Dear Friends of Bridge to Everywhere,

Five years ago, Bridge to Everywhere was formed by a group of musicians who believe that music is one of the greatest tools for bridging cultures and bringing people together.

Since then, Bridge to Everywhere has:

• Become a non-profit arts organization
• Taught and mentored 600 young musicians
• Performed 15 public concerts
• Premiered 16 original compositions
• Released 2 full-length albums

As we begin our next chapter, we are asking for your financial support. Your donation will help us continue to fulfill our mission of celebrating cultural diversity through music. Your contribution will make an impact, whether you donate $5 or $500. Every dollar counts.

And on GivingTuesday, November 30, you have the potential to double your impact through Facebook’s donation matching campaign. Facebook pays all the processing fees for you, so 100% of your donation goes directly to Bridge to Everywhere.

Thank you for being with us. We can’t wait to build our future with you!

With gratitude,

Bridge to Everywhere
Founders, Musicians, and Board of Directors

Here’s a look back at our sold out performance at the Angel City Jazz Festival / Orenda Records Fest at 2220 Arts + Archives. Special thanks to Dan Rosenboom for having us, and to Eron Rauch for the stunning photos! Click here to view the set list and program notes.

Angel City Jazz Festival / Orenda Records Fest
Saturday, October 9, 5:00pm
2220 Arts + Archives

Program

Derrick Skye Unveiled This Heart, revised (2021)*
Chris Votek Chamber Thumri in Raga Kafi (2021)*
Yvette Holzwarth Thunder Over Water (2021)*
Philip Graulty Mijo (2021)*
James Waterman Elephant King (2021)*

*premiere

Ensemble

Derrick Skye, conductor
Rachel Iba, violin
Yvette Holzwarth, voice and violin
Anna Kouchnerov, violin
Nikki Shorts, viola
Chris Votek, cello
Hannah Arista, voice and percussion
Neelamjit Dhillon, bansuri and saxophone
Philip Graulty, guitars
Dimitris Mahlis, oud
Mark Gutierrez, bass
James Waterman, percussion

Program Notes

Chamber Thumri in Raga Kafi: The pure form of raga Kafi is described in ancient texts as the natural scale and one of the oldest ragas, its notes correspond to the Dorian mode. But today Kafi is usually heard in light classical music such as this Thumri, a romantic-devotional song form that allows more flexibility for the performer to stray outside the grammar of the raga. My intention was simply to do my best to translate some of the essence of the raga into chamber music, but I found myself also exploring a subtle allusion to Medieval organum…. – Chris Votek

“Thunder Over Water” is a song by Yvette Cornelia Holzwarth. Drawing imagery from the I-Ching (Book of Changes) and overlapping stories (both personal and collected), the lyrics explore psychic liberation upon making it through a storm. The piece arranged for Bridge to Everywhere features an oud solo by Dimitris Mahlis.

Thunder over water
A lonely boat at sea
Follow. follow the lights on shore
We have got nothing more
to guide our way
Your lost anchor
Set us adrift
In storm and waves
We’ ll be tossed and tumbled
Like those three damn coins
That seal our fate

Electric night sky
Tears at the seams
Opens her mouth wide
And swallows us in
Piercing lightning
Rips the old black cloth
Try to fight it
But this was just our luck
I couldn’t change a thing

Danger on the water
A sudden bolt of light then relief
Thunder over water
A lonely boat at sea

Mijo is written in memory of my dearest friend Arthur Reyna Jr. who passed away on January 19, 2021 due to COVID-19. Written from the point of a view of a mother, it is both a lament and a lullaby. Musically, the piece is partly inspired by American fingerstyle guitar and Malian blues. – Philip Graulty

Last Friday, in commemoration of Juneteenth, we launched a neighborhood concert series to deepen relationships with our neighbors and engage in discussions on racial injustice.

The inaugural concert took place outside an apartment complex and was a great success with many of the building’s residents eager to listen to live music, get to know one another better, and learn about the history of this important holiday.

