NAMM 2008

This weekend, my friends and I drove to Southern California to attend the NAMM show (one of the largest music products trade shows in the world, held every January in Anaheim, CA). We were all excited and had planned to leave on Thursday at 7pm, just after my last piano student (gotta make that money!), but at 11am I got a phone call from my sister informing me that my precious niece, Naomi, who is being treated for leukemia, had an irregular spinal tap result, and would be needing another to confirm that the leukemia cells have not returned, thus rendering the past 20 months of chemotherapy moot. Then, at 5pm, I got a phone informing me that my beloved aunt Loraine had just passed away. Loraine had been very ill, suffering from a horrid degenerative nervous system disorder with no known cause and no known cure that left her essentially in a vegetative state. Despite knowing her days were coming to an end, her passing left me rather devastated. I started to wonder whether or not I should go out of town given the circumstances. My family encouraged me to travel to NAMM anyway, and I'm glad they did. The comaraderie I shared with my friends, and the new friends that I made were a welcome distraction from the shock of the loss of my aunt and the fear that my niece may have to start her treatment protocol all over, and allowed me to focus my positive energy on aiding my family through our grief and supporting my niece in her healing.

So, just before 9pm, my beautiful, brilliant, talented, inspiring friends (Janice, Sundra and Maya) picked me up, expressed their condolences and we hit the road. There were 4 of us piano playing ladies in an SUV, cruising down Interstate 5, taking turns playing our iPods and singing along with our favorite tunes. We listened to everything from EWF and Minnie Riperton to Imogen Heap and Chrisette Michele to Take 6 and Kim Burrell. That's how you stay awake for a long drive!

We arrived in Anaheim at 4am and slept until noon. We arrived at the Anaheim Convention Center around 2pm, and almost immediately were introduced to George Benson, thanks to Showboat Shavers! Showboat then took us around and introduced us to several vendors before we took off on our own, exploring the sights of the show.

We heard about a Marcus Miller demo at the Fender booth, but even showing up 30 minutes early wasn't enough. We couldn't get in. We could hear Marcus on the bass, couldn't hear Bobby Sparks on keys at all. Oh well.

Before we knew it, it was 6pm, and we had to find something to do. We went to dinner with Showboat and the kind people at SE Electronics. We filled up on yummy Italian food, family style, at a local restaurant. Then we were off to find some music to listen to. We went to a jam session hosted by the amazing Byron Miller, and sat at a table with the amazing Nate Watts, Morris O'Connor and Herman Jackson! Herman has played keys with Stevie Wonder for years and is a literal repository of information about playing Stevie tunes. And he's a great guy. Byron invited the guys up to the stage to play a couple of Stevie tunes and Herman invited me to join them, since there were 2 keyboards onstage. The amazing (I never tire of labeling the musicians I encountered as "amazing". They were all superlative! But to avoid redundancy, I'll stop using the term; just assume everyone I mention is AMAZING!) Kenneth Crouch allowed me to use his keyboard on stage right. We played "I Wish" and "Part-time Lovers". Everyone took a solo in "I Wish", even me! I had so much fun!

After the jam session, and a brief walk around to hear other music, we retired to our hotel and went to sleep...for 10 hours! We got to the venue around 1pm..late again! Argh... At one booth, we came across drummer David "Fingers" Haynes. David was performing with my friends Victor Little, Randy Emata and Tony Lindsay. I'd seen David's videos on YouTube but to watch him play on his drum machine in person was astounding. Of course the other folks in the band sounded great too (I don't think it's possible for Tony to ever hit a bad note!). Inspired, Sundra, Maya and I walked over to the Nord booth, and sat down at their keyboard setup, which was conveniently set up so that all three of us could play together. Within 60 seconds, a crowd had gathered around us and we were having a blast! But, alas, it's a trade show, and another booth was trying to do a demo, and asked us to stop so that we wouldn't be such a distraction. Boo hoo...at least we tried to get a piano jam going!

