June 6, 2010
from 11am to 4pm
Admission is Free!
666 Bellevue Avenue (adjacent to Fairyland)

Stroll through the beautiful Lake Merritt-adjacent gardens and encounter diverse musical ensembles, from vintage blues to klezmer, classics to classical, Japanese flute to Renaissance recorder, and the Pacific Boychoir. This magical event will include gardening demonstrations, children’s activities, and tasty food. Join us and rediscover Oakland’s hidden jewel.

Music Program:

Garden Activities

About the Musicians

CEDAR TRIO The Cedar Trio members are: Beth Conklin, violin; Jo Bauen, flute; Donna Viscuso, flute. Their repertoire is Early, Classical and Contemporary Chamber music.
Violinist Beth Conklin has a classical background, for a time played fiddle with local bluegrass bands, and has now returned to her classical roots with the Cedar Trio. Oakland flautist Jo Bauen also has a classical background and now performs with Latin groups Nosotras and Rosa Los Santos as well as the Cedar Trio. Flautist Donna Viscuso is a professional Latin Jazz musician who plays flute, sax and harmonica with several Bay Area bands including the Vnote Ensemble, the Venezuelan Music Project and Chelle + Friends.
Jo Bauen, Phone: 510-418-1959

KAILA FLEXER STUDIO Kaila Flexer, is a violinist, composer and music educator. She is half of the duo Teslim (with multi-instrumentalist Gari Hegedus) which performs Sephardic, Greek, Turkish and original music. Kaila is also Artistic Director of Pomegranates and Figs: A Feast of Jewish Music, which will take place on December 5, 2010 at Zellerbach Hall. Kaila teaches violin, improvisation and composition privately and in workshop settings. In this Music in the Gardens of Lake Merritt performance, her students will perform music from around the world, including songs from Turkey, Ireland and China. For more information, please visit www.kailaflexer.com.

KLEZMER THREE The Klezmer Three offer their own take on this special type of Jewish folk music. In his other life, Joseph Liebling, electronic keyboard, is the retired director of the Oakland Symphony Chorus. He improvises brilliant accompaniments in the true style of old Klezmer, creating the whole band from nothing but the salvaged first violin part. Robin Goodfellow, flute, teaches music and art in her home studio in Oakland and collects and plays many different instruments. She is also a skilled artisan whose specialty is origami paper animals. Jim Harris, clarinet, has come all the way from Sacramento for this performance. He improvises rich harmonies to the melodies Joseph dreams up.
Robin Goodfellow, Phone: 510-530-7835

MASAYUKI KOGA Masayuki Koga is a master shakuhachi (Japanese flute) player and teacher. He is also the founder and director of the Japanese Music Institute. Mr. Koga, who lives in Berkeley, studied Kinko shakuhachi with his father, Kiichi Koga and Tozan school with Kazan Saki in Tokyo. Along with his ensemble Essence, he has performed at Cal Arts, the Lincoln Center and in most major cities of Japan, Germany and Canada. One of Essence’s several recordings was Grammy-nominated in 2007. Mr. Koga recently returned from Cuba where he represented Japan at the World cultural Festival. Today he will perform in the Bonsai garden along with some of his advanced students.
Masayuki Koga, Phone: 510-526-1560, www.jmia.org, www.shakuhachi.com – “Essence” recording

PACIFIC BOYCHOIR Cantori and Trouvere are the performing groups of the Pacific Boychoir led by musical directors ,Kevin Fox and Brandon Adams. The Pacific Boychoir was founded by artistic director, Kevin Fox. It is modeled after European boy choirs. The Pacific Boychoir Academy is a Middle School program for boys, which immerses them in extensive musical training as well as a full educational program.
Pacific Boychoir Academy, www.pacificboychoir.org

NEW QUEEN’S HA’PENNY CONSORT The New Queen’s Ha’Penny Consort is a group of Bay Area musicians, primarily recorder players and singers who enjoy performing early music. They perform in costume at many renaissance faires and other events in Northern California. Performing at Music in the Gardens will be Mary Myers and Lisa Schultz.
Elvyn Blair, Director, Phone: 510-530-4243 We are on Facebook.

REBECCA SKAGGS, flute Rebecca Skaggs performs as a harpist at various events in the Bay Area. She also plays violin and harp in the Patten Symphonette and violin with the Oakland Public Conservatory. Rebecca is a Professor of New Testament and Greek at Patten University in Oakland.
Rebecca Skaggs, Phone: 510-530-8411

S.O.N.G – STRINGS OF A NUBIAN GROOVE S.O.N.G. is comprised of three very talented musicians: Destiny, harp; Vince Tolliver, viola and Tarika Lewis, violin. They perform at various events in the Oakland Area and bring a cool, new wave twist to the old classics. They refer to their sound as “Ethnoeclectic, classical/crossover/jazz fusion”. Destiny, who describes herself as Harpist from the Hood, is lead arranger, harpist and vocalist for the group. Vincent Tolliver is a talented and charismatic performer, who is comfortable in any genre of music. His main instrument is viola (classical to jazz) but he plays many others as well and performs solo or with jazz groups.. An experienced teacher, he is currently on the Music Faculty of Skyline High School, Oakland, where he is Director of the Instrumental Music Department – orchestra, jazz band and marching band. Tarika Lewis teaches both classical and jazz violin to inner-city Oakland children. Not only is she a talented and well known violinist and performer but she is also a multitalented artist. www.HarpistfromtheHood.com

WAXWING JOHN & MILLER Waxwing John, (John Cowan) sings and plays the early blues in the hot finger picking styles in which they were created. This Oakland resident plays on guitars as old as the recordings he has mined for his material. For this Music in the Gardens of Lake Merritt performance, he will be joined by his friend Dr. Miller Wise, who accompanies him on vintage mandolins and guitars and may sing a few numbers himself. If the mood is right, they will strap on jug and kazoo and delight the audience with some two-man, four instrument jug band music.
John Cowan, 415-318-9992 Videos of Past Performances: http://www.youtube.com/user/WaxwingJohn Cuts from CD: http://www.myspace.com/waxwingjohn

Our Sponsors
We thank you and our silent auction sponsors for contributing to the preservation and renewal of this unique urban oasis.

Ace Hardware – Nursery
Alameda County Master Gardeners
Cal Shakes
Encinal Nursery
Jerry Carpenter
Lake Chalet Seafood Bar & Grill
Lori Palmquist, Irrigation
Malibu Biodynamic Compost
Oakland Lawn Bowling Club
Peet’s Coffee
Pete Churgel, Pruning
Thomsen’s Garden Center
Trader Joe’s
Sausal Winery
Sidebar Restaurant
Zaca Mesa Winery
www.calicantoassociates.com
www.thegardengeek.com
www.greenheartglobal.com.
www.photographicproof.com

Silent Auction Sponsors
Thank you to all these community members for contributing to the preservation and renewal of the Gardens at Lake Merritt.

Alameda County Master Gardeners
Sam Foushee and David Blood
One in-home Gardening Consultation

Accent Pruning & Garden Care
Gift Certificate

California Shakespeare Theater
Two theatre tickets accompanied by delicious gourmet box dinners.
www.calshakes.org

Encinal Nursery
Gift Certificate
2657 Encinal Ave, Alameda 94501, 510-522-8616

Jerry Carpenter, Watercolor Artist,
Watercolor, “Filoli Tea House Door in Summer”
http://gerald-carpenter.artistwebsites.com

Karen Woodward Arlen, www.calicantoassociates.com
“They Came Singing” – Book and CD.
Songs from California’s History

Lake Chalet Seafood Bar & Grill
$100 Dining Certificate
www.thelakechalet.com

Lori D. Palmquist, CIC, CLIA, CLWM
Two Hours of Irrigation Consult (at home)
510-531-3943

Oakland Lawn Bowling Club
Lawn Bowling Lessons for Four (unlimited lessons)

Pacific Horticulture Society and the University of California Botanical Society
One Year Subscription and a One Year Membership

Peet’s Coffee & Tea
Gift Package
www.peets.com

Pete Churgel
Two Hours Home Pruning
510-502-7786

Sausal Winery
Magnum of Sausal Family Zinfandel
7370 Highway 128, Healdsburg – www.sausalwinery.com

Sidebar Restaurant
Dinner for Two
542 Grand Ave., Oakland www.sidebar-oakland.com

Thomsen’s Garden Center
Gift Certificate
1113 Lincoln Ave., Alameda 94501, 510-522-3265

Trader Joe’s
Gift Basket
Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland – www.traderjoes.com

Zaca Mesa Winery
Wine
www.zacamesa.com

Special Thanks To:
Office of Parks and Recreation
Oakland Public Works Agency
The Celebration Committee of the Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt, especially Karen Arlen and Cecilia Riddell, Music Coordinators.
Held In Conjunction with Oakland Parks and Recreation: