NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Tony Adams, Executive Director
Opera House Arts
1 School Street, Stonington, ME 04681
207-367-2788 | tony@operahousearts.org

DATE: November 3, 2022
TITLE: JAZZ PIANIST YVONNE ROGERS PERFORMS WITH R.J. MILLER AND ASA MEYER-WALDO ON 11/12

Stonington, Maine – Opera House Arts is pleased to welcome back jazz pianist Yvonne Rogers to the OHA stage on Saturday, November 12 at 7pm. Yvonne will make her OHA headlining debut, having participated in The Deer Isle Jazz Festival as a George Stevens Academy student. Yvonne will be joined by fellow Maine jazz fixtures R.J. Miller on drums and Asa Meyer-Waldo on bass. For more information and tickets visit operahousearts.org.

Yvonne Rogers is a pianist, composer, and multimedia artist from Penobscot, Maine. Growing up on the rural Maine coast, Yvonne began writing music that followed the meditative patterns and systems of nature before having any conventional understanding of theory or harmony. Fascinated by the sonic landscape and acoustics of her home, she carries this influence with her no matter where she is in the world. Curious about the relationship between music, space, and human experience, Yvonne’s work interacts with and is inspired by the people and places that surround her.

Yvonne was a member of the 2021/2022 Focusyear Band in Basel, Switzerland. The band performed regularly with jazz masters including Kris Davis, Sullivan Fortner, Linda May Han Oh, Tineke Postma, Miguel Zenón, and many more. Their album of original music was released in May 2022. A 2021 graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester, Yvonne holds two degrees: a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Piano Performance from the studio of Gary Versace and a Bachelor of Arts in African and African American Studies. Yvonne has performed at numerous venues including the Deer Isle Jazz Festival, the Rochester International Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center, the Birdseye Jazz Club, Porgy and Bess, Jamboree, and more. She performs and records regularly with her trio and quartet, meanwhile creating multimedia audio-visual works which combine her passions for composition, sound art, and video art. Yvonne has been accepted to a variety of collaborative musical opportunities including the Women in Jazz Organization’s Mentorship Program, the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music, and the Sisters in Jazz Combo in which she worked with Ingrid Jensen.

Born in Machias, R.J. Miller began playing the drums at age 11. He developed an appetite for good music early on, and attended a Jazz Camp in Farmington, Maine throughout his teenage years, where he played with other budding musicians and studied with some of New York’s finest musicians. R.J. moved to New York City in the fall of 2002, where he studied Jazz at New School University for one year. Since leaving the New School, Miller has been traveling, and living in New York. He has performed with musicians such as Bill McHenry, Robert Stillman, Eivind Opsvik, Rebecca Martin, Reid Anderson, Ethan Iverson, Mike Kanan, John McNeil, Ben Monder, Chris Higgins, Matt Penman, Pete Rende, Larry Grenadier, Luke Temple, and more.

Asa Meyer-Waldo is a double bassist from West Bath, Maine. Fascinated with sounds old and new, he has been a student of jazz and classical music since picking up his first instrument, the guitar, at age 10. A year later, Asa began focusing on the double bass, and the rest is history. Since 2016 he has been an active part of New England’s vibrant jazz scene and has performed with the likes of Bill McHenry, Brad Terry, Tim Sessions and Mike McGinnis. Currently, Asa is completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance with a Jazz Studies concentration at the University of Southern Maine Osher School of Music.

Opera House Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was founded in 1999 to restore the 1912 Stonington Opera House, on the National Register of Historic Places, to its original role as a performance venue and a community gathering space. We offer a year-round schedule of professional theater, music, film, dance, educational programs, community events, and more. Performances take place in multiple venues, including the Stonington Opera House, the restored Burnt Cove Church Community Center, and at site-specific locations across Deer Isle and Stonington, Maine. Opera House Arts’ programs serve all of Hancock County’s winter and summer residents and visitors, with a special emphasis on the residents of Deer Isle and the Blue Hill Peninsula.

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Yvonne Rogers-Photo Credit Alden Hellmuth

Asa Meyer-Waldo