Next on our Saturday agenda was to attend a private showing of Logic's Main Stage application by none other than piano deity Herbie Hancock. Many thanks to Dot for inviting us! We walked in and sat with my friend Grandmixer DXT and my new friends Myron McKinley and Kenneth Crouch. Herbie was performing with Lionel Loueke, a guitarist and singer from Benin. After Apple Product Manager, Bob Hunt, introduced the software, Herbie started playing one of his classic tunes in a simple and straight forward manner. Then all of a sudden, amidst all of the simplicity, Herbie played a single melodic line that sounded as if it were eminating directly from the voice of God. And we were all filled with the spirit! Hallelujah! Herbie and Lionel went forth (as much as possible between interruptions for product promotion) and blessed us with their music. Ah, music euphoria...

At this point, we were walking on air, but were also starving. For some reason, trade shows always make me forget about food, until the end of the day when my grouchy hunger monster takes me over! As we patiently waited for our friends to finish their conversations in the hallway after NAMM ended, supressing the hunger in our bellies, my boss, Stevie Wonder, walked by. Of course, I had to stop and say hello since I hadn't seen him in a month. As he gave me an affectionate hug, people snapped photos like Paparazzi! It was good to see the boss again. Right after he left, I met Sheila E. I've known her brothers Juan and Peter Michael for years, but this was my first time meeting her.

After dinner, our dining companions were tired and decided to head to their hotel. Maya and I still had energy, so we wandered around trying to find something to do. We happened upon our new friend David Haynes and spent the next few hours talking about music and learning his drum technique. David assigned us a fun rhythm exercise: tap 4 in one hand, but only on beats 2 and 4, and tap 5 in the other, but only on beats 1 and 3. That was cool, and made me want to take drum lessons! I've always wanted to play drums and violin. One day...

Sunday. We have every intention of getting up early, arriving at the venue when it opens at 10am, going straight to the piano room and having a SERIOUS piano jam....well, we got up at 11:30am, got dressed and got to the venue at 1pm. Oh well. At the venue, we tried to visit the remaining keyboard booths to meet with manufacturers about their products. I had a custom in-ear monitor fitting, ran into my beautiful friends Kimberly and LaTanya (from the Stevie Wonder Tours) and caught up with Showboat. I was determined to find time to get to the piano room, but then found out Stevie was at the show again. I wanted Maya to meet him, so we ran over and chased him down. Once he realized who I was, Stevie invited me and Maya to check out some music gear with him. It was great! Maya got to meet him and we both got to watch him be creative with new gear! By this time, the show was over. We closed out the show hanging out with Stevie and entourage. What a fantastic weekend!

Greetings and blessings to all of my friends (old and new) that made the weekend such a wonderful experience:
Altoris Martinez
Bobby Sparks
Bray Guarnari
Brig Carr
Byron Miller
David Haynes
David Mora
Doctor Fink
Don Braden
Dot Bustelo
Francis Mandin
Gary Ciocci
Grandmixer DXT
Herbie Hancock
Ian Fisher
Jack Knight
Janice Maxie-Reid
Jessica Starr
Joey Fabian
John Amstadter
Kaila Sampson
Keb Mo
Kenneth Crouch
Kevin "Big Daddy Funk" Jefferson
Kim Denison
Kimberly Brewer
Larry Houston
LaTanya Marble
Les Cleveland
Lil' John Roberts
Lynette Williams
Lynn of Heaven Productions Music
Marcus Miller
Mark Wilder
Maya Kronfeld
Michele Aristy
Morris Hayes
Myron Chandler
Ndugu Chancler
NewWorldSon
Nick Smith
Patricia Diaz
Randy Emata
Randy Fuchs
Ray Chew
Rich Simmons
Rob Arbittier
Ryan Shaw
Sebastian Wheat
Sheila E
Showboat Shavers
Stevie Wonder
Sundra Manning
Verdine White
Vernon Clark
Victor Little

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hello friends,

It is once again Thanksgiving and I feel compelled to express thanks for my many blessings. I am humbled by the abundance of grace that has been poured forth into my life. At the moment, I am most grateful for (1) the fact that my beautiful 5 year old niece is surviving leukemia and (2) for the opportunity to perform with the phenomenal Stevie Wonder, both of whom inspire and compel me to be my best!

