Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
What is new or muse-worthy in the world of California Revels? Read on, here!
2023
Introducing Alex Taite - Music Director for "Caroling in the Rain"
September 26, 2023
California Revels is excited to present Alexander Taite as Music Director for our 2023 holiday production, “Caroling in the Rain”! Alex came highly recommended to us by several Revelers as an active and talented local performer and, more personally, as a vocal coach and mentor. California Revels has always been fortunate to have very good singers, some of whom also have gone on to sing professionally. Now, we know their secret.
Following on a very musical childhood (Alex has studied and played jazz piano since the age of 8), Alex honed his musical education at Pepperdine University where he earned a Bachelor's degree in music theory and composition with a main emphasis in vocal performance and a minor emphasis (of course) in jazz piano. Happily for us, Alex came back home to his native Oakland and the Bay Area to perform in multiple genres; everything from Opera, Renaissance/Baroque, Spiritual, and Choral music to more contemporary Jazz, Blues, Barbershop, and Hip-hop.
Following on a very musical childhood (Alex has studied and played jazz piano since the age of 8), Alex honed his musical education at Pepperdine University where he earned a Bachelor's degree in music theory and composition with a main emphasis in vocal performance and a minor emphasis (of course) in jazz piano. Happily for us, Alex came back home to his native Oakland and the Bay Area to perform in multiple genres; everything from Opera, Renaissance/Baroque, Spiritual, and Choral music to more contemporary Jazz, Blues, Barbershop, and Hip-hop.
Opera is a special love. Alex has sung with the San Francisco Opera Chorus every season since 2007, in addition to performing roles with several other opera companies throughout the Bay Area and beyond. His recording projects include an album of gospel and spiritual songs recorded at Skywalker Sound studio on Marin.
Nothing perfects learning as much as becoming a teacher. Alex spent 4 years as a member of the Vocal Faculty at Oakland School for the Arts, teaching music theory and classical performance. He led master classes, directed several choirs, and helped to develop two curriculums for the high school: a senior recital program, and a music theory placement exam for vocal and instrumental students. Soon thereafter, he spent 7 years directing the graduate level chorus at the San Francisco Boys Chorus. He also serves as a vocal and choral coach with the Nova youth choir at Cantare Con Vivo, and Music Director for the Piccola Carolers.
Most recently, Alex has crafted a solo performance concert, “Deep River: The Flow of Negro Spirituals Through Time” which has been presented through San Francisco Opera and other venues. This concert of spirituals, jazz pieces, and other American selections interweaves a vivid historical narrative of American culture while examining how our American music stems from the trauma of those first enslaved people who sang to pass the time in the fields or lend some comfort in a dark room. He is also finishing up publishing and recording a songbook of his own arrangements of Negro Spirituals in two volumes – one for solo voice with piano, and one for a capella chorus.
Nothing perfects learning as much as becoming a teacher. Alex spent 4 years as a member of the Vocal Faculty at Oakland School for the Arts, teaching music theory and classical performance. He led master classes, directed several choirs, and helped to develop two curriculums for the high school: a senior recital program, and a music theory placement exam for vocal and instrumental students. Soon thereafter, he spent 7 years directing the graduate level chorus at the San Francisco Boys Chorus. He also serves as a vocal and choral coach with the Nova youth choir at Cantare Con Vivo, and Music Director for the Piccola Carolers.
Most recently, Alex has crafted a solo performance concert, “Deep River: The Flow of Negro Spirituals Through Time” which has been presented through San Francisco Opera and other venues. This concert of spirituals, jazz pieces, and other American selections interweaves a vivid historical narrative of American culture while examining how our American music stems from the trauma of those first enslaved people who sang to pass the time in the fields or lend some comfort in a dark room. He is also finishing up publishing and recording a songbook of his own arrangements of Negro Spirituals in two volumes – one for solo voice with piano, and one for a capella chorus.
California Revels Leading with Mission
Part I - Our Tagline
September 26, 2023
California Revels' tagline is "Creating Community through Celebration". Very importantly, we don't take the idea of “Community” for granted. What does that mean? It means that in today's world, community means so many different things, that depending upon your point of view, community is either expanding or disappearing.
The Internet has enabled us to connect beyond our physical Communities of Place – cities, regions and countries – to form overlapping communities of interest and identity that cover everything from sports, hobbies, religion, arts, and medical concerns, to political, religious, cultural, racial, gender, and professional identities. The anonymity of such participation liberates us, but also absolves us from in-person accountability. The more we dwell in devices, the more we feel part of a Digital Community over Community of Place - which is inherently physical and in person: Our homes, neighborhoods, towns, countries - even and especially Earth - are Communties of Place.
