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.
Not according to Frederica. There will be operatic elements, but Frederica's repertoire will more closely resemble an intimate classical recital. "It will be My Life in Song," she said when we posed the question to her. "I will be singing excerpts from Jake Heggie'sDead Man Walking, an aria from Werther, and a special song by John Musto titled, 'Litany,' which is based on Langston Hughes' poem 'Shadow of the Blues.' "
When asked why she chose to lend her talents in support of Bread & Roses, Frederica warmly responded by saying:
"People who are suffering, who are down and out, who are living in poverty, don't know that they are loved. Bread & Roses is about healing and helping them. We remind them that they are God's special creatures, even when the world tells them they're not."
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.
Bread & Roses hosted a community gathering at a special happy hour at The Tavern at Lark Creek on Thursday, September 8. On the side patio of this beautiful, historic restaurant in Larkspur, many people from diverse parts of our ever-expanding community gathered to share good cheer. With festive sangria, margaritas, wine and beer for sale to benefit Bread & Roses, we visited with each other under the redwood trees and enjoyed the lively folk-rock music of the talented Rant Brothers.
Susan Gilardi, Bread & Roses Board Chair Emeritus, first had the inspiration for the second annual event along with restaurant manager TJ Jacobberger and Bread & Roses Executive Director Cassandra Flipper. While Susan was helping to greet people, her husband Dennis Gilardi parked his 1922 Model T Ford in the driveway to draw attention to the event.
All fans of contemporary acoustic music -- join us this weekend at The 2011 Kate Wolf Festival at Wavy Gravy's Black Oak Ranch in Laytonville, CA. Kate Wolf helped to repopularize folk music in Northern CA in the 70's and was a nationally known singer-songwriter/guitarist who died in 1986.
Bread & Roses will have a table next to the good folks at the SEVA Foundation on the right close to the main stage. Bread & Roses performers, who are a part of the line-up include: Taj Mahal who headlines Friday night; Aaron Redner with Hot Buttered Rum; Corrine West and Kelly Joe Phelps; Americana finger-style guitarist Stevie Coyle along with many other wonderful musicians who can be seen throughout the weekend.
Long-time Bread & Roses supporter Joan Baez was honored on Friday March 18 by Amnesty International at the opening ceremony of its 50th annual convention at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco where she received the first annual "Joan Baez Award for Outstanding, Inspirational Service in the Global Fight for Human Rights."
Joan was honored for a lifetime of human rights advocacy work and for the inspiration she has given to like-minded artists and activists throughout the world. She and her sister, the late Mimi Fariña who founded Bread & Roses, were known as the "Peace & Justice" sisters for their dedication to various human rights causes. Joan famously marched arm in arm with Dr. Martin Luther King and has traveled around the world participating in human rights missions throughout her long career.
The JAM! Bread & Roses celebrates its volunteers at the annual recognition event.
On a recent sunny Sunday in August we gathered at the home of board member Toby Nady. Over 350 different individual performers and groups volunteer for Bread & Roses at any given time. Once a year we come together to honor everyone's contributions of time and talent throughout the year. Over 600 programs of live music and the performing arts are presented on a continuing basis to those who are isolated. Thanks to all who volunteer!
Bread & Roses enjoyed yet another fantastic event, a special Happy Hour Fundraiser at The Tavern at Lark Creek in Larkspur. We were thrilled with the number of people who turned out and are so grateful for this collaboration with The Tavern.
The setting was ideal... a balmy, summer evening in a beautiful venue with seating and service indoors and out; live music played from an outdoor stage among the redwood grove by our very own Kurt Huget and Jesse Lee Kincaid; refreshing drinks - custom recipes designed especially for Bread & Roses - mixed and served by our board members and staff; and best of all, a huge turnout of happy hour revelers, including so many of our supporters and friends old and new!
Celebrating 10 years in San Francisco, Teatro ZinZanni a not-for-profit theatre arts organization, is dedicated to invigorating broad and diverse live audiences through creative arts of all disciplines. Teatro ZinZanni is one of the only places in the world where more than a dozen international performers of the highest caliber are featured nightly. The show has joined the ranks of famed European clubs such as the Wintergarten and the Tigerpalast as a world-class showcase for the increasingly rare arts of the cirque. We are proud to celebrate our continued partnership with Bread & Roses and our shared goal of uplifting audiences through the arts.
So, is it opera?
