RHODESSA JONES
Rhodessa Jones is Co-Artistic Director of San Francisco’s acclaimed performance company, Cultural Odyssey, and is an actress, dancer, teacher, singer and writer. She has received numerous awards for her work with The Media Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women. She is Director and Founder of the project which is a performance workshop designed to achieve personal and social transformation with incarcerated women. She has presented her work nationally and internationally, including performances in Denmark, Italy, and Greece.

Ms. Jones list of awards are numerous, including the Working Woman of the Year by the Working Women’s Theater Festival, the AUDELCO Board of Director’s Award for 20 years of producing, creating and presenting performance, the 1999 Sister Circle Book Award for her work in drama and performance, and the 1998 Black Theatre Network’s President’s Pathfinder Award. In addition, she has taught at University of California, Berkeley, at the Yale School of Drama, and completed a residency at the Getty Research Institute where she contributed to a workshop on "The Humanities in Public Culture."

Ms. Jones is considered one of the most innovative and talented black performance artists working today.

IDRIS ACKAMOOR
Idris Ackamoor is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, tap dancer, actor, director and producer. He is the Founder and Executive/Co-Artistic Director of San Francisco’s interdisciplinary performance group, Cultural Odyssey. His talents have been recognized in many ways, most recently having served of the Theater Panel for the National Endowment of the Arts.

Mr. Ackamoor has been heralded throughout the world for his composing and performing abilities, not withstanding his ability to play saxophone and tap dance simultaneously. He continues to perform in theater, has released several critically acclaimed jazz CD’s, and toured throughout the U.S., Japan, the Caribbean and Europe. He received a "BESSIE" (New York Dance and Performance award) for performing and composing the score for "Big Butt Girls, Hard-Headed Women," and an Isadora Duncan Award for the production of "Perfect Courage."

His associations are just as diverse as his artistic talent and include appearances with percussionist Don Moye of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones, writer/poet Ntozake Shange, and performance artist Rhodessa Jones.

THE SQUEAKIN’ WHEELS

Saturday, October 20
"Garden Party" Reception

The Squeakin’ Wheels are...

Four friends who enjoy listening to and making music from a wide range of times and places. Because they play in a number of styles, and put their own spin on the songs, they are hard to categorize. Seeing one of their shows is like having a brief tour of the American music scene of the past century, as they play folk, country, rock, bluegrass, blues and pop songs, along with several original compositions by group members. Their material ranges from timeless spirituals to contemporary acoustic pieces, featuring rich vocal blends and sparkling instrumental arrangements. With all the members taking turns on lead vocals and layered harmonies, they achieve an even greater spectrum of sound.

They are a pleasure to see perform, where they have a relaxed yet professional attitude that connects easily with an audience. It is obvious that they enjoy what they are doing, and that feeling is contagious.

The Squeakin’ Wheels was founded in 1994 by Marguerite Millard, along with another musician, Randy Holland, and soon expanded to include her brother David on lead guitar and friend David Brock on fiddle. Steve Cahill joined the band in 1996, when Randy moved to Hawaii and decided that the mainland commute would be too much.

Marguerite Millard has always loved music, and often provides a focus for the group with her lead singing and rhythm guitar. Marguerite has played in a number of traditional music duos and bands in the San Francisco area. The most notable of these was a swing trio by the name of “The Android Sisters”.

David Millard began playing the guitar at age fifteen, shortly after buying his first Bob Dylan album. He soon began performing in coffee houses, and played at gatherings such as the Smokey Mountain Folk Festival in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where he contributed to a recording made of the event. Over the years, David has been in a number of folk, country and rock groups, most notably the Claremont favorite, “Hot Pecans”. His playing and singing can be heard with the group “Mojave”, on their recording for Taxim Records.

David Brock has been playing the fiddle since 1972, and his musical interests range from Bluegrass to Swing to Celtic, by way of Classical. He has performed with “The New Christy Minstrels”, has recorded with Neil Young, and has been an arranger for rock singer Iggy Pop. He and fellow “Wheel” David Millard have played together since the early ‘70’s, and were co-founders of the fabulous “Hot Pecans”. Along with Steve Cahill, he was a member of the Bluegrass group, “Alive & Pickin”.

Mandolinist Steve Cahill, like the other band members, has had a richly textured musical past. He got his start at age sixteen when he played guitar with “The Mad Mountain Ramblers”, who performed at Los Angeles area clubs such as The Ice House and The Ash Grove. The group eventually evolved into “The Dry City Scat Band” with members Chris Darrow, Richard Greene, and David Lindley. They were the first Bluegrass band to play at Disneyland, and were recorded on John Cohen’s String Band Project anthology (Elektra). In addition, he has recorded with Mr. Darrow on the UA label.

The name? Well, of course it’s the squeakin’ wheels that get the grease....

Please join us for our first reunion of Art and Art History alumni (with a few Classics, Humanities, and Historic Resources Management alumni thrown in for good measure!). Spouses and guests are invited to all events. Dress is informal throughout, though we hope you will wear "garden party" attire on Saturday evening. Most events take place in downtown Riverside and on the UCR campus.

Registration
1 pm – 10 pm
UCR/California Museum of Photography
3824 Main Street, Riverside

Performance: Rhodessa Jones and Idris Akamoor (no charge)
Sponsor: UCR Black Aesthetics Symposium
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
UCR/California Museum of Photography
3824 Main Street, Riverside

Join us for a free performance by RHODESSA JONES and IDRIS ACKAMOOR prior to our opening reception on Friday, October 19th. Held in conjunction with the UCR Center for Ideas and Society’s Black Aesthetics Symposium, this performance will take place at the California Museum of Photography, 3824 Main Street in Riverside starting at 7:30pm. Our alumni reception will follow at 9:00pm in the Museum’s Occularium on the third floor. If you would like to attend this performance, please indicate this on your registration form.

Opening Reception ($7.50/pp)
Sponsored in part by Judy Field-Baker, Fine Arts Risk Management, and Dr. Dericksen Brinkerhoff
9 pm – 11:30pm
UCR/California Museum of Photography – Occularium
3824 Main Street, Riverside

Registration
8:30am – 12:30pm and 4:30pm – 6:30pm
Arts Building, Mall entrance, UCR campus

Architectural Tours of UCR (complimentary)
8:30am – 10:30am
Beginning at Arts Building, Mall entrance, UCR campus
(tours leaving every 20 minutes)

Academic lecture by current art and art history faculty (complimentary)
10:30am – 12:00 noon
Arts Building, room to be arranged, UCR campus

"Garden Party" Reception, Dinner and Silent Auction ($58/pp)
5pm – 9:30pm
Art Building Plaza, Mall entrance, UCR campus

Performing for the Garden Party Reception..... The Squeakin' Wheels.

The Squeakin’ Wheels — Marguerite Millard, her brother David, David Brock, and Steve Cahill.

As an added bonus to our Saturday night festivities, the UCR Music Department will host a FACULTY VOICE RECITAL in the Music Performance Space of the new Arts Building beginning at 8 pm. All reunion alumni and guests are invited to attend. There is no charge for this event.

Registration
8:00 – 9:30am
Informal breakfast ($12/pp)
The Coffee Depot
3204 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside

Art Tours in Los Angeles (see attached listings) ($28/pp)
9:30 am – 6pm
Depart in mini-buses from parking lot adjacent to The Coffee Depot
3204 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside