Faculty Feature: Greg Sinibaldi & Denali Williams

Greg Sinibaldi

One of the major assets that distinguishes Music Works Northwest from other music schools is our unique and talented faculty.  We are currently 46 faculty members strong, which means 46 highly talented members of our local, national, and global music community teach right under one roof. Each one of them has something exciting on the horizon, and this month, we’d like to give you a teaser of what is coming up for saxophone instructor Greg Sinibaldi and percussion instructor Denali Williams.

Greg Sinibaldi has recently finished scoring a piece for a percussion quartet and it is being premiered October 2, 2010 by the Seattle Percussion Collective.  The concert will be held at the Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Seattle.

Greg writes in his blog his feelings on composing this piece:

“I’m excited to hear it and really appreciate the opportunity to write it. It’s interesting finishing something like this. I worked countless hours on this and in the end I really don’t have much to show for it. I have a pretty score and parts but its manifestation doesn’t really come till its heard. And even then, its manifest for 10 minutes then gone. An odd thing. Maybe that’s why I like improvisation so much. Its in the now and reflects whats happening in the current space.”

Denali Williams

Honoring Greg with the performance of this piece is Denali Williams, a member of the Seattle Percussion Collective and percussion instructor at Music Works Northwest.

Denali will be performing with the Seattle Percussion Collective on both October 1st and 2nd.  Both nights look to have a promising set list.  The October 1st concert will be held at Gallery 1412 on Capitol Hill and will explore the music of John Cage.  The October 2nd concert as mentioned above will be held at the Chapel performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford and will feature the piece written by Greg Sinibaldi, as well as Mark Applebaum, and other composers from around the US and the world.

These are definitely two concerts that you do not want to miss!

October 1:

Gallery 1412: 1412 18th St, Seattle, WA 98122 (Capitol Hill/Central District neighborhood).  Suggested Donation $5 – $15.

October 2:

Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center: 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 4th Floor, Seattle, WA (Wallingford neighborhood).  Suggested Donation $5 – $15.

Faculty Feature: Jim Ellis

For this faculty feature, we would like to recognize a new guitar instructor at Music Works Northwest, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jim Ellis!

Playing electric, acoustic, 7-string guitar and double bass, guitarist Jim Ellis’ focus is improvisational music. He has played in notable big bands, combos, and performed extensively as a solo guitarist.

Jim earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music/Arts from the University of Maine, Famington and a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern Maine. His teachers have included Walter Namuth, Gary Wittner, Butch Warren, Steve Novosel, and Joe Cohn.

An enthusiastic teacher with over ten years experience, Jim conveys a variety of picking style methods: fingerstyle, flat pick, and hybrid picking techniques while promoting a thorough understanding of the fingerboard and music theory concepts.

Student Feature: Christian Osgood

Launching their own version of Band Aid, young musicians from all over the Issaquah School District put on a show on the Plateau on Thursday, May 13. 2010 to raise money for Red Cross’ efforts in Haiti.

Organized by a hardworking and generous group of Issaquah High School students and supported by their friends and peers at neighboring schools, Rock For Haiti celebrated the incredible creative energy that exists in Issaquah and Sammamish, and the potential for this creative energy to do great things in the community.

Featuring local bands and rappers Nightmare Control Panel, MC Attle and Petey Sosa, Question of The Ages, Fit For Hounds, and Blunderbear, Rock For Haiti was supported by hundreds of students who paid their five bucks at the door to see some great music and also see the people of Haiti continue their long and difficult recovery following the earthquake there in January.

In addition to the five main acts, other talented student musicians put on sets of their own on an acoustic stage in between bands to keep the crowd entertained.

Issaquah High School student, photographer Kendall Paulsen, was right in the middle of the fun and shot some great pictures of the bands in action for The Reporter. For more of Kendall’s stunning work, check out her Web site at kendallpaulsen.com.

According to senior Maria Tilden, one of the Rock For Haiti organizers, the event raised more than $2,000.

“We are so thankful for everyone that was involved,” she said. “The event required a huge group effort and it was so rewarding to see how willing everyone was to invest their time and skills to honor Haiti. We’d especially like to thank the Issaquah Booster Club for their support and Barefoot Contingent for graciously putting on such an impressive performance at the end.”

Early Childhood Partnership Opportunity

Music Works NW has classroom space available during the day that would be ideal for pre-school music classes. We are interested in meeting with licensed Kindermusik, Musikgarten, Music Together, Suzuki, teachers or teachers of other successful programs including independent classes that have a need for space and would like to have a permanent home where the program can grow  and prosper.

Interested parties should email a resume and cover letter to Scott Ketron, Artistic Director.