Lake County News,California

Arts & Life

: Debra Fredrickson; Posted On Friday, 15 December 2023 02:37; 15 December 2023

Musician Cynthia Rose thrives on busy schedule

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Vocalist Cynthia Rose, one of the performers at the Lake County Symphony Association’s Christmas Concert this weekend, grew up in a musical family and community.

She enjoys playing piano, saxophone and singing. She was guided by excellent musical mentors: her father, local pianist Tom Ganoung, and renowned public educator Nick Biondo, who taught at her school.

From elementary school through college, Rose was involved in concert bands, concert choirs, jazz bands and jazz choirs, and has traveled as far as Rio de Janeiro to perform.

When she’s not instructing her students at Healdsburg High School (she’s taught Spanish and English in public schools for nearly 15 years for all grade levels) or busy at home in Sonoma County with her two children (Evette, 6 and Damon, 2), she likes to sing with a few local bands.

She has performed with “California party band” the Funky Dozen for six years. “I am one of the three female vocalists with the Dozen,” said Rose. “My first performance with them was at the Kelseyville Pear Festival. All the traffic was cut off, so it was like this huge block party. It was awesome!”

The Funky Dozen plays frequently at private and public local events in Lake, Sonoma, and other nearby counties. You can find information about them on Facebook or at www.funkydozen.com.

Rose has also been a part of the more intimate “Blue Hour” group for the last three years, which plays at Andre’s in Lakeport once a month.

For information about their schedule, go to “Blue Hour Bay Area” on Facebook.

: Upper Lake Senior Center; Posted On Tuesday, 12 December 2023 02:36; 12 December 2023

Upper Lake Senior Center Art Show planned Dec. 13

UPPER LAKE, Calif. — All are invited to the Upper Lake Senior Center Art Show this week.

The event takes place at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13.

There will be a presentation by the art instructor Linda Farris followed by a luncheon.

Come and view as they share the artworks of seniors.

All are welcome.

The Upper Lake Senior Center is located at 9470 Mendenhall Road, telephone 707-275-3513.

: Tim Riley; Posted On Sunday, 10 December 2023 00:11; 10 December 2023

‘Saltburn’ creepy weirdness; ‘Monk’s Last Case’ on Peacock

‘SALTBURN’ RATED R

Shades of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Brideshead Revisited” inform the dynamic at play in the psychological thriller “Saltburn,” written and directed by Emerald Fennell, who garnered much attention with the same duties for “Promising Young Woman.”

As with the films of a similar bent, “Saltburn” leans into the class divide where a character on a lower rung, fueled most likely by sociopathic tendencies, seeks to ingratiate himself with the upper class.

Set in 2006, scholarship student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) arrives as a freshman at Oxford University. His humble origins set him apart from aristocratic students entitled by a sense of noblesse oblige.

Oliver’s initial friendship with a nerdy math major is quickly discarded when he sets his sights on tall, handsome Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), the big man on campus who looks like a male model at a fashion show.

Finagling his way into Felix’s inner circle, the needy Oliver, who is actually rather creepy, proves to be manipulative by fabricating a story of lower-class upbringing by parents that are portrayed as addicts.

For reasons that are elusive and unfathomable, Felix takes a shine to Oliver, letting him into the sanctum of entitled Oxford students that you must wonder how they have time to study given nightly forays to the local pub.

When summer rolls around, Felix invites Oliver to be his guest at their palatial home Saltburn, a massive estate that is so gorgeous that it must have once been the residence of royalty.

The Catton family proves to be eccentric. The patriarch is the oblivious Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant), while the mother Elspeth (Rosamund Pike) is hilariously clueless and good for some choice one-liners.

Felix’s unstable sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) is a train-wreck and Carey Mulligan’s Pamela is a houseguest who has overstayed her welcome. American cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) is suspicious of Oliver’s intentions, and with good reason.

Creepy weird stuff starts happening at the Saltburn estate, gradually becoming more bizarre with strange things involving bodily fluids and graphic shocking events. “Saltburn” is unsettling and disturbing. Take it in at your own risk.

‘MR. MONK’S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE’

Fans of Tony Shalhoub’s Adrian Monk, a detective formerly with the San Francisco Police Department, should rejoice in his return in a feature-length movie fourteen years later after the eight-season run of “Monk” on the USA Network.

Peacock brings Monk back in a post-pandemic world in “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie.” To understand his character, it is important to note that the “Monk” series was about a former police detective coping with the aftermath of his wife’s death in a mysterious car bombing.

