Page 68 - Sonoma County Gazette - May, 2018

Mr. Music
Mr. Music (aka Jim Corbett) has been bringing music to Sebastopol since 1972, when he volunteered “to do music,” he says, in his five-year- old daughter’s class. The seeds of that experience eventually flowered into the Peacetown Concert series, every summer Wednesday in Sebastopol’s Ives Park, 5 – 8 p.m.
By Date
May 2 ~ Introduction to Ukulele for Adults - FREE, 6-7p, Sonoma Valley Regional Library, 755 West Napa St., Sonoma, 707-996-5217, sonomacounty. libcal.com/event/3825173
May 3 ~ The Jazz Club - Jacob Szekely Trio - $15-$20, 7p, The Cloverdale Arts Alliance, 204 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale, 707-894-8500, Mark Tharrington, CA A Executive Director, cloverdaleartsalliance. org/, mark@cloverdaleartsalliance.org
- May 3 - Gaia's Garden, 6:30-8:30p, 1899 Mendocino Ave. Santa Rosa. May 4 - Main St. Bistro, 6:30-9:30p, 16280 Main St., Guerneville, 707-823- 8968, hauteflashquartet.com/, swing@ hauteflashquartet.com
May 4 ~ Make a Circle with Jennifer Paskow - Children's music artist on a mission to uplift, heal and empower Ages 0-5 and families. FREE, 10:30-11:30a, HealdsburgRegionalLibrary,139PiperSt., Healdsburg,707-433-3772,sonomacounty. libcal.com/event/3921037
May 4 ~ Sonoma State University Guitar Ensemble - Classical guitar solos, duets and pieces for full guitar ensemble under the direction of Eric Cabalo. $8, 7:30p, Green Music Center at Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati Avenue, Schroeder Hall, Rohnert Park, web.sonoma.edu/music/, brooke.tester@sonoma.edu
May 5,6,11,12,13 ~ The Great Wheel - The Occidental Community Choir. May 13 Glaser Center 547 Mendocino Ave. SR, 707- 568-5381, $15, Kids 12 and under FREE, May 5, 11-12, 8p, May 6, 12, 3p, Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Court, Occidental, 707-874-9392, occidentalchoir. org/, info@occidentalcenterforthearts.org
May 5,6,7 ~ Au Revoir Bruno - Conducts his final Santa Rosa Symphony, $29, May 5,7, 8p, May 6, 3p, Green Music Center at Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati Avenue, Weill Hall, Rohnert Park, 707-546- 8742
May 5 ~ Fado Singer Ramana Vieira- Influences from the Portuguese diaspora in a musical tapestry. FREE, 2-3p, Petaluma Regional Library, 100 Fairgrounds Dr., Petaluma, 707-763-9801
May 5 ~ Rainbow Girls - Rich harmonies, ageless songwriting, and soulful, bluesy sound. $20, 7p, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 South High St., Brent Auditorium, Sebastopol, 707-829-4797, rainbowgirlsatsca.brownpapertickets. com/
May 5 ~ Songs of the Phoenix - Shakuhachi Concert with Riley Lee and Elliot Kallen. Japanese bamboo flute. $20, 7p, Church of One Tree, 492 Sonoma Ave., Santa Rosa, sonomamatsuri.com/, info@ sonomamatsuri.com
May 5 ~ Sonoma State University Rock Collegium - Guitarist John R. Palmer as an outgrowth of MUS 481. $8, 7:30p, Green Music Center at Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati Avenue, Schroeder Hall, Rohnert Park, web.sonoma.edu/music/
May 7 & 12 ~ Vox Populi Choir Sings Abbey Road and Paul Simon - in Sonoma May 7 @Sebastiani Theatre, 476 1st St. E., May 12 @ Sonoma Women’s Club, 574 1st St E.,andTiddlewinks,115ENapaSt707-939- 6933. Tickets are $18 for this worthy cause. Check or cash only. $18 - 7:30p
May 8 & 12 ~ A Tapestry of American Song Spring Concert - Mixed vocal ensemble of 50 voices. $10-$12, Under 12 FREE, May 8, 7:30p, May 12, 3p, Petaluma Valley Baptist Church, 580 Sonoma Mountain Pkwy., Petaluma, 480-226-9157, Linda Evans Manuilow, brownpapertickets.com/ event/3397985,
May 8 ~ Sonoma State University Jazz Combos and Latin Band - $8, 7:30p, Green Music Center at Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati Avenue, Schroeder Hall, Rohnert Park, web.sonoma.edu/music, brooke.tester@sonoma.edu
May 9 ~ Jazz Combos Concert - Proceeds benefit the SRJC Foundation Jazz Studies fund. $5, plus $4 parking fee, 7:30p, SRJC, 1501 Mendocino Ave, Newman Auditorium, Santa Rosa, 707-527-4255, Bennett Friedman, music.santarosa.edu/, bfriedman@santarosa.edu
- original takes on jazz standards from SSU’s flagship 23-piece big band. FREE, tickets required, 7:30p, Green Music Center at Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati Avenue, Weill Hall, Rohnert Park, web.sonoma.edu/music/
May 11 ~ Unity Drum Circle - Connect people to themselves, and to each other. FREE, 7-9p, Old Courthouse Square - Downtown Santa Rosa, 600-636 4th St, Santa Rosa, saharsound.weebly.com/
May 11 ~ The North Bay Sinfonietta - Violinists Sid Page and Anthony Martin. $10, 8p, Church of the Incarnation, 550 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, Cynthia Weichel, cweichel@santarosa.edu
May 11 ~ “Voyagers & Dreamers” by SRJC Concert Choir & Chamber Singers. 7:30p at the Jackson Theater at the Sonoma Country Day School, 4400 Day School Place, Santa Rosa.
