The mission of CHELLE! Music, is to present known and lesser known music, dance and theater arts of New Orleans, by developing, preserving and producing live and recorded performing art works, and teach a curriculum of New Orleans music, from Spirituals to Storyville to the Mardi Gras Indians, in various educational settings. CHELLE! Music creates programs that promote intercultural communication through the arts, with application well beyond the arts.
THE DAUGHTERS OF THE DELTA PROJECT
San Francisco International Arts Festival Mission
San Francisco International Arts Festival's mission is to embody an imaginative microcosm of the Bay Area’s arts community, to present innovative projects that are focused on increasing human awareness and understanding and to promote a multicultural international performance platform that inspires local and global audiences.
To fulfill its mission SFIAF actively seeks to promote diversity and equity, activism and advocacy, education and the free exchange of ideas through a multi-faceted three week program presented at, and in collaboration with, the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture.
SFIAF presents ground-breaking artists from the Bay Area and around the world; many of the international artists have no US representation and have rarely (or never previously) performed in this country. From 2003-19 SFIAF and more than 100 presenting partners have coordinated, presented and/or produced performances by over 400 arts ensembles from the Bay Area and over 57 countries, as well as conducting numerous educational and outreach activities.
SFIAF is dedicated to coordinating the shared resources of multiple organizations to reach mutually beneficial goals. The organization’s core values are based on principals of cultural and economic equity. In addition to working with larger institutions, SFIAF places a high priority on the participation of culturally diverse and smaller entities—including communities whose histories have been left out of the prevailing American narrative. Activating and supporting relationships between such organizations and artists is a key component of SFIAF.
SFIAF develops long-term relationships with Bay Area artists based on their unique program, infrastructure and capacity needs. The goal is to create cross-cultural performances that will expand their artistic horizons, develop stronger community connections, have an extended shelf-life for the work and yield subsequent earned-income opportunities
| "Whether leading a children¹s Mardi Gras parade or headlining the 'Queens of New Orleans" Music Festival, CHELLE! & Friends’ blend of music delights audiences of all ages." Linda Lucero Yerba Buena Gardens | "Chelle has put together a dream team of accomplished performers. This group completely rocks! They've been a hit every time we've worked together." Russ Jennings, Soul Productions | |
Ask 20 people how to define the music of New Orleans and you’ll get 30 answers. It could be jazz, funk, soul, Creole, Cajun, or gospel, Caribbean, African, Zydeco, rock or the chants and stirring rhythms of Mardi Gras Indians.
New Orleans native, and Oakland's own "Queen of New Orleans Music", MICHELLE JACQUES along some "very special friends" take all of these influences and a few more, and stir it into this stewpot of musical gumbo that is sweet, spicy, aromatic and definitely intoxicating.
CHELLE! and Friends is made up of some of the most distinguished and accomplished musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area. CHELLE! And Friends perform music that is vibrant and alive with the driving voices of artistic director and founder, Oakland's "Queen of New Orleans Music" MICHELLE JACQUES, RHONDA CRANE, JAY LAMONT and BRYAN DYER, DONNA VISCUSO and ERIC SWINDERMAN on guitar, KEVIN SCOTT on bass and MICHAELLE GOERLITZ on drums.
Thanks for celebrating with us!
Preston Justice
Friday Nights @ OMCA
Oakland Museum Of California
