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What's the Show?

Rouge's joyous trip to France with no jet lag! 

Rouge's humor, warm interaction, and lush musicianship engage you instantly into the experience! 

Playful dance, mime, projections, and banter make songs accessible whether in French & English!  Parisian classics, gypsy jazz, and originals! 

 

Concerts introduce immigrant influences to French music. Who'd have thought La Vie en Rose--the most famous song in the French repertoire--was written by Edith Piaf and a Spaniard!

Who's Rouge?

Founded 18 years ago by 3-octave vocalist/dancer Janet Elle Rayor, Rouge is informed by the passion and joie de vivre of award-winning accordionist Toby Hanson, stride jazz keyboardist Clayton Murray, and Scottish fiddling champion & classic violinist Brandon Vance. Two of Rouge's 4 CDs were recorded by Grammy winner Garey Shelton.

Rouge can be heard on NPR's Freakonomics, Pirates of the Caribbean Walt Disney video games, FoodChannel, film, & theater soundtracks.  

Besides concerts, Rouge has helped many art 

organizations, businesses, individuals & foundations create a joie de vivre atmosphere for “Night in Paris” fundraisers and events.

Link to program bios

5th Avenue Theatre openings

Grand Valley State University, Michigan 

Everett Performing Arts Center

Montana's Holter Art Museum

Franciscan Foundation

Bremerton Symphony Benefit 

Lakewold Gardens Foundation

Washington Women's Foundation

Proctor Arts Festival

Arboretum Foundation

KING FM * KBCS 

Microsoft Concerts Issaquah

Choochokam Festival

City of Kenmore Summer Concerts  

Couer D'Alene St. Joseph's Hospital Benefit 

San Juan Theatre & Arts Center

Portland Community College 

Westin * The Ruins * Sheraton

Columbia Tower Club * Smith Tower

Woodland Park Rose Garden

Olympic Fairmont/Four Seasons

Country Doctor Gala, Grand Hyatt

CenterStage Spokane  

Zino Society • Delille Cellars

Forgeron Cellars

Vashon Arts Alliance

City of Kent 

Orchestra Seattle

ChocoFest

Admiral Theatre, Bremerton          

Panida Theatre, Sandpoint

Art on the Green, Coeur d'Alene

Lincoln Theatre

Bloedel Reserve

Seattle Mayor's Concert Series

Benaroya Founders Hall

Pacific Northwest Ballet at McCaw Hall    

Denver Art Museum, National Impressionist Exhibit

Seattle Art Museum (Many times!)

Red Cat Theatre, Walt Disney Concert Hall, LA

Opera Omaha

American Heart Association Ball

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Ball

Red & Black Ball

Chateau Ste. Michelle

Seattle Glass Museum

Tacoma Glass Museum

Portland Art Museum

Henry Art Gallery

Mary Hill Art Museum

Microsoft events

DANCES

Century Ballroom * Viscount Hall Portland

Dance 'til Dusk * NW Dance Network

RECORDINGS

Walt Disney video games * Portland theatre

films * television * college & classical radio

Elle

Vocalist-dancer Janet “Elle” Rayor founded Rouge. She has graced flm and theatre recordings and co-arranged 4 Rouge albums. Her interactive style is infuenced by her early careers in mime/mask, repertory theatre, and dance companies. Bilingual, she writes French lyrics for Rouge originals. Trained by Claude Caux who with Marcel Marceau started his Mime school, she debuted the comedy mime role for Seattle Opera's 2008 "Pagliacci" and toured nationally for 23 years as "Ellarella," a professional stilt-dancer in her own fantastical animal and character costume designs.

 

Always interested in the cross between beauty and comedy, she's toured her original pieces of physical comedy, dance, & singing--new vaudeville-- throughout King County, Germany, and Colorado, was an Artist in Residence with Colorado Arts & Humanities, won a Denver Drama Critics Circle Choreography Award and Comedy in Performance scholarship.

