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November 12, 2007
Les Femmes: Women of Jazz
and Classical Music
Nedra Wheeler
Jazz Bassist
Yvette Devereaux
Classical Violinist
Paul Romero
Moderator
 Nedra
Wheeler
Bass player Nedra Wheeler is a role model for aspiring instrumentalists.
She heads her own sextet, and her debut disk, Gifts: Live at Birdland
West, showcases her original compositions. In addition, Wheeler has
performed with such legendary musicians as Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Higgins,
Cedar Walton, Billy Childs, Karen Briggs, Ravi Coltrane, Alice Coltrane,
Tootie Heath, Karen Briggs, and Milcho Leviev.
Currently, Wheeler’s big bass sound invigorates a variety of bands,
including Nate Morgan’s hard swinging trio, Tracey Chapman’s latest Roxy
performance, and the Women’s Jazz Ensemble. She can be heard as well on
the film soundtracks for "Menace to Society," "Malcolm X," "Chick Peas,"
and "Clockers."
A bassist with a Masters of Fine Arts and Bachelors of Fine Arts in Music
Performance from California Institute of the Arts, Wheeler somehow also
finds time to conduct a virtual second career as an educator, teaching and
volunteering in the South Central Los Angeles community. Other teaching
assignments include teaching bass at the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz
and such subjects as String, Wind and Jazz Ensembles, Improvisation, the
History of Western Music, the Survey of Jazz, Introduction to World Music,
Fundamentals, Solfeggio, and String Bass at the Los Angeles Community
College District, UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and El Camino
Community College.
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 Yvette
M. Devereaux, PHD.
Musical Director/Conductor/Arranger/Violinist
Born in Los Angeles, California, Yvette
Devereaux is a professional conductor, violinist, composer, arranger and
music educator. She is the founder and artistic director of The
Progressive Symphony and its educational component, The Progressive Arts
Academy, based in Compton, California. In 1997, Maestro Devereaux competed
in the "Mario Gusello" fourth International Conductor Competition, Pescara,
Italy and was one of three Americans chosen as, a Semi-Finalist. In 1995
she appeared as guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with the F.A.M.E. Choirs of Los Angeles. She
was a finalist for the position of Assistant Conductor of the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Minnesota Symphony and
Director/Conductor of the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra. She was the
first woman to hold the position of Music Director/Conductor of the
Southeast Community Symphony in Los Angeles.
In 1993 Devereaux was chosen to compete in the Antonio Pedrotti Third
International Competition for Orchestra Conductors in Trento, Italy. She
has conducted the Chapman University Chamber Orchestra and University
Symphony on tour in Hong Kong, The People's Republic of China, Spain,
Hawaii and various American cities. She was a participant in the Carnegie
Hall Corporation program for conductors with Pierre Boulez and spent two
summers at the Conductors Guild Institute, held on the campus of the
University of South Carolina. She has had the opportunity to work with
such prominent conductors/composers as Jacob Druckman, Harold Farberman,
Daniel Lewis, Dennis De Coteau, Lukas Foss, Samuel Adler and William
Kraft.
As a violinist, Devereaux has performed and recorded with many Jazz and
Pop Greats such as: Chaka Khan, Erukah Badu, Stevie Wonder and others. She
has also performed with great artists like: Justin Timberlake, Queen
Latifah, Paul Anka, John Legend, James Brown, Donna Summers, Alicia Keyes,
Andre Boccelli, Luciano Pavarotti and several others.
Recently, she worked on Alicia Keys’ upcoming CD as Concertmaster in New
York. In addition, she made a special Solo Appearance with the ‘Disco
Diva’ Donna Summers at the Hilton and MGM Hotel in Vegas and appeared with
the Jazz Great Gerald Wilson and his orchestra at the Thousand Oaks
Performing Center and the Central Ave Jazz Festival. She was also
principal violinist for Luciano Pavarotti’s orchestra in Las Vegas at the
Caesar Palace and toured with Andre Bocelli. Devereaux also conducted the
orchestra and recorded the music as solo violinist for the soundtrack and
score for the film, “Madea’s Family Reunion” (2006) and “Diary of a Mad
Black Women” (2005) a Tyler Perry Movie.
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 Paul
Romero enjoys an
award-winning dual career as both a concert pianist and a composer. Paul
is the winner of numerous international piano competitions. Within the
last two years he has captured the Grand Prix at the 14th International
Paris Piano Competition, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
for Outstanding Pianists, the Rocky Mountain International Piano
Competition, and the Washington DC International Piano Competition. Paul
made his official Paris concert debut last year playing the Rachmaninoff
3rd Piano Concerto with the Orchestre de Republique at the mammoth Grand
Amphitheatre de la Sorbonne, the same hall in which Liszt, Chopin, Brahms,
and Wagner performed. Paul's sold-out concerto concert was broadcast live
throughout Europe and was filmed as a television concert for France's TV 2
network. Paul's concert took place on the eve of the Iraqi war and the
relations between France and the US were considerably strained. However,
Paul received a 10-minute standing ovation from the French audience and
garnered critical acclaim for his performance.
Paul's worldwide reputation as a composer has increased tenfold in the
last year due to the Sony cooperation signing Paul to a multi-project
contract. Paul has composed a multitude of original orchestral scores for
Sony's EVERQUEST game series, which is the most popular computer game
series in the world. At any given time, over 100,000 people are listening
to Paul's music while they play the game live on the Internet. Paul has
also composed the award-winning scores to the HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC
computer games, which have sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Paul
also composes orchestral scores to independent movies and television
documentaries. To date, Paul has composed over 50 original soundtracks.
Last year Paul garnered a gold record for composing the orchestral
arrangement for "STUPID GIRL", the number-one hit song from the rock band
COLD. This song was released on Geffen Records.
Paul Romero has performed in recital and as a concerto soloist at the
Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Center, Tokyo's Bukka Kan, Tanglewood, and
London’s Wigmore Hall. Paul began to play the piano by ear at the age of 3
and began formal lessons at age nine with Earle C. Voorhies of South
Pasadena. Paul composed his first original piano concerto at the age of 13
and recorded his first album that same year for the Yamaha record label.
Paul received a full scholarship at the prestigious Curtis Institute of
Music in Philadelphia where he studied under some of the world's greatest
musicians, including Pulitzer-prize winning composer Ned Rorem, pianists
Vladimir Sokoloff, Peter Serkin and Jorge Bolet, and members of the
Guanari String Quartet. Paul finished his studies in Europe at the Paris
Conservatoire and London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Paul
Romero is the only recipient of two Gold Crown Awards from the Pasadena
Arts Council, as well as two grants from the National Endowment for the
Arts, a grant from the Epstein Fine Arts Fund, and is the winner of the
1998 BMI-Jerry Goldsmith Film Composers Award.
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