Ojai Pops Concert Series – Free community concert

The Ojai Pops Concert Series will present the final two FREE Community Concerts of this season on Sunday, November 5, 2023 at the Libbey Bowl in Ojai, CA. The concert will feature the Tuxedo Junction Jazz Band at 1:30 pm and Ventvm Qvintet at 3:30 pm.

TUXEDO JUNCTION JAZZ BAND

Tuxedo Junction Jazz Band plays Dixieland and Jazz music. You can expect to hear tunes such as Basin Street Blues, All of Me, Doxy, Cold Duck Time, and All of Me. Tuxedo Junction Jazz Band consists of Scott Weiss – Trumpet, Brandon Boyd – Sax, Seth Andrey Oster – Guitar, Greg Spaulding – Piano, Norbert Tan -Drum, and Jim Wade – Bass. All of the musicians are part of the Ojai Pops Orchestra. All the musicians have extensive performing backgrounds.

Freda Ramey has been singing since she was a child and like so many singers, began by singing in church, from there, she joined theater projects and groups throughout grade school, high school and college. She’s enjoyed working in a variety of bands and genres including rock, Motown, jazz, R and B and big band jazz. She’s worked with small, intimate combos as well as large, hard-hitting groups like The House Arrest Band where she currently serves as lead vocalist. Freda comes from a musical family. She’s the granddaughter of the late, great Eugene Ramey who’s found on numerous recordings of the 40s and 50s. Click here for more on “Gene”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Ramey

Aside from the music of her church upbringing and her famous grandpa, Freda says she’s been inspired by Sarah Vaughn, Nina Simone, Whitney Houston, Patti Labelle, Aretha Franklin, Betty Carter, Gregory Porter, Billie Holiday and so many more. Still, the most inspiring for her is the legacy of her grandfather, Eugene Ramey who performed and recorded with many jazz greats – Count Basie, Jay McShann, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Lena Horn and so many more. Singing has always been a hobby but certainly one she takes seriously. As she put it, it’s not what she does, but is who she is. It’s key to her grounding and well-being.

Greg Spaulding is a versatile and much sought after pianist. He is classically trained, with a degree in music from U.C. Santa Barbara and a passion for jazz. Notable musicians he has performed with include Airto Moreiro, Ed Shaughnessy, Carl Saunders, and Bobby Rodriguez. A skilled composer and lyricist, Greg has composed for film and writes and directs children’s musicals. He has been accompanist and/or musical director of productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Shrek, In the Heights, The Sound of Music, Grease and many others. Greg has played with the Ojai Pops Orchestra, the Ray Mehlbaum Quartet, Swing Shift Big Band, the Greg Spaulding Trio, the Ventura Jazz Collective, the Ventura Klezmer Band and many other groups.

Seth Andrey Oster is a contest winning flatpicker, fingerpicker, slide guitarist, singer, yodeler, and buckdancer. He has performed with Barbara Morrison, John Tchicai, Walt Johnson, Ira Nepus, Jimmy McConnell, Mike Preddy, Ruben Estrada, Phil Salazar, Jimmy Calire, Mike Mullins, Gloria Hendry and countless others. Seth has graced the stage at the Catalina Jazz Club, Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival, Picking in the Pines, Huck Finn Jubilee, Lighthouse, Cicada Club, Coffee Gallery Backstage, the Grape, Rubicon Theatre, and Topanga Folk Festival.

Jim Wade, Tuba and Bass, is one of the busiest musicians in Ventura County. He performs with many bands in Ventura County. He is a founding member of Razzberry Jam, performs with Ventura British Brass, Ventura County Concert Band, Ojai Summer Band, Ojai Pops Orchestra, the Untouchables and the Wailers.

Brandon Boyd, saxophone, has been playing music since elementary school, starting with piano before making the leap to saxophone in 5th grade. Since then, I have had the opportunity to play with multiple groups, such as the Lunch Break Big Band, New World Jazz Ensemble, Groovin’ Easy Big Band and many more. Alongside this I have played with many individuals, some of which I had looked up to over the years. Some of the names include Michael McDonald, Eric Marienthal, Wayne Bergeron, Dave Weckl and Snarky Puppy, to name but a few. I have since gone to CSU Channel Islands, where I am, finishing my degree in Computer Science, while still staying involved musically in the local area.