 

bios
Toby Hanson

Accordionist Toby Hanson graduated magna cum laude from Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts with a BA in classical composition. He is an accomplished accordionist and pianist who also plays with Smilin' Scandinavians polka band, Valse Café Orchestra, Jangles, Cowgirl's Dream, Alchymeia, and The Tenderlings.

 

In theater, he was music director of Terry Palasz's one-woman show "The Polish Diva From Milwaukee" and appeared in "Fiddler on the Roof," "Cabaret" and "She Loves Me." His composes, records, produces, and arranges.

 

Clayton Murray

Pianist/keyboardist Clayton Murray has performed in Japan, Australia, and even Enumclaw! A multi-instrumentalist, he also enjoys playing tuba, euphonium, and the tango squeeze-box, bandoneon. He has performed professionally for over 30 years in styles including jazz, ragtime, latin, broadway, pop and classical. Clayton is Rouge's newest member, bringing new energy and joy!

A natural physical & musical comedian, his version of "The Rose" has people doubling over in laughter.  He has long played for The Moisture Festival and Panto Theatre.

Brandon Vance

Violinist brandon Vance is a two-time U.S. Open National Scottish Fiddle Champion - the youngest to receive the award, at age 14. With a B.M. and M.M. in Violin Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, Vance has performed and taught internationally, serving as guest lecturer at University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy and guest artist at the William Kennedy Piping Festival in Armagh.

He is a founding member of Celtic Ensemble Dréos and World Music Ensemble Alchymeia and a composer with a distinctive melodic and harmonic vocabulary, having given the World Premiere of his original composition “Gael Storm” for fddle and orchestra with Cleveland Pops Orchestra at Severance Hall.
Vance performs with a wide variety of ensembles and artists, including, Pacific Music Works, Early Music Vancouver, Northwest Sinfonietta, John Reischman, Nadia Tarnawsky, Alex Fedoriouk, Eliot Grasso, and Stephen Rice. 

Dave Bartley ~ ex-Rougemate plays in duo

Guitarist Dave Bartley also plays mandolin, cittern, and other stringed instruments. He's a prolific composer who revels in

variety of genres from swing to Celtic to Greek Rebetika, playing

with such bands as KGB, Bag o'Tricks, Valse Cafe Orchestra,

and Pasatempo.

He has performed with the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera. He has several recordings and has toured throughout the US, Europe and Australia. 

Cary Black ~ former Rougemate

Bassist Cary Black has recorded prolifically and played with luminaries including Ernestine Anderson, The Kingston Trio, Dan Hicks, Laurie Lewis, Laurindo Almeida, Frankie Avalon, Cheryl Bentyne (Manhattan Transfer), The Boys of the Lough, Bob Brookmeyer, Nokie Edwards (Ventures), The Grand Ol' Opry, Garrison Keillor, Laura Love, Rose Maddox, Mark Murphy, Mollie O'Brien, Joan Rivers, Diane Schuur, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Ernie Watts, and Glen Yarbrough.

 

Cary, also a producer and teacher, has been described by Alan Senauke in "Sing Out!" magazine as "a musician's musician"!

Julian Catford ~recording Rougemate

Guitarist Julian Catford has performed in Mallorca, Spain; Scotland, Tahiti, Mexico, and appeared as a guest artist on television. He has accompanied many notables including Rosemary Clooney, Robert Merrill, and Cab Calloway. He is a prolific composer and has made multiple recordings. An inspired and exceptionally talented musician, Julian has studied with major Brazilian musicians including Arnaldinho do Cavaco and classical guitar with Guillermo Fierens, student of Segovia.

 

He won the WeddingWire Couple's Choice Award for 2014.

 

Steve Rice~ composer & recording ex-Rougemate!

Accordionist Steve Rice has toured extensively with jazz, Klezmer, Cajun, and folkloric groups including "The Mazeltones," "Bochinche," and "Shawn's Kugel." He composes for Rouge and is represented by Black Toast Music. His songs have been heard on shows including: Sons of Anarchy, The Big Bang Theory, Smash, Revenge, and How I Met Your Mother.

 

He won the Oscar Peterson Award at Berklee College of Music for jazz piano and tours internationally with The Harry James Orchestra.

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