During an interview in early April at
his sweet Sebastopol home, where he
raised three daughters with his wife
of 43 years, Corbett discusses his early
days as “a Midwest boy from Omaha,”
one of seven children. They had an
older upright piano his mother had
painted bright red. For ten years he
had to take piano lessons, when he would rather have been playing baseball. “Baseball was my love,” he says. “Now, I thank her every day.” Corbett confesses that his first record purchase was “Sing Along With Mitch.”
Now 69, (“but very immature,” he says), Corbett recalls coming to California in 1972, finding himself on a San Francisco beach on New Year’s Day, thinking of how he’d be shoveling snow if he were back in the Midwest. Needless, to say, he stayed here.
May 11 ~ The Commanders Jazz Ensemble
Over the years, Corbett, playing guitar and piano, fronted many bands, mostly mix and match organizations of musicians he knew and called upon when needed. His work in schools expanded to five days/week, while he supported himself by umpiring baseball games for the Pac-10, SSU, and SRJC.
He refers to teaching music to kids as “a sweet gig... It beat playing music for drunks.” That led to the Mr. Music Foundation, ongoing for over 25 years now. According to their website, this group “provides professional music teachers for elementary school classroom music, as well as after-school instruction and music assemblies.” At its height, 15 county schools were involved. Corbett, now retired from the classroom refers to it as “a holy gig...I loved every minute of it.”
Another of Corbett’s creations, The Love Choir, has survived for 20 years, and is “the backbone of Peacetown.” Sixty to eighty people gather weekly for two hours of singing. “It’s become a family,” he says. The group performs regularly, including an annual performance at the Kate Wolf Festival.
music and musicians in the North Bay,” is a former KRSH deejay and former owner of Cotati’s Zone Music.
“The idea of Peacetown is more than concerts,” Corbett says. “It’s a concept of there being a place where we can incubate peace. Creating beauty is part of what Peacetown is about.”
peacetown.org/conserts-series/Peacetown schedule • mrmusicfoundation.org/ 2018 Peacetown lineup atpeacetown.org/conserts-series/
68 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 5/18
The Peacetown Concert Series,
May 3 & 4 ~ The Haute Flash Quartet
which is free, is in its seventh year, with an average attendance of 600- 800. Over the years, it has expanded from four annual shows to eleven.
May 12 ~ Go to the Movies Choral Show
Corbett pairs groups, most located in the Bay Area, with similar styles. With his work done, he serves as emcee, while kicking back and roaming a crowd which he describes as “a schmoozefest” or “a Cheers (the TV show) bar setup.”
Redwood Chordsmen Analy High School Chamber Singers with chapter barbershop quartets. $25, 18 and under FREE, 2p Scottish Rite Hall, 600 Acacia Ln., SR, redwoodchordsmen.org/
Co-host Frank Hayhurst, who describes himself as “an advocate for
May 12 ~ Monthly Blues Session Continues Musicians: sign up in advance of the next performance or contact facilitator David Garlandgarland1@sonic. net. 7-9:30p, $5, Cloverdale Arts Alliance, 204 N. Cloverdale Blvd, Cloverdale, 707-894-9044, Lisa Brew-Miller, lisa@ cloverdaleartsalliance.org
May 12 ~ Sonoma State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble - Eric Cabalo, guitar, performs Conciertango Buenos Aires by the Argentinian guitarist Chaco Tirao $8, 7:30pGreen Music Center at Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Weill Hall, Rohnert Park, web.sonoma. edu/music, brooke.tester@sonoma.edu
MUSIC cont’d on page 69