California Revels' aim is to “Create (and support) [Real-Life] Community...” to promote the “health of the Human Spirit” (a phrase from our earlier mission statement). There are many culturally focused arts organizations who genuinely and nobly work to lift up and highlight the voices of groups who have been underrepresented and unheard in the more dominant culture. This is laudable and necessary. California Revel believes that it is also extremely necessary, to create community – the sense that we are all communing –In Real Life (IRL-LOL), among people who, upon first glance, are not necessarily united by identity or interest. We should all develop the skill, and experience the joy, of communing together with those with whom we live, in our Communities of Place.
California Revels is unique among non-profit arts organizations with a 501(c)3 social good purpose. We elevate the communal over the fragmented. We embrace diversity, but unite it back together in common purpose. Instead of emphasizing elements of identity which distinguish us from others, we create community by highlighting that which we have in common, or creating something which we can have in common.
And the rest of the tagline? “...through Celebration”. California Revels has its origins in the production of a holiday pageant – a celebration – and that is the genesis of this idea. Throughout history, communities bond and find common expression of purpose through meaningful celebrations that acknowledge moments, events, or concepts of great importance, for posterity. California Revels has a long history of pageantry in celebrating the Winter holidays and the Winter Solstice, because Seasons are intrinsically important; they are a window into Humanity's experience of the rhythms of Nature, which informs all of Humanity's development historically and culturally.
Until this year, California Revels has created Celebration through an on-stage theater production, but this year we express Celebration differently: We use our theatrical experience, with our skilled knowledge of ritual and strong focus and purpose, to create Celebration with Community of Place at its heart.
This year, we kick off this new ethos by building in-person community in one neighborhood, for expansion to more neighborhoods next year and in the years to come. Our modus operandus is "Adopt a Neighborhood". With success in one neighborhood, we showcase that success to portray to more neighborhoods what is possible. Our celebratory events are not entertainments for people to be passively entertained by (at best), or walked past (at worst). Our pageants, shows, and events are celebrations that involve meaningful effort and work to produce - both by community participants and professionals - and result in an experience that brings a sense of accomplishment and community togetherness. The event itself, characterized by pageantry as well as interactive participation, expresses the joy of learning through practice, as well as pulling new people in with participatory elements.
Last year's beautiful "Solstice in the Forest" program at Berkeley's John Hinkel Park was a pilot exploration of this concept. It was a magical production, featuring a double-set of Abbott's Bromley Deer Dancers, sing-along nature oriented carols, a participatory Solstice Dance, and an amazing Mummers' Play (battle between Good and Evil). Audience and performers carried 120 yellow and white lanterns representing the Sun and Moon, giving a soft and magical light. Together, we all sang beautiful renditions of well-known carols, led by Shira Kammen, Melanie DeMore, Shay Black, and the California Revels "Solstice Ensemble". Longtime Revelers directed, staged and choreographed the event. We were delighted to work with newcomers, too, including Berkeley Folk Dancers and others. The outdoor amphitheater was filled to capacity by an enthusiastic audience. It was a great success!
This year, we'll build upon that momentum in the same neighborhood with a different program that incorporates elements of “Solstice in the Forest”, but is more personalized. “Caroling in the Rain” is our program for 2023! Think it's just caroling? Think again! It will be a full-on community program, augmented with the magic and theatricality California Revels is known for! Information can be found in Events and Auditions. A more comprehensive page on our website will be forthcoming, once registration and ticket sales are active.
In next month's newsletter, we'll go further into the meaning of California Revels' Mission Statement, and how it's being expressed.
Links:
"Caroling in the Rain"
“Caroling in the Rain” Auditions
Join the Board! California Revels needs Board members to enact this Mission.
In Revelry!
Sofia Pellegrini
Board President, California Revels
California Revels' tagline is "Creating Community through Celebration". Very importantly, we don't take the idea of “Community” for granted. What does that mean? It means that in today's world, community means so many different things, that depending upon your point of view, community is either expanding or disappearing.
The Internet has enabled us to connect beyond our physical Communities of Place – cities, regions and countries – to form overlapping communities of interest and identity that cover everything from sports, hobbies, religion, arts, and medical concerns, to political, religious, cultural, racial, gender, and professional identities. The anonymity of such participation liberates us, but also absolves us from in-person accountability. The more we dwell in devices, the more we feel part of a Digital Community over Community of Place - which is inherently physical and in person: Our homes, neighborhoods, towns, countries - even and especially Earth - are Communties of Place.