During the run of the series, Monk suffered an extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder that caused him to lose his job and being unable to leave his house for years. With some help, he returned to living, of sorts, working as a private eye and consultant to the police department.

In the later years of the series, Traylor Howard’s Natalie Teeger was Monk’s assistant, helping him to fitfully overcome some of his eccentricities. In the movie, she’s in the same role, observing that Monk has a fear of “germs, needles, birds, then heights.”

Actually, there’s a whole lot more that induces Monk’s obsessive concerns. At an opening crime scene, Monk worries about whether he turned off the stove and then speaks of the stove as “one of the longest relationships of my life and certainly one of the happiest.”

Peter Falk as a detective in “Columbo” was an eccentric character with a shambling manner, but he never came close to the obsessions that plagued Monk. And yet, Monk’s anxieties are part of the fun of his character who seems oblivious to his grating idiosyncrasies.

Being a germaphobe can be debilitating in his line of work, but his compulsive behavior is well-suited to grasping the finer details of a crime scene and engaging in painstaking problem-solving.

Monk’s last case turns out to be the tragic death of Griffin (Austin Scott), the fiancé of his stepdaughter Molly (Caitlin McGee), in a bungee jumping accident that may be something more sinister.

In fact, Griffin’s an investigate journalist who’s digging around the shady dealings of Rick Eden (James Purefoy), a well-connected billionaire entrepreneur who has unscrupulous thugs on payroll acting like contract killers.

Of course, Monk has to overcome his wide range of phobias to solve a very personal case involving Molly, a journalist getting ready for a lifetime of happiness in her upcoming nuptials.

Several regulars from the series return, including Melora Hardin as the ghost of Trudy Monk; Ted Levine as former Homicide Captain Leland Stottlemeyer, who worked with Monk; and Hector Elizondo as Dr. Neven Bell, Monk’s psychiatrist.

A mere passing acquaintance with Shalhoub’s Adrian Monk is all one needs to enjoy a lovable character with a range of obsessions that are endearingly amusing. “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie” proves that a nearly a decade-and-a-half absence of Monk’s story has not diminished its appeal.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

: Elizabeth Larson; Posted On Thursday, 14 December 2023 02:49; 14 December 2023

Versatility is key to success for longtime performer

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Anthony Neves, one of the vocalists performing at the Lake County Symphony Associaton’s Dec. 17 holiday concert, has been a singer with the Funky Dozen for about five years.

He calls his singing style as one that is “more soulful.” Some have compared it to a Joe Cocker sound.

“But I will sing any style,” he said. “Depending on the event, it might be more like Frank Sinatra.”

Neves moved to Lake County about 16 years ago and has been singing a variety of music at many different venues since his arrival.

His first singing gig here was at the Saw Shop Restaurant in Kelseyville and he is still there on the first Thursday of every month, singing along with his recorded tracks.

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Neves found a home in Lake County. “I needed a change, and I adopted Lake County.”

It helped that he had family members who lived here, and he was familiar with the area. Neves says his 30-year singing career has worked out well for him. “I have been able to support myself mostly through my music and work occasional side jobs when I need to.”

A degree he earned in Culinary Arts from Woodland College is used solely for personal enrichment.

“It’s a good skill to have and I’m glad I learned how to make a good meal for myself. Baking has become a hobby of mine,” he said.

He shares mouth-watering photographs of his cooking and baking expertise on his Facebook page, along with videos of musical performances that demonstrate his wide range of styles.

Neves keeps busy. In addition to performing with The Funky Dozen, he sings at local wineries and community events like the August car show in Library Park for Operation Tango Mike.

Last year he sang the “Star Spangled Banner” at the Veterans Day dinner at Konocti Vista Casino when the roomful of vets started singing along.

“It was an intense moment. I started to choke up and almost lost it!” But Neves didn’t let his emotions get in the way. He did it all over again last month at the Veterans Day dinner.

: Elizabeth Larson; Posted On Tuesday, 12 December 2023 02:35; 12 December 2023

Christmas concert features holiday favorites, local vocalists

Cynthia Rose sings with the Funky Dozen at Coyote Sonoma in Healdsburg. She is shown with Sunny Cordell on saxophone and Gary Miller, who plays trumpet. She will be featured at the Lake County Symphony annual Christmas Concert on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Symphony.

LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lake County Symphony’s popular annual Christmas Concert coming up on Sunday, Dec. 17, at the Soper Reese Theatre, will include a “very merry” program of holiday favorites to delight the audience.

