About First Look Sonoma
John Duykers and Missy Weaver are Co-Founders of First Look Sonoma, established in 2010. We are creators, presenters, and advocates for new vocal performance works.
This innovative program's vision is to collaborate with other creative organizations, creative artists, performance venues, art patrons, and arts and community organizations to produce world-class vocal performance art for Sonoma County, the San Francisco Bay Area and other audiences around the world.
First Look Sonoma explores contemporary cultural issues using a collaborative approach. They provide the laboratory workshop environment that performance artists can benefit from to create new works while cultivating performance opportunities for composers, visual artists, and musicians.
First Look Sonoma is a fiscal sponsorship of Musical Traditions, Inc.
John Duykers
General Director
John has had a long, wide experience in the vocal performance world as an opera singer, contemporary music performer and presenter, and actor.
Melissa Weaver
Artistic Director
O: 707-823-9269
Missy has a wide experience in stage direction, dramaturgy, production management, visual design and artistic vision and instincts that contribute an immense amount to John and Missy’s ongoing desire to create new vocal performance art works.
Natalie Clegg
Marketing/Development Associate
Natalie has worked with many non-profit arts organizations to help build their audience base and increase funding such as Long Beach Opera, The Los Angeles Children's Chorus, and Opera Parallèle.
Lisa Sylvester
Musical Advisor
O: 707-823-9269
Lisa Sylvester enjoys an active career as collaborative pianist, coach and conductor. She has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the L.A. Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Master Chorale
Richard Aldag
Development Associate
Richard Aldag (of Aldag Arts Consultants) has over three decades of arts management and organizational development experience. He has served as Executive Director of organizations including the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Napa Valley Symphony, Lincoln Theater, and Los Lupeños de San José.
Amanda Moody
Collaborative Performer
Amanda Moody is a writer/actor/singer and has worked with SOMAR Gallery Theatre, The Paul Dresher Ensemble, Magic Theatre, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, City Summer Opera, and Berkeley Opera.
Matthew Eben Jones
Director of Visual Alchemy
Matthew Eben Jones is a self-prescribed “visual alchemist” and a meta-musician who runs a VJ label / production company called the “Vizwrap Society”. He creates immersive, stereo-scopic, audio-reactive projections for opera companies and for other various events.
Laura Bohn
Collaborative Performer
Laura Bohn is a well-established vocalist, performer. and movement specialist for First Look Sonoma. She has performed with numerous companies in the US and abroad including West Edge Opera, the Teatro Real in Madrid, Syracuse Opera, and SacroProfano to name a few.
First Look Sonoma Advisory Commitee
Chris Costin – Lawyer/Partner - Beyers/Costin/Simon
David Shaw – Director, Art Beat Shows
Neva Turer – President, Sonoma County San Francisco Opera Guild
Dan Smith – Director/CEO, Electronic Health Records International
Joan Marler – President, Institute of Archeomythology
Dennis Matthies – Founder/President, Precision Questioning