Suzzy and Maggie Roche
Suzzy and Maggie Roche have been singing together for over forty years. As founding members of The Roches they have made over fifteen recordings (along with their sister Terre), written music for TV and movies, and performed across the United States and Europe. Zero Church, an unusual collection of prayers, came out of The Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at Harvard University. Interested in the idea of how individual people pray, and what those prayers are like, Suzzy and Maggie asked people in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts for prayers, with no limits on what defines a prayer. They made those prayers into songs and the result is Zero Church. The project took on a life of its own, taking shape as one entire piece, although gathered from many individuals. Zero Church has been performed around the country.
Doug Robinson
A guitarist, bass player, singer and producer, Doug has had a lengthy career as a performer and studio musician. He has toured frequently in the US, Canada and Europe with the Burns Sisters Band, British acoustic guitar virtuoso Martin Simpson, ragtime guitarist Bob Brozman, latin bluesman Tino Gonzales and Austin songwriter Billy Eli. In 2003 he performed at Carnegie Hall with Johnny Russo’s East Hill Classic Jazz Group and has been featured in festival performances with European gypsy-swing guitarists Stochelo Rosenberg and Romane. He also performs frequently with the Ithaca-based “Djug Django” gypsy-swing band, the Molly MacMillan Jazz Trio, and singer Sally Ramirez.
Ann Reed
A touring musician for more than 30 years, Ann has gotten to know a bit about the geography of the United States and Canada. She has toured North America coast to coast, doing concerts, clubs, and festivals including Bumbershoot, Winnipeg, Black Mountain, and National Women’s Music Festival. And she’s met wonderful fans and made friends all along the way
Jennifer Pratt-Walter
Jennifer Pratt-Walter communicates her reverence for her instrument and music with her hands, searching to define and transcend human experience. Her musical background includes instrumental, choir, and madrigal performance. Her true love since 1995 has been the Celtic harp. She studied classical harp before forging out on her own with the folk harp, and has been building a repertoire of Celtic, Early, contemporary, original, and light classic pieces. Jennifer has garnered praise and prizes for harping and composing, winning the Advanced/Professional title at the Pacific NW Scottish harp competition twice. She also won the Sacred Oak Grove Eisteddfod in 2000 for original music. Jennifer most recently captured the new regional Pacific NW Scottish harp championship in 2003, and has been an adjudicator.
Jennifer is a Certified Healing Musician and Thanatologist, providing therapeutic music for the dying and those anxious or in pain. She finds this particular ministry very rewarding. Her recording “Ancient Slumbers” reflects this type of music. Jennifer teaches and performs on the harp, and collaborates with Valerie Blessley in the duo Celtic Muse for three recordings, plus released solo albums “Ancient Realms” and “Ancient Muse,” which are available from CD Baby.
Polyphonic Spree
Tim DeLaughter formed The Polyphonic Spree in 2000 in the wake the demise of his former band, Tripping Daisy, after guitarist (and close friend) Wes Berggren died of a drug overdose. It was a combination of trying to find a light in the darkness that followed, and childhood memories of psychedelic vocal groups like The Fifth Dimension, that formed the genesis of the Spree. From the time their debut album The Beginning Stages Of… was released, it was a whirlwind trip to international acclaim, tours of the world, and a unique place in the popular consciousness for their music, their ecstatic performances, and their always-unique style (be it matching robes or the matching military fatigues they later adopted for The Fragile Army). For more than a decade now, The Polyphonic Spree have been cutting a singular swath through the pop culture landscape, spreading a positive energy that makes people scratch their heads and ask questions while presenting music in a way that’s colorful to the ears and eyes.
Sarah Pirtle
Songs written by Reverend Sarah Pirtle include “My Roots Go Down,” “Walls and Bridges,” “The Mahogany Tree,” and “Two Hands Hold the Earth” which have been part of UU singing for decades. She has eleven recordings including Everyday Bravery and Heart of the World, and eleven national awards.
Her lyrics bless the daily making of courage. She brings out unsung stories and helps visualize moments that strengthen the conscience of the world. She began performing her songs when she was in her twenties as a founding member of a feminist poetry troupe in Cleveland, Ohio. Sarah is a CLF member. She grew up in the Summit UU Church in New Jersey, has been a workshop leader at Rowe Conference Center, and has had an unflagging life-long commitment to building social justice. Of the six peace education books she has written, her first book — An Outbreak of Peace — received the Olive Branch Award for outstanding book of the year on world peace.