John Parkinson, symphony conductor and musical director, plans a selection of festive traditional holiday orchestral music, along with entertainment by several outstanding local vocalists.

He fully expects all audience members to be a part of the carol sing-along and to lend their voices to the “Hallelujah Chorus,” as in past concerts.

“Hallelujah” is the memorable finale to Handel’s “Messiah,” and has been a special and treasured part of the Christmas Concert for years.

The Lake County Community and Youth Orchestra conducted by Camm Linden, will begin the concert, with a selection from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet Suite called “Mother Ginger” along with some other audience-pleasing holiday motifs.

There will be two vocalists for this concert, and both are singers with the popular local band, the Funky Dozen. Cynthia Rose will be singing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Christmas Time is Here,” and “The Christmas Song.” Anthony Neves, will sing “White Christmas,” and “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.”

Tickets for the concert are available online in advance from the Soper Reese Theatre website or by phone at 707-263-0577.

General admission is $25; premium seating is $30 for the 2 p.m. performance, with LCSA members receiving a $5 discount.

Everyone is urged to order their tickets early; the Christmas Concert is usually a packed house.

The full-dress open rehearsal performance begins at 11 a.m. with discounted tickets for $5 and free admission for everyone under the age of 18.

: Elizabeth Larson; Posted On Tuesday, 05 December 2023 01:35; 05 December 2023

Kennedy Jazz Trio leads off Tallman ‘Concerts with Conversation’ series on Dec. 10

UPPER LAKE, Calif. — The great jazz trio of Robert Kennedy on the Hammond organ, Nancy Wright on sax and Scott Foster on guitar kick off the 17th season of informal Concerts with Conversation in the Meeting House next to the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake on Sunday, Dec. 10, starting at 3 p.m.

The opening trio has made beautiful music separately and together for many years in the Bay Area.

Robert Kennedy is an accomplished pianist and accordionist but is best known as a Hammond organ virtuoso. He played piano in the Stanford Jazz Band and has lived and worked in the SF Bay Area since 1988. He has recorded two CDs on the Hammond organ and played with the SF Jazz Monday Night Band and at all the major Bay Area jazz venues.

Sax mistress Nancy Wright needs no introduction to Lake County music fans as she’s performed here at the Blue Wing Blues Festival, the Soper-Reese Theatre and a variety of other venues. She has recorded and performed in the U.S. and abroad with artists including John Lee Hooker, B. B. King, Elvin Bishop, Joe Louis Walker, and Commander Cody and she now has her own “Rhythm and Roots” Band.

A graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Scott Foster is an active performer as leader of his own trio and quartet and as a sideman with many local groups.

Tickets for the opening concert in the series can be purchased at Eventbrite.com or by calling the Tallman Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0.

Here is a summary of the wide variety of music and conversation in store in the upcoming Tallman series:

Sunday, Jan. 21: This will be a rousing afternoon of music with the dynamic pianist Steve Lucky and the vibrant guitarist, vocalist and entertainer Carmen Getit. It will be a lively mix of jump blues, swing, jazz and rare gems from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s.

Sunday, Feb. 18: The Joe and Hattie Craven Show. Enjoy a performance of rearranged pop songs for the folk tradition with stunning vocalist Hattie Craven supported by her father, award winning multi-instrumentalist story-teller and musical educator Joe Craven.

Sunday, March 17, St. Patrick’s Day: Celtic harp songs and stories with Patrick BallC. Now residing in Ireland, Patrick is famous for rekindling the fire and wonder of Irish storytelling while playing his ancient, brass-strung traditional Irish harp.

Sunday, April 21 (outside in the garden): The “Joni Mitchell Situation.” Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kate Foley-Beining performs the ballads, art songs and jazz of Joni Mitchell backed by guitarist Christian Foley-Beining, bassist Tom Shader, drummer Kendrick Freeman and special guest, the unparalleled Paul McCandless on sax. Weather permitting, this final show of the season will be outside in the garden.

Coffee and cookies are served to guests at all of these shows and the Tallman is offering a 10% discount on hotel bookings that weekend for people purchasing concert tickets.

Arts & Life

Musician Cynthia Rose thrives on busy schedule

Upper Lake Senior Center Art Show planned Dec. 13

‘Saltburn’ creepy weirdness; ‘Monk’s Last Case’ on Peacock

Versatility is key to success for longtime performer

Christmas concert features holiday favorites, local vocalists

Kennedy Jazz Trio leads off Tallman ‘Concerts with Conversation’ series on Dec. 10

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