NAOMI

My niece is beating the odds! Despite a very difficult and challenging course of treatment, Naomi is giving us every reason to believe that she will survive and, through her strength, continue being an inspiration to me and to everyone who meets her. She endured a particularly difficult chemotherapy session this past Monday (including 8 unsuccessful attempts at inserting an IV), and yet, today is filled with her usual irrepressible joy. She is, without doubt, one of the bravest people I know. Her strength belies her mere 5 years.

STEVIE WONDER

In August, I was hired to perform with one of the greatest artists of all time, Stevie Wonder. I could not have asked for better! Stevie Wonder is, as you know, a genius, and, through his creativity, talent and humanitarian spirit, an inspiration. On his example, I spend several hours per day while on tour in my hotel room practicing, creating, expanding as a musician. I've had the honor to accompany Stevie Wonder (just me and him on "If It's Magic"!) several times in concert, and even played the grand piano in Madison Square Garden on November 17, 2007, as Stevie Wonder and Tony Bennett sang "For Once In My Life"! Wow!! I am truly living a dream and am filled with gratitude for having been given this opportunity. Every member of the Stevie Wonder team has welcomed me, and has been professional, warm and encouraging. It is a beautiful experience. I am grateful for them all.

I pray that each of you be filled with the spirit of gratitude and joy, and that love envelopes you this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Victoria Theodore

Pianist<

Music, art, education, well-being, compassion, peace and joy!

Marcus Shelby Residency at Jazz at Pearl’s

Tonight, for the first time, I went to a concert at Jazz at Pearl's in San Francisco. A friend had been telling me about a certain incredible bassist for a while, and I finally had time to go to a concert. The bassist is Marcus Shelby, and he was joined by Jeff Marrs (drums), Matt Clark (piano) and Evan Francis (sax, flute). What a fun night of music! The band started at 10pm with "Stablemates", a tune by Benny Golson and then moved into a lovely version of Night and Day by Cole Porter. I LOOOOOVED what Matt was playing on this tune. His melodic lines, chords, harmonic choices, and rhythmic variation made me come home and practice after the show! He was great.

Around 11pm, the band was expanded by Mike Olmos (Trumpet), Adam Shulman (piano) and Howard Wiley (sax). Mike jumped right in and showed why he tours with Etta James! Evan and Adam had solos that were fluid and full of great musical ideas. Once Howard got to the stage, they ripped into an Ellington Blues (don't remember the name of it... I'm trying to get better with remembering names!) Howard was AWESOME!!!!!! His solo was so expressive and free. I felt like I was in church! He made me want to jump up and play too! But, really, it was lovely to just sit and enjoy music. That's a rarity for me.

Marcus and Jeff were solid all night. Both played without frills; just the perfect subtext for the solo instruments to soar and play. Marcus and his band are in residency at Jazz at Pearl's every Tuesday this month. I recommend checking them out!

Oakland Symphony Chorus "Sing-In"

Tonight I performed with Susan Swerdlow at the Oakland Symphony Chorus "Sing-In". Susan conducted around 60 singers in a sight read performance of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Schubert's Mass in G (which I learned he composed at the ripe old age of 17!). The night was incredibly successful! The music is so beautiful and many of the singers present had sung both pieces before, which made it easy to do at least some justice to the works. I received rave reviews from the crowd, who were all duly impressed by my attempts at emulating an orchestra on the piano (don't you just hate orchestral reductions?? I do! Lol) Nonetheless, I had a great time, felt extremely strong on the piano, and felt highly expressive.

Several audience members asked where I was performing next (by which I'm sure they meant where would I be playing more classical piano). Of course I told them about my wildly diverse freelance performances (this week alone has classical, gospel, jazz and R&B gigs…phew!), but I immediately thought about the fact that I have not performed a classical recital in more years than I'd care to admit. I had wanted to do a recital this year, but I think it will be smarter to aim at 2008. There are so many wonderful pieces I'd love to perform (Rachmaninoff Etudes, Chopin Preludes, Scherzos and Ballades, Prokofiev Sonata 7, Ravel Jeux d'eau, etc.) One step at a time. At least I'm finally practicing again! Tonight's success was a direct result and evidence of that! : >

I Met Patrice Rushen!

Tonight I had the honor of hearing and meeting the legendary Patrice Rushen!













She is performing all week at Yoshi's with Christian McBride, Dave Ellis and DJ Jahi Sundance. The show was incredible! They're playing through Sunday, so if you get a chance, I highly recommend you check it out!

The music is fully improvised and SUPER funky! Patrice played beautifully. Her rhythmic ideas, technical prowess and soulfulness kept me and my fellow pianists (the raucous Rushen cheering section) on the edge of our seats! The music was purely organic in its ebb and flow, wandering from church romp to hip hop groove to esoteric jazz with sprinkles of electronica. I, for one, had a hard time keeping still in my seat.

Once again, I'm truly inspired, and despite my exhaustion am about to put in some more practice time tonight before passing out.

15 hours of practice this week!!! Yippeee!!!!

I did it!!!! 15 hours of practice this week! Phew! It was tough, given the hectic nature of the week, but I set my intention to not miss another opportunity to meet an important goal, and I succeeded! I always notice IMMEDIATELY how much stronger my playing is when I practice consistently. I'm going for it again this week!

I am still relearning the Rachmaninoff Etude in Eb minor, and it felt GREAT tonight! It's amazing how much freedom is gained when the notes are in hand thanks to repetition.

I've been trying to figure out why I've had such a hard time implementing a serious practice regiment. I practiced 6-8 hours per day in college, but have had the hardest time practicing even 1-2 hours in a week as a professional (embarrassing, but true. I play all the time, but practice is an entirely different matter). In any case, I did it this week! : > Next on my goal list is to get back to writing. Would be nice to get over that hindrance as well!

I'm exhausted...lol

Broadway Revue

Tonight I performed in a Broadway Revue, which served as the entertainment for a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity. The night was filled with musical theater favorites of the very talented and dedicated Romar DeClaro. There was a quartet of great singers (Romar, CJ Blankenship, Lorraine De Arco and Julianne Thompson) and a small band (Me, Tommie Bradford - drums, Jonathan Bretan - bass) supporting everyone. We had some sound and lighting challenges, but overall the evening went very well.

The evening started with a short video of a family who'd recently been given the opportunity to own a home as a direct result of the good work of Habitat for Humanity. After the video, the mayor of Pleasanton, Jennifer Hosterman, made a brief statement encouraging those in the audience to donate more to the worthy cause being celebrated.

I opened the musical portion of the show with an overture that I created from the main themes of several of the more popular songs to be sung. Romar served as the musical host and entertained the crowd with his hilarious wit, immense charm and beautiful voice. Each of the singers brought down the house in turn: CJ with "Impossible Dream", Lorraine with "Don Juan", Julianne with "I Could Have Danced All Night" and Romar with "Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" from Jesus Christ Superstar.

All in all it was a wonderful evening.

Romar was hoping to raise at least $10,000. You can also contribute directly at Habitat for Humanity.

MUSIC IN AUSTRIA TOUR 2007 - Part I

Wow!  I had a great time touring in Austria and Switzerland!  I’m a staff pianist at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and was asked to join the church’s Chancel Choir on the farewell tour with long time music director, Doug Lawrence.  I was utterly thrilled at the opportunity that I’d have to play and sing in some historic and beautiful sacred spaces.

I arrived at the SF International Airport Monday morning, June 18, at 11am.  Several choir members were already there, including my assigned roommate, Brenda, and her aunt and uncle.  They were what we referred to as “choir groupies”, people who don’t sing with the choir but provide the BEST enthusiasm and applause during the concerts!  The tour directors could not have chosen a better roommate for me!  Brenda is energetic, adorable, friendly, spunky, brilliant, beautiful and fun!  Furthermore, she’s an experienced traveler and sleeps quietly!  All good! lol  The choir members and choir groupies, 82 people in total, were divided into two groups: Blue and Red.  I was assigned to the Blue group, which included our fearless leader, Doug and his family.

We all boarded the Lufthansa airplane and took off for Frankfurt.  During the flight, I intermittently watched and slept through 3 movies: Catch and Release, Freedom Writers (my kind of movie; I love that inspirational, real life, positive kind of movie) and Music and Lyrics.  As usual, I chose the vegan meals in-flight.  I have found that the vegan meal is generally more tasty and edible than the standard fare.

On Tuesday, 6/19/07, we arrived at the Frankfurt airport.  It’s not exactly aesthetically pleasing.  It was ugly and smelled bad.  But we weren’t there long.  We boarded a pretty new plane (yes, that’s my description; don’t ask me what type of plane it was), which I didn’t appreciate for long because I passed out again.  I, thankfully, have no trouble at all sleeping on airplanes. 

After a couple of hours, we landed in Munich (a very nice, clean airport).  We boarded a tour bus and drove from the Munich Airport to Castle Neuschwanstein in Bayern.  I have never in my life suffered as much from intense heat as I did during that drive.  It was a hot, sunny day and the bus that the Blue group was assigned had no air conditioning AND the windows barely opened.  We were nearly suffocating on that bus.  We couldn’t get to the castle soon enough. 

The castle was built for King Ludwig II (also know as Mad King Ludwig), and is incredibly beautiful.  In fact, it’s the inspiration for the Cinderella’s Castle at Disneyland.  As we toured the castle, Doug decided to have the choir sing in the Throne Room.  I gave the pitch on the pitch pipe and we began to sing one of the pieces of our repertoire (“Sing and Rejoice” I believe).  The acoustics in the room were stunning!  We sounded so good that we all broke into smiles immediately!  After leaving the castle, it was back onto the HOT bus for the ride to our hotel in Salzburg.  Upon arriving at the hotel, I had dinner and quickly passed out!

On Wednesday, 6/20/07, I woke up, practiced yoga in the hotel gym, ate breakfast, dressed and headed with the group to downtown Salzburg.  We met our very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide, Inga, and toured several notable locations: Mirabelle Gardens (simply beautiful), the old town, St. Peter’s Cloisters, Salzburg Dom and courtyard, and Mozart’s birth home, to name a few.  It was quite sobering to walk on cobblestones in the old town and realize that people had traversed those actual stones for hundreds of years; perhaps even Mozart himself!  The city of Salzburg is beautiful, very clean and full of botanical sights. 

Once our tour guide finished the city tour, we were free to explore the city on our own for a couple of hours before heading back to the hotel to dress for the night’s event: dinner and a concert at the St. Peterskeller, one of the oldest restaurants in Europe (serving since circa 800 AD)!  The food was decent, but the concert was lots of fun.  A few students from the local conservatory performed scenes from a couple of Mozart operas.  I was even serenaded by Don Giovanni, who bent before me on one knee as I blushed!

Accompanying Sopranos

This past weekend, The National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) held it's regional conference in Oakland, CA, and asked me to perform and accompany on two occasions.

On Friday night, April 27, 2007, I performed with the wonderful Jeannine Anderson. She chose 2 pieces, Senza mamma from Puccini's Suor Angelica and an arrangement of the spiritual "Witness" arranged by Hale Smith, in that order. Both were riveting performances. Jeannine explained the scene from Suor Angelica, the torment of the lead character, who had been living in a cloistered convent (punishment for having had a child out of wedlock) upon learning of the death of her child six months after the fact. It is a very difficult and moving role to perform.

Hale Smith's arrangement of "Witness" is wonderful; full of angular rhythms and lush, jazz influenced chords. I had so much fun accompanying Jeannine for both pieces!

On Sunday afternoon, April 29, 2007, NANM held their annual spirituals concert. Normally, the concert is packed with numerous attendees, including fans, patrons, other musicians, etc. However, this year the audience was relatively small, though enthusiastic, thanks to the disastrous tanker accident that destroyed part of a major freeway system in the Bay Area that same morning. Nonetheless, we performers gave our all!

I performed my own arrangements of a pair of spirituals: "Heav'n, Heav'n" and "Ain't Gon' Study War No Mo'", which were both very well received. Despite my exhaustion at having played for 3 church services that morning, and having rehearsed before the concert with the sopranos I was to accompany (oh, and did I mention teaching on Saturday 9-2 and then playing another church service that afternoon, and then practicing until midnight!?!), I played with joy and energy. It was easy to use the knowledge of the origin of the spirituals to motivate me to bring my best to the music.

I accompanied Yolanda Harden on improvised arrangements of "Were You There" and "Hold On". Yolanda did a great job, and audience loved both pieces! Finally, I accompanied Hope Briggs on Roland Carter's arrangement of "Is There Anybody Here" and Margaret Bonds' "He's Got The Whole World In His Hand". Hope was wonderful and will be featured this summer in the San Francisco Opera's production of Don Giovanni, singing the role of Donna Anna.

I love accompanying great artists! I'm so grateful for the opportunity and look forward to doing more!

Kurt Elling at Yoshi's in Oakland

Tonight I saw Kurt Elling perform for the first time. He appeared at Yoshi's with his usual collaborator, Laurence Hobgood, on piano, Rob Amster on bass and Willie Jones on drums. Kurt is a GREAT showman, engaging, witty, funny, and extremely talented. Laurence demonstrated his classical training in his solos, which were in turn soulful, swinging and virtuosic. I heard intimations of Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Ravel and even Bach in some places. Rob played with immense sensitivity and Willie played with such energy and had such great timing it was near impossible to sit still while listening (well, completely impossible in my case!). Here I am with Kurt and Laurence, unfortunately captured with my eyes closed on my less than great camera phone!

SFNoir 6th Annual Black History Month Celebration 2007

On Thursday, February 22, 2007, I performed with Angela Dean-Baham at the SFNoir 6th Annual Black History Month Celebration 2007. We performed the Cantata by John Carter, a rigorously energetic and challenging piece, based on several African American Spirituals. We did a great job, though I had to work hard to get the last movement of the piece, the Toccata. Angela had the Toccata transposed to a higher key, and the fast passed notes and chords didn't sit as well in the hands, so to speak! Nonetheless, we pulled it off to an enthusiastic response from the audience.

Teacher evaluation

Hello students,

You can post your anonymous comments and suggestions here!

Thanks,

Victoria

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Tonight I performed at Hotel Nikko with the Jeanette Harris Band. As always, Jeanette, Mike and Patrick were GREAT!

Jeanette plays with tons of soul and has a consistently lovely tone. Mike and Patrick are always solid and in constant communication, so as to make the gig an absolute pleasure.

I played well, using my A-37 keyboard and a sound module. I'm glad I was able to get in over 9 hours of practice this week, but I'm still striving to find a way to make 15 hours my standard practice commitment (perfectionist that I am). I'm trying some new strategies in 2007.

My beautiful mother was my date for the evening. She was resplendent in a gold 2 piece gown and (faux) fur stole. I wore my lovely black gown with rhinestones :


After the performance, I danced (solo, as I am wont to do!) for nearly an hour before changing and packing up my gear.

I think my level of my fatigue is finally catching up with me. After a long holiday season of consecutive gigs, rehearsals, church services, piano students, school concerts, recitals, etc., I'm ready for a (short) break!

If I am to make any New Year resolutions, they would be these:
1. To be the best I am able to be
2. To practice 15 hours per week
3. To get adequate sleep
4. To find more time for fun, friends and family
5. To continue being fabulous!

Performing with Jeanette was a great way to say goodbye to 2006 and welcome 2007! I have a most positive attitude and am determined to find the silver lining in any clouds that may appear, and remain open to receiving each blessing that is coming my way!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2006 has been an incredible year! I’ve experienced some near devastating lows (most particularly, the diagnosis of my dear niece Naomi with Leukemia), but overall it’s been a year filled with extraordinary highs! Here's a basic summary of my musical year:

January:

The year started with a lovely trip to San Diego. I needed a break and decided to get away on my own. I stayed in a cute, little boutique hotel (Bristol Hotel San Diego). I had a great time visiting Sea World and hanging out with a few friends. The weather was gorgeous.

February:

My music was featured in a film on Showtime TV (“Jumping The Broom”).
I was interviewed and broadcast on the make-over program “What Not To Wear”, which aired on TLC.

March:

I recorded a demo with my friend Elaine Romanelli.

April:

Naomi was diagnosed with Leukemia. Though she must deal with the difficulty of chemotherapy, Naomi’s prognosis is excellent and we expect a full recovery!

May:

I performed with the Oakland Opera in X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, by Anthony Davis. The music was challenging and required every bit of my sight reading and improvisatory skills. It’s being staged again in 2007 in another venue. More about that soon!