Sarah received the Magic Penny Award for life-time achievement in children’s music. Pete Seeger says, “If you want to hear some of the best songs out there today for children, listen to Sarah Pirtle.” As a guest minister at UU churches since the 1980’s, she has performed her many songs for adults including “Follow the Voice.”
Currently her sermons, church concerts and ceremonies center around the theme of “Holding the Light.” As a human rights activist she helps inspire support for people healing from the continuum of violence. Her newest collection is Better Together: Caring and Including instead of Bullying.
Contact: Discovery Center for Peacebuilding, email pirtle22@hotmail.com.
Nick Page
Nick Page is both a natural and a schooled musician, with a boundless enthusiasm and ability for awakening song. He is a collector of folk tunes from around the world, and a gifted teacher. Sing with Nick!” Alice Parker is a Boston based composer, song leader, conductor, and author. He has led songs at many UU General Assemblies and UU congregations as well as at synagogues and other places of worship. In the 1980’s he was a director of the Emmy Award winning Chicago Children’s Choir. Since 1990, he has been the artistic director of Boston’s Mystic Chorale, a chorus that often invites their audiences to sing along. Why? Because Nick believes that we are all amazing, capable of great beauty and compassion. Nick has over eighty published choral works and is the author of three books including his SING WITH US SONGBOOK. In 2008 Nick directed his NURSERY RHYME CANTATA at Carnegie Hall and his COMIC BOOK OPERA premiered at Lincoln Center in 2011.
“Nick Page embraces the whole world in his soul and in his music. He is a skillful, passionate, and respectful interpreter of world music who backs up his work with knowledge and context. As composer, teacher, and songleader, Nick inspires people through song like few others, empowering them in the process.” Emily Ellsworth, Glen Ellen Children’s Choir
“Nick Page’s soul is filled with a very special and unique goodness (and I don’t use that word lightly) that reaches deep into the minds and souls of those with whom he works. Each and every life he touches is better for having worked with him, been lead by him and/or simply known him.” Dr. Donald Neuen, UCLA, Crystal Cathedral.
“Nick Page is both a natural and a schooled musician, with a boundless enthusiasm and ability for awakening song. He is a collector of folk tunes from around the world, and a gifted teacher. Sing with Nick!” Alice Parker
Mineko Ogata
Mineko Ogata, a Japanese acclaimed Jazz pianist, has released three albums, the first of which sold out in Japan. “CD Journal” in Japan has said, “Once you listen to her music, you will be impressed by her brilliant and straight sound.”
Mineko’s mother was a singer and her father was a Jazz pianist. Mineko’s father was able to give her a solid classical music education at their own music school. Mineko joined a Japanese fusion band as a keyboard player and has performed at many live house concerts in both Japan and the US. She has played under the direction of the famous Japanese choir conductor Kenji Otani, and, while residing in the US (August 2007 – December 2010), Mineko performed at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Reading, MA and Ryles Jazz Club.
Holly Near
Holly Near is a unique combination of entertainer, teacher, and activist. An immense vocal talent, Near’s career as a singer has been defined by an unwillingness to separate her passion for music from her passion for human dignity. She is a skilled performer and an outspoken ambassador for peace who brings to the stage an integration of world consciousness, spiritual discovery, and theatricality.
Linda Myers
Linda has been writing music since age 12, and much of it with a Unitarian theme, even though she didn’t discover UU’ism until 1999. Both of her albums, Paradox Clock, and Something Is Different contain a tapestry of styles and themes. All the songs have threads that weave together creating a wonderfully rich fabric of music including jazz, electronica, and alternative/singer-songwriter genres. Several of the songs on each album have a social justice theme, and one of these, Destiny II, from the Something Is Different album, won the 2011 NM Music Awards for Best Song Overall, going against songs written and produced by former Grammy award winners. Another social justice themed song, “We Want Peace” from Paradox Clock, has been sung by the choir at First UU, several times. Linda invites you to listen and share her music for free as long as it’s used in non-commercial ways. Linda’s music can also be found at iTunes, Amazon, and Jango.
http://www.lindamyersmusic.com