Norbert Tan, drums, is a very versatile and in demand drummer in Ventura County. He has played in many pop and jazz bands in Ventura County. He has performed in musical theatre. He is a member of the Ventura British Brass Band and the Ojai Pops Orchestra.

Chris Proudman, trumpet, grew up in Ojai and started the trumpet in the 4th grade. He graduated from Nordhoff high school before graduating from UCSB where he studied trumpet. Chris has performed with many bands in Ventura and Santa Barbara County including Blue Latitude, the Ojai Summer Band, many musical theatre shows, reggae bands and the Ojai Pops Orchestra. He has also performed extensively in New Zealand.

Scott Weiss, trumpet is the founder and musical director of the Ojai Pops Orchestra. Scott has been a member of the Ojai Summer Band since the band’s inception in 1990 as principal trumpet and assistant conductor. Scott has performed as a trumpet player in a wide variety of settings locally, in Hawaii and in Canada. He has performed with the Kona Brass, Chamber Orchestra of Kona, the Olliephonic Horns, Telarc blues recording artist Kenny Neal, and opened for Grammy winning vocalist Dianne Reeves. He has conducted the Ventura County Concert Band, Ojai Summer Band, Chamber Orchestra of Kona, Nashua Chamber Orchestra, Santa Barbara Reading Orchestra at UCSB, and Ojai Pops Orchestra.

VENTVM QVINTET

VENTVM Quintet emerged in Los Angeles in 2019 as an ensemble dedicated to performing and expanding the canon of the woodwind quintet repertoire. Its members are Los Angeles based musicians who have the desire to engage with communities and audiences through their compassionate attention to artistic detail. VENTVM’s programs are tastefully selected with a mind for diversity and poignancy, including detailed notes to engage listeners. Dialogue and introduction will be the key to ensuring that classical music has a future in our community. Their inaugural concert on the 31st of August 2019 was rapturously received and points to a successful future on the stage.VENTVM believes fervently in the immortal persistence of the performing arts. VENTVM Quintet’s reverence for chamber music is founded on two principles, democracy and communication. Artistic choices that might otherwise be dictated by a hapless conductor (noteworthy in their absence here) are reached by mutual agreement among members of a chamber ensemble. The unified expression is achieved only when players can agree stylistically and rehearse their ideas openly. Chamber musicians must therefore rely on perception and awareness that borders on the extrasensory. What might a certain gesture signify from that flutist just yonder? How can I pace my crescendo with the clarinetist sitting next to me? An audience watches these choices being made in real-time, often in a smaller venue and with a better look at the inner workings of the musical mechanism. Just as a chamber musician must assert their own understanding of music, the audience is mysteriously drawn into participation. Indeed, what about a string quartet (or even a woodwind quintet?) can so move an audience, can bring them into the very heart of a piece of music? Neither science nor philosophy have provided a suitable answer. Thanks to the ambitions of woodwind players and composers alike, the 20th century became a golden age for the woodwind quintet. Eminent names such as Paul Hindemith, Carl Nielsen, Jean Francaix, Samuel Barber, György Ligeti and Paquito D’Rivera have ensured that woodwind quintets enjoy long tenure on the concert stage. Many of these works can be expected in VENTVM Quintet’s future performances.Sunday’s performance will include Aires Tropicales by Paquito D’Rivera (1948-) A Cuban native and esteemed instrumentalist/composer of both classical and Latin Jazz tradition, Grammy-winning Paquito D’Rivera brings his unique voice to Aires Tropicales. In this fusion of the jazz and classical genres, listen for D’Rivera’s interpretations of Cuban jazz with nods to Ravel and Dizzy Gillespie.

