It’s hard to pin down the sound of Eclectic5. That’s because the group lives up to its name.
“It’s a wide variety of jazz, American, Broadway, opera, spirituals, and originals—it’s eclectic,” said tenor and trumpeter Chris A. Bowman.
The group is relatively new to the Central Coast, though its individual members aren’t. Besides Bowman, Eclectic5 is made up of Catalina McIsaac (soprano); Kate Busarow (alto and flute); Mark Carrillo (basso profundo); and Heather Levin (pianist and soprano).
“We’ve all played together before, just not as Eclectic5,” McIsaac said. “For this we started talking about who would go well together and who would fit where, and we brought them all together for Eclectic5.
“Chris is director of the Santa Ynez Master Chorale, and being part of Eclectic5 would give him the chance to sing, something he enjoys doing but rarely gets a chance to do,” she explained.
A love of singing is the thread that ties this group together. The type of music doesn’t matter as much as does their getting a chance to perform it. They love any genre.
“This really gave us a chance to do a little bit of everything, and fortunately we have a great group of musicians who really can sing anything,” Bowman said.
McIsaac is an award-winning singer/songwriter, artist, playwright, lyricist, and studio singer for WavePoint Productions. Busarow teaches art and music in Lompoc Valley schools, sings in the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale, and teaches flute privately. In addition to being conductor of the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale, Bowman is director of the Youth Chorale and Orchestra and director of music at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Lompoc Valley. He’s an award-winning composer/arranger for WavePoint Productions and director of WavePoint Music Conservatory. Carrillo is a soloist and member of Quire of Voices and Adelphos Men and Women Ensemble in Santa Barbara. He’s also a soloist with the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale. And Levin teaches piano privately in Santa Barbara and performs throughout the county. She’s currently the accompanist for the Santa Barbara Unitarian Society.
McIsaac said the group is hoping to schedule some jazz and fundraising concerts throughout the year and is in the process of booking a few performance dates right now.
“Our motto is: Have music, will travel,” McIsaac said, explaining that they can adjust their music for particular audiences, maybe adding more of a certain genre, for instance. They can also add different instruments—as they’re doing for their upcoming performance in Lompoc. Because that show will be in a church, they’ll have access to an organ—but any organ music will be organ music “with a twist,” Bowman said.
Bowman promised the overall concert will be upbeat and lively.
“Think Manhattan Transfer, with lots of energy,” McIsaac added. “Nobody will fall asleep.”
Arts Editor Shelly Cone is awake! Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 2-9, 2011.