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"Peace on earth" may be celebrated most during the holiday season, but certainly it's something to strive for year-round. So what better way to inspire such an ideal than with the music of two artists who tirelessly work on behalf of world peace? On Dec. 14, the San José Repertory Theatre brings together singers/activists/teachers Holly Near and Cris Williamson for a meaningful and uplifting evening in the spirit of peace on earth, goodwill to everyone.
Each performer is known for music that delivers messages of harmony and love, but that's not to say either Near or Williamson is a stranger to stirring things up. Each in her own way is a music pioneer and a feminist icon.
Singer/songwriter Williamson co-founded Olivia Records, a women's record label, several decades before "women's music" gained Lilith Fair cachet. Her album The Changer and the Changed, recorded in 1974, remains one of the top-selling independent albums ever. Williamson, educated as a teacher, has released more than 17 albums and has sold out performances at Carnegie Hall, but she also continues to teach, primarily through speaking engagements, often appearing at lectures, workshops and school programs.
Near began her performing career in film and television, appearing in such diverse offerings as Slaughterhouse Five and The Partridge Family. She also performed on Broadway in Hair, but she was drawn most to music. Like Williamson, she founded a groundbreaking record label, Redwood Records. The label had an important impact on the independent music scene. The singer/songwriter, who has more than 20 albums to her credit, has collaborated with such artists as Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Linda Tillery and Bonnie Raitt. She teaches master classes in performance and songwriting, and has written, among other things, a children's book and her autobiography.
Near and Williamson recently recorded a joint album, Cris & Holly, at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, and have been touring together throughout the country this fall.
A love of the performing arts seems to run in the Near family. Holly's sister, Timothy, has directed plays at theater companies nationwide, and for the past 16 seasons, has been the artistic director of the San José Repertory Theatre. In fact, Timothy and Holly collaborated on a one-woman show featuring Holly's music that was commissioned by the Rep. Holly also has worked professionally with another sister, Laurel, who is a performer, playwright, director and co-founder of the Wallflower Order Dance Collective. Laurel is also known to cult film fans for a small role in David Lynch's 1977 movie Eraserhead.
The San José Rep presents "Holly Near and Cris Williamson in Concert: The Peace and Love Tour," Dec. 14, 7 p.m. at the San José Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose. Tickets are $20$32. For more information, call 408.367.7255 or visit www.sjrep.com.
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