LIVE at Piedmont Piano Company
Sharmila G. Lash & Friends
Music for, by, and about Women
Sharmila G. Lash returns after 3 years with her “Music for, by, and about Women” project, presenting a set of chamber vocal ensemble pieces, with Yuhi Aizawa Combatti, Cecilia Lam, Colby Smith, and Amy Fogerson, followed by a set of jazz tunes accompanied by Anne Sajdera (piano), Peter Barshay (bass), and Jayla Hernández (drums). They will present music by Melissa Dunphy, Reena Esmail, Mary Lou Williams, and more. With a very special guest!
**A portion of ticket proceeds will be donated to Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.**
$25 General Admission
We are offering a limited number of tickets to attend this performance in person. Advance purchase is required. COVID-19 SAFETY: All ticket holders must show proof of full vaccination (including a booster, if eligible) and wear a mask while inside the piano store.
SHARMILA G. LASH
Sharmila G. Lash is an active performer in both jazz and classical settings. She is a private voice instructor, works as a session singer for film and television, and is a regular chorister with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Sharmila began her music studies with piano lessons at age six and singing lessons at age eleven. She was a music student at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and continued on to study classical voice at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she discovered her passion for jazz. She has shared the stage with Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Michael Tilson Thomas, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, Carmen Lundy, Don Shelton, and many others, including some of the top local jazz musicians in both Northern and Southern California. When she isn't traveling for gigs, she manages The Studios at Piedmont Piano Company. sharmilaguhalash.com
YUHI AIZAWA COMBATTI
Yuhi Aizawa Combatti, a Japan-native soprano, is recognized for her clear timbre and keen musicianship in repertoire ranging from Renaissance to Contemporary. Yuhi has performed with orchestras and chamber ensembles in the United States and Japan including the Kronos Quartet, the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Berkeley Symphony. A passionate advocate of new music, Yuhi was a featured soloist for the West Coast premiere of Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia with UC Davis Orchestra and has enjoyed premiering works by a multitude of composers including Melissa Dunphy, Ted Hearne, and LJ White as a member of Volti. She made her operatic debut at Spoleto Festival U.S.A in the North American premiere of Braunfels’s Die Vogel. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Westminster Choir College. When not singing, Yuhi enjoys cooking and eating cuisines from all around the world, and spending time with her partner Tegan and their two irresistible dogs: Tanuki and Ten.
CECILIA LAM
Cecilia Lam, a professional mezzo-soprano in the Bay Area, is so happy to be singing with their dear singer friends after years of pandemic distance. Currently they sing with Thrive Choir (learning by ear is hard!) and have previously sung with 21V, Volti, CappellaSF, Chalice Consort, and International Orange Chorale. They love singing everything from Bjork to Ella Fitzgerald to Benjamin Britten to Tomás Luis de Victoria. Other recent projects include their first solo recording project, developing their professional massage practice, clumsily and sloppily navigating community living with seven other crazy people, maintaining their daily Vipassana practice, and plumbing emotional depths and intimacy in close relationship.
COLBY SMITH
Colby Smith has had the privilege of performing across the United States with celebrated ensembles such as New York Philharmonic, Kronos Quartet, New Century Chamber Orchestra, and The Knights while at the Ojai Music Festival. Her interest in new music was sparked in 2008 while performing at the Spoleto Festival in Anthony Davis’ opera Amistad. As a member of Volti since 2012, she has continued to explore the complexity of new music and joy of collaborating with composers. A proud New Jersey native, Colby earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Westminster Choir College.
AMY FOGERSON
Mezzo-soprano Amy Fogerson appears regularly with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Her solo appearances include Steve Reich’s Tehillim at Lincoln Center, Louis Andriessen’s De Stijl with the LA Philharmonic, and the alto solos in Handel's Messiah in the first performance of the work at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Amy’s voice has appeared on more than 100 feature films, including recent releases Nightmare Alley and Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness, and she was a featured soloist in Season 4 of ABC’s A Million Little Things. She has worked with the non-profit organization Street Symphony since 2014, and has facilitated music-making events in Skid Row, LA County jails, and CA state prisons. As a poet, Amy has collaborated with composers Zanaida Robles and Reena Esmail for commissions by noted choral ensembles Vox Femina, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and Conspirare.
ANNE SAJDERA
A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, pianist/composer Anne Sajdera performs regularly in the Bay Area as a leader of her own ensembles and as a supporting player with such artists as Alexa Weber Morales and Terrence Brewer. Her first album, Azul (Bijuri Records, 2012), featured percussionist Airto Moreira. Sajdera’s second album, 2018’s New Year, features saxophonist Bob Mintzer, trumpeter Miroslav Hloucal and alto saxophonist Jan Feco. Sajdera has performed at the San Jose Jazz Festival, Fillmore Jazz Festival, The California Jazz Conservatory, Herbst Theater and SFJAZZ. Visit her online at annesajdera.com.
PETER BARSHAY
A veteran bassist who has established a strong reputation over the years from his sideman work on both the New York City and San Francisco Bay Area jazz scenes, Peter Barshay has performed with such jazz luminaries as Kenny Barron, Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Stitt, Kenny Werner, Shirley Horn, Woody Shaw, Pharoah Sanders, Blue Mitchell, Tony Williams, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano, Johnny Griffin, and Bobby McFerrin. Barshay’s numerous appearances at clubs and jazz festivals have taken him around the world, helping to establish his reputation as a solid, reliable bassist. Having soaked up a lifetime of sounds on both coasts -- everything from salsa and straight ahead to funk-fusion, avant garde and music derived from the Afro-Cuban and Brazilian traditions -- he brings a wealth of experience to the musical table.
JAYLA HERNÁNDEZ
Jayla Hernández embodies the sound of Oakland Soul infused with young artist just like herself. Jayla has different influences of Jazz Eras that embodies the strength of our Ancestors and opens up peoples soul to the beautiful essence of black music. Jayla has recently graduated in 2020 from Oakland School for the Arts and is currently pursuing her BA in Jazz Studies at San Francisco Conservatory of Music at the age of 20. While studying, Jayla has the pleasure of working with members from the SFJAZZ collective and many more known musicians. During her musical journey, Jayla has had the pleasure of working with various artists through the years and plans to continue that journey while planning and exploring the world of Black American Music.