Performers

Rolland Pollard and Friends

Rolland Pollard and Friends strive to reach an audience outside the four walls of their church. Through songs intended to spread personal deliverance and testimonies to a diverse audience, the gospel choir finds its “strong voice in an industry where the message is sometimes lost in the music.” Producer and Minister Roland Pollard has worked with Mississippi Mass and Children’s Choirs, Bishop Paul S. Morton, The Edwin and Walter Hawkins Music and Arts Seminar, GMWA Mass Choir, and many more. The 17 to 60-year-old choir singers strive to make every performance “a church service, where healing is administered, the Word of God is spoken, and the opportunity to receive Christ is always presented.”

Catherine Mandella

Catherine Mandella has spent a lifetime playing music. From Didgeridoo lessons with Australian Aboriginals to Reggae jam sessions in Italy to festival performances with Middle Eastern musicians, Catherine has seen the world through music.

“Nothing is better or healthier than diversity. Musically, that means I get a chance to play all these wild instruments I’ve been learning,” she said.

Catherine has also played in a number of California-based music ensembles, including the Star Dusters Orchestra swing band of Marin County; Orchestra Variedad of East Bay; and Sacramento’s own Sambanda and Tribal Calling. When she’s not playing music, Catherine enjoys a full-time biology career in her hometown of Sacramento. She even finds time to teach ecology and music on the side.

Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus

The Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus (SGMC) is more than an assembly of singers. SGMC is a brotherhood of diverse talents and backgrounds. The chorus performs two annual concerts, and has collaborated with The Sacramento Symphony (now The Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra), The Sacramento Ballet, True Colors Women’s Chorus, and Camellia Symphony Orchestra. SGMC also takes its harmonies on the road, with performances in California, Colorado, Washington D.C. and Montreal, Canada. For the last 23 years, SGMC was known as Sacramento Men’s Chorus.

“We felt it was time to reflect who we are, and to be proud of ourselves. Therefore, we are now known as the Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus. Help us celebrate our new name [Sacramento Gay Men’s Chorus] by enjoying our song, camaraderie, and spirit.”

Neo Kyma

The Neo Kyma dancers may be young, but their choreography is timeless. The goal of Neo Kyma Greek folk dance group is to create “a window to the past, by trying to dance these Greek folk dances the way they are done throughout the villages in Greece.” The group strives to balance authenticity and tradition with excitement in their performances, and it shows. The 12 to 15-year-old dancers have earned state-wide recognition for their talents. Neo Kyma recently placed 4th in the Greek Folk Dance Festival in Southern California. Locally, you can catch their annual performance at the Greek Food Festival. When these youngsters aren’t perfecting their authentic rhythm, many of them are involved in Sunday School, Greek school and other activities related their Greek Orthodox Christian faith.

Nong Shala Youth Choir

Pakou Lo was once a young choir singer. Today, Lo is Director of the Nong Shala Youth Choir at the North Sacramento take from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lo’s group of talented 12 to 18-year-olds perform songs and hymns in English and in Hmong. Theirs is one of two Hmong-speaking wards (or large Latter-day Saints congregations) in the world. The name, Nong Shala, refers to a lone olive tree found after the Great Flood. The ward believes this tree represents “roots, faith, and perseverance.” When the youths aren’t singing, many of them are involved in Sacramento area community service organizations, including Boy Scouts of America.

Sufi Zikr Choir is from the Sacramento Sufi Center of Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi, School of Islamic Sufism®.

Sufi students chant Zikrs (remembrances of God) to transmit love and compassionate energy toward their Divine Creator. These chants, along with prayers, fasting, meditation and movement exercises, comprise each student’s spiritual journey.

Known for their poetry of love, Sufi Masters teach students to develop their abilities and hidden potentialities. The Sufis practice self-knowledge to bring balance, love and peace to their lives.

Until very recently, only a few carefully selected people were permitted to study the 1,400-year-old “mystical dimension of Islam.” Hazrat Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha, a mid-century Sufi Master, made the practice accessible to everyone who sincerely wished to learn.

Diamond Club of California

Diamond Club of California performs Bhangra, a Punjabi folk dance. But this is more than a simple snap of fingers. The traditional post harvest dance of Punjabi farmers demands precise balance and exciting acrobatics. It is accompanied by song and drums. Diamond Club’s talents are regularly showcased at the Punjabi American Heritage Society’s cultural festival, held each Memorial Day Weekend at the Yuba Sutter Fairgrounds. They have been the halftime show for a Sacramento Monarchs vs. Los Angeles Sparks game at Arco Arena. This year, the group performed at the KVIE Channel Six-sponsored Asian Pacific American Heritage month and at a multicultural festival in Southgate Recreation and Park District.

Bayside of South Sacramento Worship Team and Choir

The Worship Team at Bayside of South Sacramento hopes to further the values of its cross-cultural church. The team promotes the exchange of talents and gifts between a diverse body of people. Toward that end, they have produced a fusion of gospel, rock and contemporary Christian music, which they hope will “reveal Jesus Christ through song.” The Worship Team has a strong local presence, having performed at the Annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration; Bayside of South Sacramento’s own Saved in the Shade and Bless a Family community outreach events; and the Bayside Family of Churches celebration held at Arco Arena, among others.