THE ARTS
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Christine Bonner
Folk harpist, Christine Bonner, is a stunning artist who has performed for many years in concerts and special engagements throughout the West Coast. She was also one of the featured performers in Reno's amazing blockbuster "Spirit of the Dance." She released her second CD – Compañeros -- in January of 2003, and has been "overwhelmed" by the incredibly positive response, and support of her music. Compañeros is a celebration of life, inspired by Christine's vision of a fiesta with food, music and dance, shared with friends, and family. Christine's debut CD, Sand Castles, skyrocketed to # 1 on the Americana Charts on Nevada City, California's community radio station, KVMR-FM 89.5 MHz. Her musical style includes a wonderful blend of Latin, Celtic, Classical, and Jazz. Christine is a direct descendent of the Berryessa family, who were among the first Spanish/Mexican land grant holders in California before the Gold Rush. Many of Christine's compositions are inspired by her early California ancestors. Christine's music delves into her own family history for inspiration, and traces the ancestral journey of the Berryessa family from their native Spain to the ranchos of California. The result is "a unique and alluring mixture of acoustic string instruments and percussion that persuades the listener back into a time of palatial homes built amid gentle rolling hills and wind swept trees." Christine's music is dedicated to the spirit and the struggles of the Berryessas, and all of the early "Compañeros." As Eftimeos Salonites, author of Berryessa – The Rape of the Mexican Land Grant – Rancho Canada de Capay, has written “Somewhere beneath the waters of the lake – entombed by the body of water which took their name, lie the nameless graves of Sisto and Jose de Jesus Berryessa, the original grantees of the Berryessa Valley. Christine Bonner, a direct descendent of Sisto Berryessa, pays tribute to her ancestors and the illustrious past of this great valley and homage o the future as the harp has provided hope and enjoyment through the ages.” Christine Bonner's love for music began at an early age. She not only comes from a historic California family, but from a very musical one as well and studied piano as a young girl. She became involved in various folk groups as a teenager and explored playing many different instruments. Her love of music is equaled only by her love of art. Christine received her degree in art in 1975 and worked as a freelance artist in sculpture and ceramics. She discovered the folk harp in her late twenties and soon thereafter began performing weddings and concerts and composing music, while raising her children, Allegra and Derek. Christine now co-owns the Rainbow Music Company, with her husband Rob in Colfax, California, where they teach music to students of all ages.
The Rainbow Music Company
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