In Singing Lessons: A Memoir of Love, Loss, Hope and Healing(c. 1998 p. 174) Judy Collins recalls looking for songs for an album project in 1976.
“After the death of her husband, Dick Fariña, Mimi Fariña, Joan Baez’s younger sister, had started a nonprofit organization in San Francisco called Bread & Roses, to provide free entertainment for people in homes, jails and hospitals in the Bay Area.She wrote the “Bread and Roses” melody to a poem by James Oppenheim and I recorded it, using a choir of voices in a church in New York.”
In her liner notes for the album, also titled Bread & Roses Judy said:“Songs come from many places, unexpectedly, amazingly.”She relayed how Mimi had sent her a copy of the “Bread and Roses” poem. She thought it so beautiful that she asked her to set it to music.Her sister Holly Ann then designed a Bread and Roses tapestry piece featuring a single rose and wove it using hand-dyed yarns which was then used as the art for the inside album cover.
Our Heart of Marin Award nominees for 2011: (left to right) Peter Merts, Tucky Pogue and Dick Miner.
On Thursday, January 5, 2012, at the 19th Annual Heart of Marin Awards in San Rafael, Bread & Roses board and staff honored three of our Marin volunteers: Peter Merts of San Rafael, Dick Miner of San Anselmo and Tucky Pogue from Ross. Peter and Dick were nominated as "Volunteer of the Year" and Tucky, for her "Excellence in Board Leadership."
Miss Kitty at Papermill Creek Children's Center, 10/17/2011. Video courtesy of Sharon Glenn.
Highly revered children's performer Miss Kitty shows the way to connect with Bread & Roses' younger audiences. At a recent concert for children at Papermill Creek pre-school at Pt. Reyes Station, she was a big hit with over twenty children many of whom were from the Head Start program in West Marin.
A professional entertainer for three decades, Miss Kitty (aka Judy Nee) has been a volunteer performer for Bread & Roses for 13 years. Judy is a real master of her craft knowing exactly how to vary the tempo of her songs for children and to keep her programs interactive. She spoke recently about the secret to her success in connecting with children everywhere:
"I look them in the eyes, find out their names, and respond to them as individuals."
About 1/3 of Bread & Roses current program service is dedicated to concerts for children and youth throughout the Bay Area. Many of our volunteer entertainers for children are like Miss Kitty: performers who sang in rock and roll bands before doing music for children.
Judy has a number of recordings for children including My Miss Kitty: Sweet & Simple - Most Requested Toddler Sing Along Songs and Just Because You're You which was produced by the late Jim Rothermel, another beloved Bread & Roses performer.
Many of our performers for both institutional and benefit concerts for Bread & Roses have recordings for children including Maria Muldaur's Barnyard Dance: Jug Band Music for Kids and Animal Crackers in My Soup. Keb Mo's Big Wide Grin features songs from his own childhood along with some originals.
We are always on the lookout for more quality performers to do concerts for our youngest audiences. Please let us know if you might be able to help in this way - you can contact us by email at info@breadandroses.org or you can fill out an application on our volunteer page.
If you are already a Bread & Roses volunteer performer, please leave a comment below and share your experiences.
Michael Pritchard as Emcee at Bread & Roses Volunteer Celebration on August 28, 2011
For the past several years, Michael Pritchard has been Bread & Roses ambassador-at-large. As a comedian and motivational speaker, he helps us convey the heart of our work and inspires all to continue Mimi Farina's legacy of providing hope and healing through live music and the performing arts to those isolated in institutions who need it most. As emcee at our recent volunteer celebration at the Freight & Salvage, Michael reminded us that it is generosity of spirit that connects us and makes us happy.
Appearing in the new independent documentary The Happy Movie, Michael Pritchardhelps us understand how to measure happiness. Those of us who live in the Bay Area can see the film Friday September 30 & Saturday October 1 at 7 pm at The Rafael Film Center in San Rafael and afterwards hear Michael in a Q & A with Associate Producer Omid Heidari. The Happy Movie will be shown at The Rafael for six days only (through Oct. 5) so don't miss the opportunity to see it. It will also be screened on Monday Oct. 24 at 5:30 pm in Palo Alto as part of the United Nations Association Film Festival co-sponsored by the Stanford Film Society and the UNA Mid-Peninsula Chapter.
Budding jazz chanteuse Lucy Krakow is a featured “Whiz Kid” on this week’s Larkspur Corte Madera Patch. While at Redwood High School, Lucy was a volunteer performer for Bread & Roses who did concerts for three different facility audiences. An inventive jazz singer with her own distinctive style, Lucy is also a talented singer-songwriter as well as guitarist.
For her Bread & Roses shows, she brought her talents as a creative collaborator to the forefront by recruiting three musicians to perform with her. At Marin Services for Women (MSW) she performed original songs she co-wrote with Katie Hamilton who is now at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. At Aldersly in San Rafael, a residential community for seniors, she played jazz standards with saxophone player Jake Botts. At Our Common Ground, a rehab for teens in Redwood City, she performed in a charming and inspirational duet with her brother Roger.
Singer-songwriter/guitarist Audrey Auld has generously offered to donate all digital sales of her "Bread and Roses" song released on her new CD Come Find Me. She wrote the song in 2006 when she went into San Quentin to do a workshop for Bread & Roses. Since she was not allowed to bring in more than her guitar or give anything to the inmates when she went in, her song was her gift.
The song is now available for downloads through itunes and is included in Audrey's recent songbook "Write Out Loud." For more info, visit Audrey at www.recklessrecords.com.
Originally from Tasmania, Audrey met her husband while he was surfing on a beach in Australia. Since he was from Bolinas, he convinced her to move to the Bay Area where she volunteered for Bread & Roses. After they got married, they moved to Nashville where Audrey is currently based. Since she tours for most of the year, we are thrilled that Audrey will be back to do some additional concerts for Bread & Roses when she is in the area this fall.
