Jacques, Michelle Jacques

Michelle is the Artistic Director/founder of the CHELLE! And Friends and the newly formed JUKE JOINTa cappella music ensemble. Michelle performs educational programs for the San Francisco Symphony’s Adventures in Music program, interactive arts education programs at Stern Grove, Bay Area Discovery Museum, children’s monthly summer concerts for Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco, California, and is a guest lecturer at the University of San Francisco.
Michelle teaches music in elementary schools and is a conductor for the Oakland Youth Chorus, and LEAP. Michelle is also the choir director for Plymouth Church of Jazz and Justice. Michelle toured throughout the U.S and Europe with the a cappella quintet Street Sounds, performing with and alongside many well known artists including Manhattan Transfer, Wynton Marsalis, Linda Hopkins, Chick Corea, Ladysmith Black Mambaza, Pete Seger, Al Greene, and The Persuasions. Michelle also performed in Germany, Belgium, France and in Switzerland, for the United Nations World Conference of Human Rights, The Gurten Music Festival, and The Montreux and Berne Jazz Festivals.
Michelle is the recipient of the City Of Oakland, Individual Artist grant for 2008, winner of the 1992, Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARA) for “Best Folk/Progressive Song”, “Home Africa, studio recordings with the renown producer Greg Landau for Pamela Rodriguez, Susana Baca, Kepa Junkera, and the soundtrack for the Sundance Film Festival Official Selection, 2010 movie “La Mission” with Benjamin Bratt, and served on the board of directors of Arts First Oakland.

www.chellenfriends.com