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Rhiannon is
a vibrant, gifted singer, composer and master teacher who has been
bringing her potent blend of world music, jazz, improvisation and
storytelling to audiences for over three decades. Her journey took
her from a South Dakota farm to New York, where she studied theater
and earned her MFA from Cornell University. For the next ten years,
she worked as a singer, actor and director in New York, Chicago and
San Francisco. Her richly expansive and experimental vocal style
is greatly influenced by her early life on the South Dakota prairie,
the vibrant musical cultures of these cities, as well as that of
coastal northern California, her current home of many years.
In
1976 Rhiannon co-founded the groundbreaking all-woman jazz quintet, Alive! This
pioneering group toured internationally and released three albums
during their ten years together. She is also a founding member of
the innovative a cappella ensembles Voicestra and SoVoSo'.
In
addition to her ongoing solo performing and recording career, and
her current ensemble project, Bowl Full of Sound,
Rhiannon enjoys a longtime musical collaboration with vocal improvisation
master Bobby McFerrin. From 1986-1992
she was a member of his 12 voice orchestra, Voicestra.
In 1993-94, Bobby formed the improvisational quartet, Hard Choral,
featuring Rhiannon. In 1997 she recorded "Circlesongs" with
Bobby, and has been a featured soloist on his U.S. and European Voicestra
tours since 1997.
Rhiannon's
love of music, theater and the unexpected has resulted in collaborations
with poets, storytellers, performance artists, ritualists, visual
artists and dancers around the world. These include composing and
performing a solo a cappella score for San Francisco's acclaimed
dance company ODC and choreographer, Brenda
Wey; a commission score for Maya Angelou's
historic inaugural poem "On the Pulse of the Morning," and
ongoing teaching and performance with Ruth Zaporah,
renowned founder of Action Theater. Rhiannon has
also created a solo performance piece, "Toward Home," presented
in improvisational theater, monologue and song. Portions of this
show were recorded on Rhiannon's 1992 CD of the same title. "Toward
Home" continues to be refined and offered as a theatrical production,
and is currently in development as a film.
For
many years Rhiannon has been on the cutting edge of vocal improvisation
and performance art. She has appeared at Monterey Jazz Festival,
Montreaux Jazz Festival, Vancouver International Folk Festival, San
Francisco Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival,
The Restless Gravity Festival (Wales), The Festival of Romance (New
Zealand) and many others.
Rhiannon
currently performs and records with Bowl Full of Sound,
a unique and compelling musical ensemble combining the instrumental
virtuosity of Jami Sieber, electric cello, with fellow improvisational
vocalists Joey Blake and David Worm bringing an additional element
of spontaneous combustion with their inspired singing and innovative
use of mouth/body percussion and sung bass. They released their first
CD, "Out of the Blue" in 2003, produced by Rhiannon.
Teaching
has also been a strong and continual theme in Rhiannon's professional
life. In clinics and workshops around the world she teaches her own
unique vocal improvisation process, developed over a period of thirty
years. In addition to her own workshops, she has taught collaboratively
with Ysaye Barnwell, Joey Blake, Keith Terry, Frank Martin, Ruth
Zaporah and Marion Rosen. In October 2000 Rhiannon released "Flight:
Rhiannon's Interactive Guide to Vocal Improvisation" (Sounds
True). This unique 2 CD package is the realization of her vision
to provide singers and musicians a learning experience that is challenging,
entertaining and joyful.
Rhiannon
is deeply interested in the relationship between music and healing.
In 1994 through 1997 she went to the Balkan region and India where
she participated in social change programs for refugees and for the
Ganges River that included music and improvisation. After decades
of exploration in her performances, teaching, and personal life,
Rhiannon has created a Sound Healing Program. Initially
introduced through the San Francisco-based Institute for Health and
Healing and supported with a seed grant from Marin Arts Council,
Rhiannon is bringing her experience and her gifts to the hospital
and hospice settings, creating improvised music in private sessions
for terminally ill patients and premature infants.
First
and foremost, Rhiannon is a singer- a captivating entertainer and
a true collaborative artist, with a vision of music as a vehicle
for healing, transformation, and social change.
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