Like many, we at Bridge to Everywhere have been closely following the events and discussions unfolding worldwide and in our local communities after the horrific death of George Floyd.

We have been holding space for one another, protesting on the streets and online, and trying our best to educate ourselves and others on the deep history of anti-Black racist practices and policies in the U.S. – all in an effort to move our society towards true justice and peace.

As a classical chamber ensemble and arts organization whose mission is to foster inclusivity:

• we commit to using our platform to amplify the messages of those on the front lines of social change;
• we stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and all who are working to end anti-Black racism, racial injustice, and police violence;
• we commit to addressing systemic racism in the classical music field and to working with our colleagues to better support BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color); and
• we will continue to strive to use music to build bridges and bring people together.

As musicians and educators, we have been grappling with the question of how we might be most useful to the current movement, especially when in light of COVID-19, the return to concert halls and classrooms remains unclear. With most of us still sheltering in place, we feel that the greatest impact we can have is as individuals within our own communities.

Today, in commemoration of Juneteenth (June 19, 1865)—the historic day in which a federal order was read in Galveston, Texas, stating that all previously enslaved peoples were free—we are launching a neighborhood concert series to build deeper relationships with our neighbors and engage in discussions on America’s history of racial injustice.

Featuring Bridge to Everywhere musicians and friends, the “Bridge to…” concert series will begin in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Highland Park and pop up across Southern California throughout the next year. It is our hope that through music, conversation, and the deepening of our relationships with our communities, we can together bend the long arc of the moral universe towards justice, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned.

To support “Bridge to…” and our other activities, please consider making a donation.

In solidarity,

Bridge to Everywhere

Leadership and Board of Directors
Derrick Skye, Artistic Director and Composer
Philip Graulty, President, Board Chair, Executive Director, and Guitarist
Dr. Kim Nguyen Tran, Vice President, Associate Director, and Ethnomusicologist
Marc Nimoy, Secretary, Treasurer, Associate Director, and Guitarist
Ian Smith, Technical Director, Producer, and Keyboardist
Robert Cresswell, Board Director
Kateri Lirio, Board Director and Music Teaching Artist
Gabrielle Owens, Board Director and Composer
Stephanie Terrazas, Board Director

Ensemble Members
Rachel Iba, Violinist, Concertmaster
Hannah Arista, Vocalist
Yvette Holzwarth, Violinist
Anna Kouchnerov, Violinist and Composer
Dimitris Mahlis, Oudist
Jacqueline Marshall, Harpist
Rachel Mellis, Flutist
Saili Oak, Vocalist
Nikki Shorts, Violist and Realtor
Chris Votek, Cellist and Composer
James Waterman, Percussionist and Composer

Upcoming Concerts (More to Follow)

Last month we had the great honor of being invited to perform at the opening of Bridge Projects, a gallery and exhibition space in Los Angeles. The event not only celebrated the opening of the space, but its inaugural installation, 10 Columns, by Phillip K. Smith III.

In addition to performances by Bridge to Everywhere, the event included poetry readings by Mandy Kahn and speeches by Roberta and Howard Ahmanson, Phillip K. Smith III, and Cara Lewis and Linnéa Spransy of Bridge Projects.

We are so grateful to have been part of such a momentous occasion! We hope you will enjoy this look back at the event courtesy of the brilliant photographer, Gina Clyne.

Last month we had the great pleasure of performing at The York Manor as part of The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs’ Compose LA festival. Special thanks to Ben Johnson from the Department of Cultural Affairs, Steven Homestead of American Composers Forum Los Angeles, and Scott Bauer of Kensington Presents for putting this event together.

Here’s Derrick Spiva Jr.’s arrangement of “Jamming Saints” by Poovalur Srinivasan. Featuring: Derrick Skye, conductor; Philip Graulty, guitar; Mark Gutierrez, bass; Rachel Iba, violin; Rachel Mellis, flute; Saili Oak, voice; Ian Smith, keyboard; Kim Nguyen Tran, tanpura; James Waterman, percussion; and Chris Votek, cello.