June:

I had the opportunity to audience for Beyonce. Despite not being hired, I’m practicing more than ever as a result of the disappointment, and am expecting my career to take off in a big way in 2006 as a result!
I met and played for India Arie!

July:

I was a substitute pianist for Teatro ZinZanni in San Francisco. I had a great time playing piano, camping it up in my sexy ingenue wardrobe!

August:

I was filmed in a Keith Urban music video! Only for a couple of seconds, but I’m there! lol
I performed in New York City for the first time and had a BLAST! I played at the Cutting Room, and the audience was packed full of record industry executives.

September:

I celebrated my birthday with friends and family.

October:

Naomi's fundraiser, held at the Emeryville Cold Stone Creamery, was a great success! We had a great turn out raised funds and awareness for Naomi and for Leukemia.

November:

I went to LA to celebrate my cousin’s birthday and the party was crashed by Britney Spears and Paris Hilton!

December:

The busiest month of the year. I’ve had all manner of performances, as an accompanist and soloist. Some musical theater, choral, spirituals, gospel, R&B and of course classical! Check out my 2006 calendar for an idea of the range of my performances.

On a personal note, I’m in the best shape of my life! My life is filled with family and friends who encourage, support, love and inspire me. My pets are the best doggies on the planet! (Ok, I'm biased!) I am grateful to all of the people who help me stay strong, fit, energetic and looking great! I highly recommend my trainers at Ice Chamber, my yoga teachers at Hot Box Yoga, my aesthetician Maisha of Skin by Maisha. They all keep me on my toes and I love the results!

I am blessed beyond measure, and am grateful for the gifts I am able to offer as a pianist, teacher, woman and friend.

May this season remind you of all that is beautiful in your life. Here’s to the best year yet for me and for each of you: 2007!

Abundant blessings and peace to you,

Victoria

Tilly Key at Maxwell’s

Last night I performed with Tilly Key at Maxwell’s in Oakland. The band consisted of some of my favorite local musicians: Troy Lampkins (bass), Dante McClinton (drums) and Ken Harrill (guitar). The show went well, despite my having had a headache all day and feeling utterly exhausted. Somehow, my energy came up to do the show. Tilly’s got some great new songs, and the audience reaction was strong. So much so that they wanted to hear her single twice in a row!

In the second set, Bay Area legend D'Wayne Wiggins joined us onstage to perform Tilly’s song “It’s Up To Me”, a rock-influenced ode to self-determination. Dwayne also brought his talented sax player Rodney to the show, who played on several tunes with us. It was a fun night!

Recital with Lauren Michelle Criddle

Tonight I had the pleasure of accompanying soon-to-be-superstar soprano, Lauren Michelle Criddle. The recital went exceptionally well, especially considering that we'd only met 2 weeks ago! The program included a range of musical styles, from aria to lieder to spirituals, Christmas songs and pop tunes.

Program:

• Exultate Jubilate: "Tu virginum" and "Alleluja" - W. A. Mozart


• Nacht und Träume - F. Schubert


• Wir Wandelten - J. Brahms


• Morgen! - R. Strauss


• I Wonder As I Wander - J. Niles


• City Called Heaven - H. Johnson


• Eccomi in lieta vesta...Oh! quante volte - V. Bellini


• Oh! mio babbino caro - G. Puccini

Ms. Criddle is an incredibly talented, charming, engaging young woman. In addition to all of that, she's so beautiful that she could vie for "America's Next Top Model" and win! I am so grateful to her cousin, Luqman Frank, for recommending me to accompany her. Luq also performed on the program, two very heartfelt and expressive renditions of Stevie Wonder's "If It's Magic" (accompanied by Shannon, a talented 13 year old harpist) and "Visions". Luq and Lauren also sang an beautiful medley of "Silent Night" and John Lennon's "Imagine". Lauren's brother Taylor also performed 3 classical guitar pieces. What a talented family!

I enjoyed myself tremendously tonight. Lauren allowed me the space to freely improvise on the contemporary pieces, and chose pieces which allowed me to indulge myself pianistically, while still providing her support as a singer. I look forward to accompanying Lauren in premier venues around the world. She's a graduate of Julliard and has already performed at Carnegie Hall. I'm quite certain her future will be stellar. She's awesome.

