2016-453-E Arts - McDougle Elem. School PTA - Spring 2016 Arts Grant Agreement

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DocuSign Envelope ID: 1A22E5E0-33EC-48E7-9CC8-2CC937C7D3E0 Arts in Education Grant Application —Spring 2016-17 McDougle Elementary School PTA 7 Resumes of Key Artists and Administrators Involved in Grant Funded Programs Kuniko Yamamoto A native of Japan, Kuniko Yamamoto received her Bachelor of Psychology from Otani University of Kyoto, Japan in 1983. Started performing professionally in her hometown of Osaka where she grew up studying traditional dance, music and theater. She has received national exposure performing Japanese Storytelling at the Silk Road International Exposition and on Kansai National TV in 1985. Studied with Tony Montanaro. The following year Kuniko traveled to the United States to study with Tony Montanaro, highly respected mime and actor. Then three years after began touring with Leland Faulkner Light Theater where she helped present lavish stage illusions and brought ancient tales to life with shadows and magic. For the next five years she has performed constantly in theaters, schools, colleges, and festivals across the country. In 1992, Kuniko left the Faulkner Light Theater troupe to move to Florida. Married to Jon LeClair, a world-renowned magician whose books appear in magic shops worldwide has been helping her add subtle magic and mystery to her very special act. Kuniko has dazzled audiences in such venues as the Kennedy Center (Washington DC), Disney Epcot Japanese Pavilion, Seattle's International Children's Festival/ Giant Magnet, International Children's Festival in Canada, National Storytelling Festival and the LA Music Center/Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County. In the last two decades she has been presenting her programs throughout the United States, also recognized by the Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina of Arts Council since 2000. A passionate origami folder, Kuniko received Tempo Award from Origami USA in 2007. Charles Pettee Charles Pettee's fresh approach to the traditional arts of flatpicking and folksinging began during his childhood in Asheville, NC, where he started on guitar and mandolin at an early age. He is co-founder of Flying Fish recording artist The Shady Grove Band from Chapel Hill, NC, which has delighted audiences across the US, Canada, and Europe for over twenty years. His distinctive mandolin style, voice, and original compositions are an essential part of the group's appeal and garner airplay in over twenty foreign countries. Charles Pettee & FolkPsalm, founded in 2004, has a reputation for musical integrity, professionalism, and ability to inspire. Through their performance, the 3,000 year old sacred poems of the Hebrews —the Psalms —sound startlingly contemporary in their deeply human expressions of ecstasy, dread, defiance, and hope in the hands of these fine NC musicians. Charles has hosted workshops on both guitar and mandolin technique at some of the most prestigious music festivals in the US and Europe (including Walnut Valley Festival, Winfield, KS, and MerleFest, Wilkesboro, NC). Charles has been the driving force behind Chuck and the Waggin'Ears for over twenty years. They have delighted audiences at clubs, festivals, and special events with their blend of traditional bluegrass and original compositions. The Waggin'Ears have the spontaneity and joy of good friends making the music they love, combined with the stage presence and audience appeal of the seasoned professionals that they are. Charles' school programs called "Hear the Sound" share the history of southern string music with audiences of all ages and cultural backgrounds. Either solo, or with The Shady Grove Band, or Chuck and the Waggin'Ears, he has performed over 5,000 shows in his thirty-two years as a professional musician. Page 7 of 14