TWIN CITIES MUSIC FESTIVAL [intro][spotlights 1 • 2 • 3 • 4]
Featuring Local, World-Class Musicians

Friday, March 31 • 7:30pm
Hall Middle School Gym, 200 Doherty Drive, Larkspur
FREE! Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis

MUSICIANS IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Spotlight 3
The performers for the Twin Cities Music Festival on March 31 represent many different styles and genres.

The Grass is Always the Grass is Always Bluer in the Country Side! in the Country Side!
If you've been reading our weekly profiles about the performers at the upcoming Twin Cities Music Festival on March 31, you know that we’re featuring an incredible variety of styles and genres – modern jazz, chamber music, world/folk music, art song and American popular and Broadway show tunes – all at one concert!

But wait… there’s more!

CHRISTOPHER SMITH, Neil Cummins kindergarten teacher, has been composing and performing in the Bay Area for over 20 years. His well-crafted story songs aim straight for the heart. His music is in the folk tradition, and he plays fingerstyle guitar, octave mandolin, and banjo. Christopher began writing and performing extensively for children in the early nineties. His first children’s recording, Carry Me Home, became a Bay Area favorite. His 1996 release, The Golden Gate, was a Parent’s Choice Award Winner.

Christopher also crafts songs for adult audiences, and has performed at clubs all over the Bay Area as well as at many festivals. Christopher was the “Best Song” winner of Mountain Stage’s 2003 NewSong competition, and also won the 2002 Sisters Folk Festival songwriting competition. He was a finalist at Rocky Folks Festival songwriting competition in 2002, the Telluride Festival’s Troubadour Competition in 1999 and 2001, and at the Sisters Folk Festival songwriting competition in 2000. When asked about the importance of music in his life he said, “I continue to learn through music those basic concepts I now teach in kindergarten: sharing, listening, taking turns, using imagination, taking risks, making mistakes and playing well together.”
— Find out more at www.christophersmithmusic.com.

AMY FRIEDRICKS, Larkspur School District parent and musical production voice coach, began playing the violin at the age of three. In seventh grade she switched to string bass because she thought it to be "cooler." She has experimented with other instruments over the years, but her first love has always been the guitar. She currently sings and plays with the band It’s All About Me, and occasionally with the bluegrass band, Mohawk Ramblers. She started concentrating on her singing in high school, and was a member of the choir all four years. After college she lived in New York and sang with a Gilbert & Sullivan repertory troupe for many years. Our students have received the benefit of her experience and talent in the recent Hall and Neil Cummins musicals Aladdin, Man of Steel, and Peter Pan. When asked about the importance of music in her life she said, “For me, the most rewarding element of playing music is the creativity it unleashes. The musical dialog with other musicians can often be magical.”