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Clazzical Notes Celebrate Juneteeth

Thank you to:

A Celebration Deferred!
Until June 30, 2021

Watch the live program here:

2021 Juneteenth from Studio City - PXL on Vimeo.

Featuring:

Litza, Singer/Songwriter, Jazz, R&B. World Music
She may be considered a phenom in the world of today's music culture. Her musical experience began during her childhood years as she and her five sisters sang as “The Cadet Sisters”. She was blessed as a child prodigy with the ability to not only sing, but also, she played piano by ear before receiving formal training. After nurturing her God given skills, She catapulted herself, through sheer desire and love for music, to attain a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Oakwood University in Boston; she also received a Master's degree in Contemporary Improvisation from the New England Conservatory.

She made her imprint on the music world in 2016 by releasing her solo
debut album entitled My Journey. The album showcased her rich vocal range with an influence of jazz, pop, and r&b song selections. Most recently she has written and released several singles that can be found on Google and other streaming services. Those projects have involved Natalie with her skilled writing, singing, producing and her ability to do song arrangements.

Her talents and versatility have garnered the attention from other’s prominent in the world of music such as Carl Gustafson, a Grammy nominated producer with whom Natalie demonstrated her range of skills in music written for over 50 songs involving nearly 500 singers and musicians, including many Grammy nominees. Yet there are other distinguished accolades of which she can boast, is that she has gained the experience to do musical works associated with 7 different languages. Natalie has recently applied to the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music as a candidate for a Master of Music in Screen Scoring in the Spring semester of 2021.

Natalie is simply a beautiful musical talent with a kind and wonderful spirit that is so very powerful. Natalie is ready to make new inroads by challenging herself to continue creating new music that bridges the gap among all music lovers.

Lyric Soprano Carmen Dreher Jordan is a native of Columbia, South Carolina where she received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Carolina. It was there where her love for the performing arts has stayed a passion in her life.

Carmen‘s roles range from playing iconic singer Darlene Love in the musical “Leader of the Pack”, a standout performance that was greatly enjoyed by Darlene Love who was in the audience. She has toured internationally and in Europe, she had the opportunity of a lifetime to perform solo at St. Peters Basilica in Rome. This experience confirmed that music is that piece of her soul that makes her unique in her own right.

The art of vocal performance continues to be her concentration with her vocal mentor, Dr. Angela S. Blalock.

As a solo artist, Carmen’s repertoire includes many well-known arias, art songs, and spirituals.

Carmen is happy to make her vocal debut in the Clazzical Notes program.

Brittany Daniels is an up-and-coming dancer who began dancing ballet at the age of eight and at age 14 became multi-talented performer in hip-hop, jazz, modern, and ballroom dance. She was trained in the Italian Cecchetti Method of Dance and earned international honors when she competed. Other awards in her division were with the American Ballet Theater and (full scholarship) with Ballet Magnificat!), and the LINES Ballet. She was awarded most promising dancer in her hometown of Temecula, California. She was offered a full scholarship in the dance intensive for the Oberlin Dance Company. She was offered an apprenticeship to PGK Dance Project an acclaimed contemporary repertory dance company when she was 18 years old.

She has traveled and danced in Washington D.C., New York, Italy, and Cuba with the Dunamix Dance Project. Brittany is honored by to have so many opportunities to perform and teach dance at places that serve underprivileged and abused children, individuals with HIV/AIDS, and people who are homeless. Brittany led the dance program at Maranatha High School for three years and currently teaches dance at The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks. Brittany is an Artist in Residence at Lineage Dance Company in Pasadena, Ca. since 2018.

Brittany is an audience favorite performer who has graced the stage in past Clazzical Notes programs. She is welcomed back for this program.

Zac Harmon, Blues
Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, Zac Harmon is an award-winning guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose distinctive style continues the lineage of American Blues music. America’s classical music.

Blues Revue called Harmon “a masterful musician and performer of the blues.” Blues journalist Don Wilcock referred to his “Bobby Blue Bland uptown sophistication with a touch of Freddie King guitar.” And Jazz Review said, “With his big blues sound from Mississippi, Harmon can go toe to toe with some of the best blues men in the business. Please don’t be shy, go ahead and mention Harmon’s name in the same sentence with Bobby “Blue” Bland, Albert King and Bobby Rush — just to name a few

Munyungo Jackson is the longtime percussionist for Stevie Wonder and over the years this Percussionist, Composer, Arranger, Producer, Author and four time Grammy Winner possesses an ever-increasing collection of instruments with which to execute his craft. That is one of the reasons this warm and unassuming West Coast artist can be found in virtually any musical setting —whether it’s Funk, Pop, Jazz,

Del Atkins, Bass
Del Atkins earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Technology from Cal State University Dominguez Hills, Del and his Master of Arts degree in Music Industry Administration from Cal State University Northridge. He is a bass player and producer who comes to us with deep roots in Jazz and R&B. Del performs with Yuko Mabuchi Trio among other ensembles, including performances with Patti Labelle, Hank Crawford, Les McCann and the late Lou Rawls.

Del attended took healthy advantage of the rich music programs available at the time of growing up, including studies in harmony, arranging and jazz concert performance. This began his musical journey. His foundation became stronger under the guidance of Reggie Andrews, Don Harris and Frank Harris. Del attended Los Angeles Community College and collaborated with upcoming artists like Gerald Albright and ultimately began performing with Latin artist Willie Bobo at the Playboy Jazz Music Festival.

Mahesh Balasooriya is an accomplished and very seasoned pianist. He performed at the White House with Arturo Sandoval in 2014. He also has played with Natalie Cole, Stanley Clarke, Ravi Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, just to name a few and is the music director for Engelbert Humperdinck.

Mahesh comes from a great tradition of amazing musicians from the Greater Los Angeles area and the University of Southern California. Mahesh remains in demand and is a first call pianist who is diverse. He brings passion to every performance and a wealth of experience. He is the perfect fit for the band!

Host, Rick Pogue is a human resources executive, executive coach and consultant with over 35 years of experience in industries including, chemicals, consumer packaged goods, non-profits and most recently healthcare. Most recently he served in an interim executive capacity as the VPHR for New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. Prior to that he served as Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for The Institute for Family Health, and as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Continuum Health Partners (now Mount Sinai Health System). His other non-profit experience includes serving as the Senior Vice President for Human Resources and Diversity for the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. He serves as board member of the William Appling Singers and Orchestra and in the capacity of Board President for over seven years. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in psychology from Heidelberg University and a Masters of Arts degree in personnel administration from Bowling Green State University. Mr. Pogue resides in New York City.