Gig with Jeanette Harris

Tonight I played at Shanghai 1930 in Downtown San Francisco with sax player Jeanette Harris and her band (drummer Mike Harris and bassist Patrick Olvera). Jeanette and met a few months ago in line at the Beyonce audition (she didn't get hired either...oh well!) Here's the comment I left on her myspace page:

Hi Jeanette,

I had a GREAT time performing with you, Mike and Patrick last night. You guys are awesome! Mike and Patrick held it down, allowing me to playing freely, to be expressive and creative. They were EXACTLY what a pianist hopes for in a complete rhythm section. And you, my dear...WOW! You play with such passion, musicality and love! Your playing is an inspiration. I can't wait to play with you again on New Year's Eve!

Have a great show in LA and see you in a couple of weeks!

She will be releasing a new CD in 2007. Keep your eyes on this rising star!

Brush with celebrity

Last Friday, 11/24/06, the day after Thanksgiving, I went to Los Angeles with a group of family and friends to celebrate my cousin's 35th birthday. We had a FABULOUS time! After having a delicious dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse, where I had an excellent Chilean Sea Bass, and an array of delicious appetizers and side dishes, we went to Club Les Deux , an exclusive Hollywood hot spot. At Club Les Deux, the group of us (19 strong) danced to a wild mix of current hip-hop, nostalgic 80s tunes and 90s light pop. The DJ left much to be desired, as there was ABSOLUTELY no flow between the songs, but we managed to have a good time anyway.

What was most eventful, though, was that our party was crashed by two of the biggest celebrities in the world! At around 1am, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears ran into our private room (positioned above the main dance area) and started dancing with us. Unfortunately, they also started smoking immediately .. really strong, smelly cigarettes. I say unfortunate because the room was filled with non-smokers. So, despite the excitement of having these two very famous, wealthy and successful women in our presence, we were all rather put off by the cigarette smoking. Nonetheless, we continued dancing until around 2am, at which time we all left. Subsequently, we heard that there were radio broadcasts stating that Paris and Britney crashed a private party and drove out all the partygoers. Just to be clear, we left because we were all exhausted from a long day of frivolity and indulgence. We didn't leave because Paris and Britney crashed our party! In fact, I should have commiserated with both of them regarding hiring me as a musician for their musical projects! But, it wasn't the place or time. I just wish I'd had the presence of mind to at least take a photo with them. Oh well! Next time!

Passing Strange

I went to see the play / musical Passing Strange at the Berkeley Rep. My aim in going was to support my incredibly talented, brilliant and beautiful friend Eisa Davis, who plays the role of the Mother in the story. However, I was literally blown away by how fantastic the show is. Written by the amazingly talented singer/playwrite/musician, Stew, the play tells the story of a young man as he discovers himself. The story is told through some great songs, hilarious dialouge, and contemplative narrative from Stew. I laughed so hard that I had to keep wiping back tears. Passing Strange is one of the best plays I've seen in a while. If you have the chance to see it, don't miss the opportunity!

Keith Urban "Once in a Lifetime" Music Video

Ok, this wasn't a music gig. I was hired as a model for this one. I didn't end up totally on the cutting room floor. If you look really close, and don't blink, you'll see me walking in the background! lol I'm wearing a black top, my hair is curly and hanging down, sunglasses atop my head. They *almost* had a scene with my full face. They just show 1/2 of my face for about .05 seconds!

Enjoy!

Keith Urban's "Once in a Lifetime" Music Video

I don't have the exact time codes for when I appear, but using my stop watch, I came up with these!

1. 0:9.85 The starring couple is standing looking at a painting (facing the camera) and I walk behind them, a blond man trailing just behind me. Keith Urban is humming.

2. 0:32.38 The starring couple is facing one another, with the female placing her hand on the male's chest. Keith Urban sings "it's a long shot, baby".

3. 3:58.37 The starring couple is looking into each others eyes, as if about to kiss. I'm hugging a guy, but you can only see the outline of my hair. It's a VERY short shot! lol Keith Urban sings " never giving up".