The 7th Annual More Music @ The Moore

an acoustic surround sound experience featuring the region's best artists

May 9, 2008
11:00 am (Student Matinee)
7:30 pm (Public Performance)

Active Ingredients is a dynamic jazz quintet formed by musicians who are also members of the internationally renowned Garfield High School Jazz program, which has won major competitions on the West Coast and in New York.  This combo's swing is rooted in the jazz masters of the past and the cool styles of modern players. Band members include Alexandria Evenson (drums), Andrew Kennard (keyboard), Gabriel Martin (trumpet), Carmen Rothwell (Bass) and Evan Shay (alto and tenor sax).

Higher Praise Gospel Choir consists of singers from the Seattle – Renton communities.  A newly formed group, this contemporary gospel ensemble represents select members from various community choirs directed by Paul Thomas.

Griffin Joko-Fujimoto, 19, is a 2007 graduate of Summit K-12. He has been a member of Taiko performing group Kaze Daiko for seven years, and has recently joined Seattle Kokon Taiko. Griffin is also a guitar player and a trap set drummer, and wishes to explore and blend western style music and traditional Taiko drumming.

Interlake High School String Quartet, from the Bellevue School District. Under the direction of Dr. Shira Katsman, the quartet received the highest score possible, at the King-Community Orchestra I Festival at Issaquah High School. Quartet members include Justin Almazan (viola), Calvin Chan (cello), Nathan Kato (violin), Derek Zhao (violin). www.myspace.com/Justin_time (Justin Almazan)

Seattle Pacific University Concert Choir, established in 1934, is the principal choir of seven choral ensembles at SPU. These 75 student students, under the direction of David Anderson, represent the diversity of majors across SPU’s campus, including music, education, business, religion, and the liberal arts. The choir strives to express meaning through their music by integrating faith and learning, which is reflected through their performance of unaccompanied sacred music. The choir has performed at the Music Educators National Conference, the Washington State Convention and the American Choral Directors Association Northwest National Convention.

Siya Manyakanyaka-Kelley, 19, is an accomplished dancer, singer and drummer who has performed with the Iintombi Zilapha Dancers from South Africa, Gansango Music and Dance, Sankofa Theatre and Seattle Theatre Group’s DANCE This productions. Last year she performed with Grammy award winning artist Dan Zanes at the Moore Theatre. Siya originated from Cape Town, South Africa and recently graduated from Roosevelt High School.

Chanelle Ray, 19, is an R&B artist who has been recording music since the age of 12. She now attends The Art Institute of Seattle studying audio production. Chanelle has released two compilation albums and her new solo project will be released this summer. www.myspace.com/chanelleray

Samoan Community Youth Choir consists of singers from the White Center, Renton, Federal Way and Tacoma communities who perform traditional and cultural songs from the Pacific Island of Samoa. Under the direction of Ben Leiataua, these singers have performed for festivals, Town Hall and teen dancers performed cultural dances in Seattle Theatre Group’s DANCE This performance at The Paramount Theatre in 2006.

Teo Shantz, 19, began playing drums and percussion at age the age of 11. Born into a family of musicians and performance artists, he had many inspirations and eclectic musical influences early on.  Throughout his career thus far he has studied music in Cuba, Brazil, and Trinidad, as well as performed extensively in both the United States and Canada. Teo performed in the 2003 More Music @ The Moore as a steel drum member from Summit K-12.

Paul Stoot, 18, is a drummer and senior at Mariner High School, Everett. Paul has received many outstanding performance awards and has performed in many festivals throughout the West Coast.  He recently received the Bill and Melinda Gates Scholarship to attend Central Washington University in the fall.

Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Music Director
Daniel Bernard Roumain returns for the third year as Music Director for STG’s More Music @ The Moore program. Known for fusing his classical music roots with a myriad of soundscapes, Haitian-American artist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) has carved a reputation for himself as a passionately innovative composer, performer, violinist, and band leader. His exploration of musical rhythms and classically-driven sounds is peppered by his own cultural references and vibrant musical imagination. DBR’s string quartet SQ Unit performed DBR’s compositions live in STG’s DANCE This 2006. His multimedia work, One Loss Plus, premiered at The Moore Theatre in October 2007 before going to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.
www.dbrmusic.com   www.myspace.com/dbrmission

Wynne Bennett, Guest Artist
Composer/pianist/keyboardist and frequent collaborator with DBR, Wynne has performed and appeared nationally with diverse artists such as James Carter, Philip Glass, Slick Rick and Mobb Deep. She has co-written arrangements for Cassandra Wilson’s Glamoured album and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Wynne has most recently appeared in DBR’s new work One Loss Plus, which premiered at The Moore Theatre in October 2007 before going to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.
www.myspace.com/wynnebennett

Community Artist Mentors
David Anderson, Choir Director from Seattle Pacific University
Dr. Shira Katsman, Music Director from Bellevue’s Interlake High School
Ben Leiataua, Director from Community Youth Choir
Jovino Santos Neto, jazz/Latin musician and composer from Cornish College of the Arts
Paul Thomas, area gospel music director