3/11 Tribute to Japan
Please watch the video we made to commemorate and remember the tragedy of March 11, 2011. A photo gallery of the mural is at the bottom of this page to see more close ups of the mural.
RAENA WHITE
Broadway Singer
RAENA WHITE - Broadway Singer
Native to Detroit, MI, Raena White is a compelling Actress and Singer whose powerful voice and personality leaves her audiences wanting more. Raena made her Broadway Debut in the Internationally acclaimed musical, CHICAGO, as "Matron Mama Morton”. She has toured the US with Disney’s The Lion King, performed numerous times at the historic Birdland in NYC as well as Feinstein’s/54 Below, and has taken her talent to an international level in various musicals, concerts and plays. Between her passion, captivating demeanor, and dedication, Raena continuously raises the bar with every remarkable performance.
Twitter: @Raena_White
Instagram: @raena.white
Facebook: Raena.White
AKI ISHIGURO
Guitar
Japanese-American guitarist Akira Ishiguro studied Jazz performance and composition at Berklee College of Music. Upon graduation in 2006, he has been entrenched in the New York jazz scene .
Tour life has taken him to Japan, Chile, Costa Rica, Canada, and much of Europe. He has six albums as a leader or co-leader and has appears in over 20 records.
Instagram: @aki_ishiguro_
MELISSA HARVEY Soprano Opera Singer
Soprano Melissa Harvey has performed with several opera companies including New York City Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Columbus and The Florentine Opera. Upcoming performances include the US Premiere of Nadia Boulanger’s opera La Ville Morte with Catapult Opera. Ms. Harvey has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions, the Baur/Powell Vocal Competition, and the Mercer scholarship to study German in Freiburg, Germany. Melissa received her BM and MM in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Instagram: @Melissa_Harvey_Soprano
Website: http://www.melissaharveysoprano.com/
JONATHAN POWELL
Trumpet
Originally from Largo, Florida Jonathan Powell picked up the trumpet at the age of eleven never to look back. Inspired by the great jazz trumpeters Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis. These influences are heard and felt on his band Nu Sangha’s debut album "Transcend" released in 2010 as well as the latest endeavor, “Beacons of Light” released with Truth Revolution Records in 2015.
As a freelance trumpet player Jonathan has shared the stage and recording studio with world renown musicians and artists like Eddie Palmieri, DJ Premier, Miguel Zenon, Henry Cole, Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Bob Mintzer, The WDR Big Band, JT Taylor (Kool & the Gang), La Excelencia, Sam Rivers, The Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra, Q-Tip, Andy Milne, Gary Thomas, Lenny White, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Reggie Workman, Just Blaze, CL Smooth, Slick Rick and Snoop Dogg to name a few. Known to be a versatile trumpet player with ease in many different musical styles, Jonathan has earned a name for himself on the Latin music scene in NYC by winning The Latin Jazz Corner's Best Latin Jazz Trumpet Player of 2009, becoming Eddie Palmieri’s first call trumpet player since 2013 and helping Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra to bring home Grammy wins in 2014 and 2015. Jazz guru Nat Hentoff first wrote of Jonathan, "Powell's crackling range and the electricity of his imagination reminded me of the first time I heard Lee Morgan and Clifford Brown. His voice is his own..." -JazzTimes (April 2003).
Instagram: @jpowelltrumpet
www.jonathanpowell.net
TONS
Singer
Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, with a passion for music from a young age, particularly RnB, Soul, Rap.International coach and former player for the Canadian National Kendo Team, learned Japanese from practicingKendo all over Japan. Enjoys combining elements of Japanese romanticism and North American songs into newforms of music and art, also speaks French, English and Portuguese. Driven by environmentally consciousprojects such as tree planting and helping communities participate in sport.
IG: @tonytonsog
Facebook: @tonytonsog
Website: www.kippon.net
JUNO SAN
Singer Musician Actress
My name is Juno and I am a trilingual artist. I was born in Argentina, lived in Puerto Rico for 11 years, and finally moved to Los Angeles to keep building my career. I am a comedian, musician, writer, director, and voice actress. I have directed different Improv projects such as Improvanda (Improvised music) and Sin Flags (Improvised comedy). I love exploring music through different instruments I collect from different countries and even though I have never received a formal education, music has always been inside me, flowing through these sounds I create. I formed the first original Japanese music band in Puerto Rico (Chotto Matte Band) and we played for 10 years all around the island. I am currently working on my Japanese inspired music single called Natsu no Yuki. As well as being an artist, I graduated as an ESL Teacher and I currently own an online enrichment school for kids that was created to help families during the pandemic. I have a special love for Japan, its culture, and its language. I have been studying Japanese for 10 years and I am always trying to share this love with other people around the world. One of the many dreams I have is to live in Japan and make music that makes people smile and dance!
Facebook @gusanifo
Website: www.junoargentina.com
MIKE MING
Artist
Mike Ming is a New York City based artist. He graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in Illustration. He is a member of international art collective, Barnstormers. He paints abstract murals inspired by motion, waves, gravity, lines and happy accidents . As an illustrator, he doodles in auto generated images on any surface.
Instagram: @surfnuts195
Website: miyahirainc.com
NATHALIE GUIILAUME
Piano Singer
Nathalie Guillaume is a multidisciplinary scholar in the Performing Arts who grew up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She is a classically trained pianist who won several awards in international competitions with the Promotion des Jeunes Talents de la Musique Haitienne (PJTM) under the mentorship of Maitre Serge Villedrouin and trained in Haitian Folkore with the Institut de Danse Lynn William Rouzier. She moved to the U.S.A at 17 years old and received both an artistic and academic scholarship to attend the University of Miami where she graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Biology, Foreign Languages and Piano Performance and later pursued a Doctorate of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Bastyr University. Her current body of work entitled “Vodou Alchemy” is focused on creating an experimental musical approach through the transformative power of the Performing Arts as Medicine.
Facebook & Instagram: @natidredayiti
website: www.vodoualchemy.com
About the 311 Tribute Project
10 years ago, spring of 2011 right after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan, this mural was made. The mural had a base painting by a famous Japanese-American street artist Mike Ming and we bought markers and crayons for everyone to write their well wishes to send to Japan. We are now sending it virtually to all those who need to receive these prayers.
It’s my hope that all those who were affected by the 3/11 tragedy receive these well wishes from people half way around the world. We are holding you in our thoughts and you are remembered.
Becky Yee
Instagram: @beckyyeephoto
Website: beckyyee.com
MORE PHOTOS OF THE MURAL BELOW