California Revels' aim is to “Create (and support) [Real-Life] Community...” to promote the “health of the Human Spirit” (a phrase from our earlier mission statement). There are many culturally focused arts organizations who genuinely and nobly work to lift up and highlight the voices of groups who have been underrepresented and unheard in the more dominant culture. This is laudable and necessary. California Revel believes that it is also extremely necessary, to create community – the sense that we are all communing –In Real Life (IRL-LOL), among people who, upon first glance, are not necessarily united by identity or interest. We should all develop the skill, and experience the joy, of communing together with those with whom we live, in our Communities of Place.
California Revels is unique among non-profit arts organizations with a 501(c)3 social good purpose. We elevate the communal over the fragmented. We embrace diversity, but unite it back together in common purpose. Instead of emphasizing elements of identity which distinguish us from others, we create community by highlighting that which we have in common, or creating something which we can have in common.
And the rest of the tagline? “...through Celebration”. California Revels has its origins in the production of a holiday pageant – a celebration – and that is the genesis of this idea. Throughout history, communities bond and find common expression of purpose through meaningful celebrations that acknowledge moments, events, or concepts of great importance, for posterity. California Revels has a long history of pageantry in celebrating the Winter holidays and the Winter Solstice, because Seasons are intrinsically important; they are a window into Humanity's experience of the rhythms of Nature, which informs all of Humanity's development historically and culturally.
Until this year, California Revels has created Celebration through an on-stage theater production, but this year we express Celebration differently: We use our theatrical experience, with our skilled knowledge of ritual and strong focus and purpose, to create Celebration with Community of Place at its heart.
This year, we kick off this new ethos by building in-person community in one neighborhood, for expansion to more neighborhoods next year and in the years to come. Our modus operandus is "Adopt a Neighborhood". With success in one neighborhood, we showcase that success to portray to more neighborhoods what is possible. Our celebratory events are not entertainments for people to be passively entertained by (at best), or walked past (at worst). Our pageants, shows, and events are celebrations that involve meaningful effort and work to produce - both by community participants and professionals - and result in an experience that brings a sense of accomplishment and community togetherness. The event itself, characterized by pageantry as well as interactive participation, expresses the joy of learning through practice, as well as pulling new people in with participatory elements.
Last year's beautiful "Solstice in the Forest" program at Berkeley's John Hinkel Park was a pilot exploration of this concept. It was a magical production, featuring a double-set of Abbott's Bromley Deer Dancers, sing-along nature oriented carols, a participatory Solstice Dance, and an amazing Mummers' Play (battle between Good and Evil). Audience and performers carried 120 yellow and white lanterns representing the Sun and Moon, giving a soft and magical light. Together, we all sang beautiful renditions of well-known carols, led by Shira Kammen, Melanie DeMore, Shay Black, and the California Revels "Solstice Ensemble". Longtime Revelers directed, staged and choreographed the event. We were delighted to work with newcomers, too, including Berkeley Folk Dancers and others. The outdoor amphitheater was filled to capacity by an enthusiastic audience. It was a great success!
This year, we'll build upon that momentum in the same neighborhood with a different program that incorporates elements of “Solstice in the Forest”, but is more personalized. “Caroling in the Rain” is our program for 2023! Think it's just caroling? Think again! It will be a full-on community program, augmented with the magic and theatricality California Revels is known for! Information can be found in Events and Auditions. A more comprehensive page on our website will be forthcoming, once registration and ticket sales are active.
In next month's newsletter, we'll go further into the meaning of California Revels' Mission Statement, and how it's being expressed.
Links:
"Caroling in the Rain"
“Caroling in the Rain” Auditions
Join the Board! California Revels needs Board members to enact this Mission.
In Revelry!
Sofia Pellegrini
Board President, California Revels
California Revels - Our Origins & Destiny
September 20, 2023
Are you a Reveler? You may know us – California Revels – simply as “The Revels”, but did you know that California Revels is just one shiny surface of a glittering, 9 faceted gemstone? This jewel is comprised of the 9 Revels companies: Cambridge (MA), DC, Houston, Rocky Mountain (CO), Puget Sound, Portland, ourselves and our nearest neighbor, Santa Barbara, all wear the festive mark of “Revels” after our names. “Revels North” – small but mighty – puts the mark at the front. After all, this company performs both in New Hampshire and Vermont. Together, we share a common origin story; a festive Christmas pageant initiated by a certain Jack Langstaff, whose "touchstones" for Revels are explored in our survey featuring timeless traditions from the British Isles. We Revels Affiliates are all united under an umbrella of principles, standards, and financial support to the umbrella organization which licenses the Revels Trademark; Revels, inc. Revels, inc. operates as Cambridge Revels, the only Revels company that is not an affiliate. Cambridge Revels retains the right and privilege to set content and participation standards for the Revels affiliates.
