little Big Band (Swing & Jazz with two vocalists and 2-3 horns) I played piano in the Mendocino College Big Band for 5 years under the direction of John Parkinson. In my newest project, Little Big Band I try to recreate the sound and feel of the classic jazz big band with less instrumentation. I create my own score and arrangements for the band. Sample shown below. “I Love Being Here With You” http://youtu.be/acoHM3Jy9xM “Steppin’ Out” https://youtu.be/7RET_d-9-sc “I’m beginning to see the Light” http://youtu.be/JRoqylcfmXQ Musical Partnership My wife, Dorothea, is my musical partner. She shares my love for classical & world music and jazz. When moving to Mendocino County she started learning upright bass and we continue to grow and learn together as musicians and partners. More information & music clips: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dorian-May-Trio/215474678662496 http://www.dorianmayjazz.com

Abigail Strock

A native of Fort Bragg, Abigail Strock has a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music in Vocal Pedagogy from Holy Names University. She has performed with Gloriana Musical Theater, Mendocino Chamber Opera, and the Raven Players in Healdsburg, and currently sings with the Mendocino Music Festival Chorale. Abigail has been teaching music lessons to kids and adults since 2006. She specializes in science-based whole-body singing technique, as well as piano, voice, and general music lessons for young beginners. Her students have consistently been recognized for their excellent performances in local and regional music festivals and competitions. https://abigailstrockmusic.com

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