When I was four years old, my parents took me to see The Wizard of Oz at a movie theatre. I remember being transfixed by the young Judy Garland singing “Over the Rainbow.” Even at that young age, I realized that singing was what I wanted most to do!

Thus, when I was five years old, my mother signed me up for Pre-choir at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church. Our teacher, Mrs. Pickering, taught us the rudiments of choral singing when we were in kindergarten and first grades. At age seven, I progressed to the Cecelian Choir, which covered second through sixth grades, and was taught by Mrs. Huey.

At that time, Howard Swan was the Music Director at PPC, as well as the choral conductor at Occidental College.  He organized large-scale pageants for Christmas and Easter in which the Cecelian Choir, the Boys’ Choir, the Crusader Choir (Jr. High and High School) and the Kirk Choir (adults) all participated. These were thrilling for me because they involved multiple choirs singing intricate music from various points in the sanctuary (somewhat like St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, or Westminster Abbey in London).  I was hooked!​

At Pomona College I participated in the College Choir under William Russell, which performed great choral masterworks with orchestra, as well as with the Glee Club, which went on tour over semester break. Although my vocal studies veered into opera and musical theatre during graduate school at USC, I always retained a great love of choral music. After graduate school, I joined the Los Angeles Master Chorale under Roger Wagner, and sang for six years with this esteemed chorale before moving to San Luis Obispo in 1983.  

Although the major thrust of my musical career in San Luis Obispo concentrated on opera (Pacific Repertory Opera, now Opera SLO), I have continued to participate in multiple local choral groups including Vocal Arts Ensemble, SLO Master Chorale and the Mozart Festival Chorus. Founding and co-conducting Canzona Women’s Ensemble with Cricket, has been a most rewarding and appropriate “retirement project,” and brings me back to my roots -- the seeds of which were sown so many years ago!

~ Jill Anderson, Co-Artistic Director

𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐥 (1805-1847), a prolific composer, shared a great love and talent for music with her brother, Felix Mendelssohn. At twelve years old, Fanny demonstrated the remarkable accomplishment of performing twenty-four preludes from J. S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier from memory before a private audience. Eventually her expertise at the piano surpassed even her brother's talent, however social limitations did not allow her to share her talents openly with the world.

Because of her gender, Fanny was afforded very little recognition for her work at the time. Many of her works were published after her death, some of which were published under her brother's name.

Now we are thrilled to recognize and celebrate this notable woman. 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 composed the song Wandl’ ich in dem Wald des Abends, a piece we will perform at our Women of Note concert on May 15th!

​Rosario Cooper is recognized as the last speaker of the tiłhini language, the language of the Northern Chumash people who lived for thousands of years in the general region now referred to as San Luis Obispo County.

​Working with linguist and ethnographer John P. Harrington between the years of 1912 to 1917,  Rosario Cooper revealed rich details about her family, extended kinships, events, places, daily activities and memories from her long life. These efforts saved her tribal language from almost certain extinction. Her contributions to Harrington’s studies are memorialized in more than ten thousand notes, now archived at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. 

Recorded on wax cylinders, she sang beautiful traditional songs.  Thanks to Rosario, the tiłhini language and songs are being spoken and sung by yak tityu tityu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribe of San Luis Obispo County and Region, where many are direct descendants and relatives of Rosario Cooper.  
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They are bringing new life to the monumental work of their grandmother Rosario.

Though most people are familiar with the name of E.G. Lewis, founder of Atascadero, not as many know about his wife, Mabel Lewis. 

Strong supporters of the women's right to vote, E.G. and Mabel Lewis owned and operated multiple publications suitable for women. Prior to moving to California, Mabel formed the American Women’s League, a way to unite multiple women's organizations to promote subscriptions to popular periodicals of that era. She was president of the League around the time they moved to Atascadero.

Recognized for her love of animals and gardening, Lewis devoted her time to the artistic side of planning and developing Atascadero in 1913.

According to Lon Allan’s book Atascadero: The vision of one – The work of many, she started her own zoo, housing deer, sheep, owls, raccoons and more behind her private residence, located where the Vons shopping center is today. “She had a petting zoo behind headquarters. Whatever the workers found as they were working in the Colony. They would find [the animals] and bring them to her to give them a home.” 
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"One of her crowning achievements," her obituary said, "was her founding the Atascadero Music Club, which had music lovers all over the county in membership."

With her love of beauty and community, Mabel Lewis left a treasured legacy of progress and advocacy for women's rights.

Follow our page to read more about inspirational women as we build up to our "Women of Note" concert on May 1, 2022!

Source:  Mabel Lewis: Founder’s Wife Was a Lover of Animals & Gardening. Atascadero News. (2019, July 1). Retrieved February 1, 2022, from https://atascaderonews.com/atascadero-news-magazine/colony-people/mrs-e-g/ 

Did you know the homeless shelter on Orcutt Road in San Luis Obispo, CA was named after a resilient lady named Maxine Lewis?

Arriving in SLO county in 1959 with her husband and eight children, she went to work helping the elderly, infirm, and homeless in the community. In a Nov. 25, 1971, story, Lewis said: “As far back as I remember, I always wanted to work with people, to help people — especially children and old people.” 

After a car accident rendered her unable to maintain her job as a nurse, Maxine overcame hurdles that would test the grit of a weaker person. One of her attempts to help an elderly woman with housework resulted in terrible racial slurs that cut deep. Despite the challenge, however, she was determined that there were people who would accept her offers of help.

In 1968, Maxine founded Grass Roots II, an assistance organization specializing educating people on their rights regarding better housing for lower-income people & housing for the poor. Child care centers, adult literacy classes and educational programs soon followed.

Maxine was named Citizen of the Year by Phi Delta Kappa for her outstanding service to schools and citizen of the month by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce for “humanistic and dynamic services to people in need.” 

Her care and compassion for the community is summed up in this quote: 
“We’re just trying to bring a little sunshine into someone’s life. Or just to let them know we care,” she said.

Follow our page to read more about inspirational women as we build up to our "Women of Note" concert on May 1, 2022!
Source:
Middlecamp, David. “The Story of Maxine Lewis, Who Strived ... - San Luis Obispo.” San Luis Obispo Tribune, 11 Dec. 2014,
​https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/photos-from-the-vault/article39505848.html.