VENTVM QVINET BIOS

Ernesto Cruz is a native Angelino who graduated from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) with a bachelor’s in music in Clarinet Performance and earned his Master in Fine Arts degree in Clarinet Performance from the California Institute of the Arts. His mentors include Dr. Julia Heinen, William Powell, Vinny Golia, Allen Vogel, and Mark Menzies. He is an active freelance musician and private instructor teaching in the southern California area. He has taught in the Hart School District and currently has a private studio. Ernesto has performed with the Landmark Opera, Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra, LLS Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Ernesto serves as Director of Latin American Music Regional Ensemble at CSU- Dominguez Hills. The ensemble is currently focusing on Musica de Oaxaca. In addition, Ernesto is a clinician for community bands, to help preserve and learn traditional music of Oaxaca. In addition, Ernesto is the co-founder of Clarinervium, a clarinet ensemble that performs work by Mexican-American, Oaxaqueños, and Latin-American composers.

Alexander Charles Burns-Chay is a professional bassoonist based in Los Angeles and Orange County. He performs regularly with the Vicente Chamber Orchestra, Bakersfield Symphony, and Los Angeles Sinfonietta. He is the principal bassoon with the Dana Point Symphony Orchestra as well as the Los Angeles-based Opera Italia. He maintains a private bassoon studio and gives masterclasses throughout the southwestern United States. Originally from Tustin, CA, Mr. Burns-Chay attended the Orange County School of the Arts and completed his undergraduate studies at UCLA with degrees in bassoon performance and German. His diverse interests and academic success lead to his election to Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Burns-Chay is a founding member of VENTVM QVINTET, a Los Angeles-based woodwind quintet dedicated to performing diverse and demanding repertoire. A student of John Steinmetz, he received a Masters of Music in Bassoon Performance from UCLA.

Puerto Rican Flutist Juan Antonio Rivera has appeared with numerous organizations such as Ballet Austin, Waco Symphony Orchestra, Waco Lyric Opera, Opera San Luis Obispo Grand Orchestra, State Street Ballet, Temple Civic Chorus, Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Opera de la Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, Valley Symphony Orchestra, Celestial Opera Orchestra, Opera by the Glass Orchestra, Hawkmore Lyric Opera Orchestra, Oasis Chamber Music and Opera Productions. As a soloist, Mr. Rivera has performed Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto with the Valley Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Symphonic Winds. In 2017, Mr. Rivera performed Cecile Chaminade’s Concertino for flute in the Ojai Libbey Bowl. Most recently, he has performed Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G with the Ojai Pops Orchestra and the Los Angeles Symphonic Winds. Currently, Mr. Rivera is playing Principal Flute with the Los Angeles Symphonic Winds, Ojai Pops Orchestra, Genesis Opera Theater Orchestra, and Symphony of the Vines. Mr. Rivera received a Bachelor of Music in flute performance from the Baylor University School of Music and a Master of Fine Art in flute performance from The California Institute of the Arts Herb Alpert School of Music.

Jason Beaumont is a freelance French Horn player with a degree in Horn Performance from Missouri State University, where he won the concerto competition and performed the Villanelle by Dukas. He is a regular member of the Santa Monica Symphony, the San Fernando Valley Symphony, and the principal horn of the Los Angeles Symphonic Winds and Symphony of the Vines. Jason has performed with Chicago Symphony Tubist Gene Pokorny and former principal trumpet Chris Martin. He recently has performed selections from Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio under the baton of Oscar-winning composer, Alexandre Desplat. He records horn in his home recording studio for soundtracks and music collaborations. When he’s not performing and recording, he’s a filmmaker and camera operator in the Los Angeles area.

Bom An is an active freelance oboist and English horn player based in Los Angeles. She studied with Allan Vogel at the California Institute of the Arts, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Oboe Performance. Her primary teachers include Allan Vogel, Paul Sherman and Hag young Kim. She has won the First Prize from The Music Association of Korea Competition and has performed with Hungary Debrecen Philharmonic Orchestra and Gwacheon Philharmonic Orchestra as a soloist. She is currently the principal oboe of San Fernando Valley Symphony orchestra, Los Angeles Symphonic Winds, Symphony of the Vines, and the section oboe of San Luis Obispo Symphony.

The Ojai Pops Concert Series is sponsored by the City of Ojai and Music 4 Kids, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to provide low-cost music lessons, instruments, and free concerts.