SebARTS kicks off its summer music program with an open house—and you're invited

Come to this celebration of the arts and enjoy summer music on the patio every Sunday in August

Sebastopol Center for the Arts is having an open house this Sunday, August 6, with jazz from Quintessence (left) and participatory fun for kids and adults alike.

Sebastopol Center for the Arts’ annual summer music series kicks off on August 6 with a day of festivities devoted to art, music and creativity. The open house runs from 2 to 6 pm, and the whole community is invited to this event.

During the afternoon you can hear a free jazz concert, see artist demonstrations, enjoy art activities for kids, create pinch pots in the ceramics studio, watch incredible film shorts from the center’s award-winning documentary team, and bid on a rare collection of more than 1,100 original movie posters.

A great way to start SebARTS’ summer music series

A robust series of musical programs, Songs For August Sunday Afternoons, has been scheduled for each Sunday in August, 2 to 4 p.m., on the north patio of Sebastopol Center for the Arts.

The first concert of the series, featuring Quintessence Swing and Jazz, will happen at the open house on August 6, beginning at 2 pm. Lyn Giovanniello is a bass player born in Florida who has played with symphonies and swing/jazz bands. Steven Schuster is a sax and bass player, songwriter, and composer from Connecticut. Dick Bay is a Marin/San Francisco jazz pianist, "swampy-tonk" accordion player, singer, songwriter, composer, and lyricist. Kristina Kopriva is a native San Franciscan violinist/vocalist now a resident of Texas. Between them they are well-travelled, with Billboard and Grammy recognition, and have collaborated with members of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Starship, and Tower of Power, as well as bluesman John Lee Hooker, jazz artist Ron Carter, and James Brown’s horn section.

On August 13, a baroque/folk duo, "Beneath A Tree," features Gail Hernández Rosa (violin, viola, and vocals) and Daniel Turkos (contrabass, mandolin, and vocals), exploring the interrelationships between classical baroque music and folk music.  roe and Branford Marsalis—and their performances reflect all these influences.

August 20 brings Roman Gray, just graduated from Analy High School, with his next generation jazz band of college-bound musician and singer-songwriter friends Spencer Barkman on drums and Paul Koo on piano. Roman has been playing guitar and drums since childhood and has expanded into piano, mandolin, bass guitar and upright bass for jazz and symphonic applications. He will be presenting his own music, called “Strawberry Rock,” derived from his favorites: The Talking Heads, The Police, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Elton John, and McCartney/Lennon.

August 27 wraps up the month with Le Hot Club Swing in the “manouche/swing” style popularized by the Hot Club of France in the 1930s-1940s by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli. Bandleader Rick Fulkerson on guitar, Rhonda Berney on mandolin, Jan Kahdeman on guitar, and Tami Pallingston on upright bass have each been a part of the Sonoma County live music scene for many years, in groups including the Blue Moon Dance Band, Haute Flash Quartet, and Swing Fling. The band’s repertoire includes vocal and instrumental standards from the Great American Songbook and more obscure selections drawn from the genre’s less familiar history.

SebARTS summer music series happens Sunday afternoons in August, 2 to 4 p.m., on the north patio of Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St., Sebastopol.