Biography
Jason will be the guest soloist at Saint Cyprian's church in San Francisco for Christmas Eve service 2009.
Soprano Victoria Varieur will also be a featured singer.
www.stcyprianssf.org
Katherine Bernitt, Musical Director and Organist
Thursday December 24th 2009 at 8 pm
All are welcome!
The audience sat spellbound throughout, responding to each number with cheers and applause. The main purpose of cabaret is to entertain, and that certainly was accomplished.
~ Cabaret Hotline, New York
"Jason has a wonderful variety of songs, awesome tonal quality and range, and emotive power to fill one's evening with a most memorable musical experience."
~Tom Fernandez, audience member
"Jason's voice expresses the warmth and open-heartedness of his personality. It is as though he is saying with every number, "Isn't this a beautiful song? I just had to share it with you." With so many other singers, they open their mouths and you wonder "where is that voice coming from?" With Jason, the sound, the song and the feeling come straight from the heart."
~Steve Savage, www.savagephoto.com
"Jason Emanuel Britton is a born showman. His obvious connection and love of the lyric is evident from the moment he comes before his audience to sing the words of an old standard or a contemporary tune that has touched him.
He is eager to SHARE that love with his assembled salon. He interprets each song with an eagerness and appreciation that is artful, skillful and contagious. Before too long, you are right there "with" him, truly "getting" what those beautiful words actually mean, hearing them for the "first time". He brings a new yet, very traditional feel of the CABARET experience. To say that he is the consummate performer could be a cliche, but it is truly the case! Don't miss experiencing his wonderfully generous spirit!"
~Richelle Lieberman, Chairman of Programs and Events, Bellevue Club www.bellevueclub.org
Baritone Jason Emanuel Britton performs lush and yet intimate arrangements of both classic and contemporary American songs by many famous and lesser known composers including Alec Wilder and William Engvick, George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Rome, Yip Harburg, Amanda McBroom, Stephen Sondheim, Ricky Ian Gordon, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and Duke Ellington, among others.
Jason Emanuel Britton performs regularly throughout the Bay Area. His latest show is titled 'Listen To Your Heart'. It debuted Oakland's elegant and historic Bellevue Club on Lake Merritt and toured to Silo's Jazz Club on the Napa River and then on to world famous 'Don't Tell Mama' nightclub near Times Square in New York City in July, 2009.
His show 'A step beyond the rain...' premiered at Martuni's in San Francisco to enthusiastic audiences and played the Berkeley City Club and the Metropolitan Club in Union Square, San Francisco.
Mr. Britton is a featured vocalist on the demonstration recording of 'Allegience', a new musical by Jay Kuo. Jason was also a featured singer in the San Francisco workshop performances of 'Homeland' by Mr. Kuo.
Jason Emanuel Britton was a lead performer in 'Pins and Needles,' a musical review by Harold Rome from the 1930's produced by Marcus Duskin and performed at La Pena Cultural Center and the SF Music Center.
His solo cabaret show 'Stairway to the Stars,' premiered at the Larkspur Cafe Theatre in 2006 featuring notable American tunes from the 1920's, 30's and 40's with musical direction by Frank Johnson.
In 2005 and 2006 he was featured singer, dancer and choreographer in 'It's About Time, Already!' starring Lua Hadar, which played the Empire Plush Room, Kelly's of Alameda, and The Larkspur Cafe Theatre to rave reviews.
In 2005, his solo cabaret show 'Putting It Together!' was presented at Kelly's of Alameda and at Martuni's in San Francisco. Later that year, Jason performed his show 'Finding Home' at the Trinity Chamber Concerts in Berkeley and at The White Barn in Saint Helena.
In 2004, he was asked to perform at the legendary Purple Onion nightclub as a part of the New Stars series developed by Kitchenette Productions.
His original song and dance shows 'All Jazzed Up!' and 'My Visions of the Valley' have been seen at The Napa Valley Museum, Western Sky in Berkeley, and at the Metro Theatre in Oakland.
Jason Emanuel Britton received his MFA from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and an MA in Creative Arts from San Francisco State Univeristy. Jason holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Sonoma State University. Mr. Britton has taught yoga, dance at UC Berkeley since 1998.
'Listen To Your Heart'
Biographies of Artists
Frank Johnson, Music Director
Frank Johnson earned degrees in performance and composition at Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. He has composed, arranged, written, produced, performed, conducted and stage directed opera, musical theater, orchestral concerts, chamber music and recitals, avant garde, jazz and cabaret, rock, modern dance, concert series, festivals and many public and private events. Among positions he has held are Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh Philharmonia, Executive Director of Music at Gretna, and General Director of Mississippi Opera. In the Bay Area, he has worked with Theatreworks, American Conservatory Theatre (including as faculty of their MFA program), Marin Theatre, Woodminster, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Pocket Opera and many others, and served as Assistant Conductor for "Beach Blanket Babylon." Compositions include score/sound design for a "Lord of the Flies," "The Importance of Being Earnest," "Romeo & Juliet," other stage works, songs, chamber and orchestral works, and electronic and media works.
Diane Grubbe, flutist, freelances in the San Francisco Bay Area, performing with Pocket Opera, Napa Valley Symphony, Golden Gate Opera, Lamplighters, Lyric Opera and others. Contemporary music performances include appearances with sfSound Group; the US premiere of John Wolf Brennan's solo flute piece, Drei ver-flix-te Stecke; and retrospective of Pauline Oliveros' work in which she performed Trio for Flute, Piano and Page Turner with Sarah Cahill and Monique Buzzart. As a member of Quinteto Latino, she performs in the San Francisco Symphony's "Adventures in Music" program. Quinteto Latino recently completed a residency collaborating with Mexican composer Jose Luis Hurtado and in 2009 will appear on Old First Concerts this September.
Instrumentation
Jason Emanuel Britton, vocals
Frank Johnson, pianist/arranger/musical director
Optional:
Flute, Bass, Drums, Horns
Discography
Jason will be recording new
material at Expression College
for Digital Arts in November 2009.
Links
| http://www.jasonemanuelbritton.com |
| Bellevue Club |
| Don't Tell Mama |
| Silo's Jazz Club |