But origins are not destiny, and each of the different Revels companies now increasingly reflects a Winter holiday spirit – pageantry intact – that embraces an ever more inclusive range of traditions, faiths, music, arts and celebrations from many cultures; not just Anglo-European ones, and not just Christian ones. Each Revels company, moreover, is free to suit its production to best suit its particular (or particularly comprised) audience and patronage for maximum revelry!
Some companies hew more closely to Revels' Anglo-Christian roots, while others – California Revels in particular – aim to cast new ritual celebrations (future traditions?) into the future that have the potential to unite us – a multicultural society – all. How do we do this? By looking to what is commonly shared within the roots of all Humanity, and conscientiously tracing our diverse flowerings back to that which we all have in common. Revels' Founder, Jack Langstaff, arguably had this very concept in mind when he double-conceptualized The Revels as being a celebration of the Solstice, something he felt united all cultures.
Revolutionary and ecumenical ideas from the 1950s, farsighted though they may have been at the time, contain certain biases that can no longer hide in the comfortable shadows of unconscious presumption; the ubiquity of Anglo culture being one, and the sense that liberal Christianity – because it is willing to share itself with other faiths – should itself also be accepted by all. These “truths” are no longer presumed. At best they are no longer comfortable, and at worst they can be harmful. Revels, inc., the organization we are affiliated with through trademark and origin, is itself contemplating the philosophies inherent to its origins and how to evolve them.
California Revels, ever the innovator, is happy to contribute to this effort. Importantly, we can't afford not to. Like all Revels affiliates (outside of Cambridge Revels), California Revels is 100% financially self-sustaining and independent. (Donate to California Revels here!) For our Reveler audience, we mean to keep The Revels experience meaningful. For our own corporate continuation, we mean to stay financially sustainable. The first is a matter of purpose, the second a matter of necessity and business model. Ultimately, financial viability is meaningless if our Purpose and Mission are empty. Therefore... “California Revels” leads with its Mission. (See the next article.)
Sofia Pellegrini
Board President, California Revels
But origins are not destiny, and each of the different Revels companies now increasingly reflects a Winter holiday spirit – pageantry intact – that embraces an ever more inclusive range of traditions, faiths, music, arts and celebrations from many cultures; not just Anglo-European ones, and not just Christian ones. Each Revels company, moreover, is free to suit its production to best suit its particular (or particularly comprised) audience and patronage for maximum revelry!
Some companies hew more closely to Revels' Anglo-Christian roots, while others – California Revels in particular – aim to cast new ritual celebrations (future traditions?) into the future that have the potential to unite us – a multicultural society – all. How do we do this? By looking to what is commonly shared within the roots of all Humanity, and conscientiously tracing our diverse flowerings back to that which we all have in common. Revels' Founder, Jack Langstaff, arguably had this very concept in mind when he double-conceptualized The Revels as being a celebration of the Solstice, something he felt united all cultures.
Revolutionary and ecumenical ideas from the 1950s, farsighted though they may have been at the time, contain certain biases that can no longer hide in the comfortable shadows of unconscious presumption; the ubiquity of Anglo culture being one, and the sense that liberal Christianity – because it is willing to share itself with other faiths – should itself also be accepted by all. These “truths” are no longer presumed. At best they are no longer comfortable, and at worst they can be harmful. Revels, inc., the organization we are affiliated with through trademark and origin, is itself contemplating the philosophies inherent to its origins and how to evolve them.
California Revels, ever the innovator, is happy to contribute to this effort. Importantly, we can't afford not to. Like all Revels affiliates (outside of Cambridge Revels), California Revels is 100% financially self-sustaining and independent. (Donate to California Revels here!) For our Reveler audience, we mean to keep The Revels experience meaningful. For our own corporate continuation, we mean to stay financially sustainable. The first is a matter of purpose, the second a matter of necessity and business model. Ultimately, financial viability is meaningless if our Purpose and Mission are empty. Therefore... “California Revels” leads with its Mission. (See the next article.)
Sofia Pellegrini
Board President, California Revels