About Us

Community of the Spirit seeks to fulfill deep, honest expression through the original compositions, the personal interpretations of the material, and the art of improvisation.

We are comprised of an eclectic instrumentation (particularly for jazz) of vocalist, flute, piano, string quartet, and upright bass. Our music is set to various inspirational poets, including traditional short Japanese poetry, Rilke, and Rumi. We prefer not to be classified in any particular genre, as our musical backgrounds are all varied, but our music crosses between classical, jazz, latin, and folk.

Vocalist Kate Victor, from Fairfield, CT, is a jazz vocal major at William Paterson University of New Jersey. Kate has been singing since the time she decided to perform "A Whole New World" for everyone in line at the grocery store when she was three years old, but she also has been playing the cello for 11 years. Kate loves to perform most styles, and looks forward to breaking into the jazz scene.

Flutist Shannon Baker is a jazz composition and arranging graduate student at William Paterson University of New Jersey. She received a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz studies from the University of North Florida, where she studied saxophone with Bunky Green. Baker has performed and lead various groups in the Tampa, FL area.

Pianist Erica Seguine received her BM from the Eastman School of Music in Jazz Composition, studying with teachers Bill Dobbins and Harold Danko, and she is currently pursuing a Masters degree at William Paterson, studying with Rich DeRosa. She has won numerous awards such as 1st Place in the 1st biannual Zurich Jazz Orchestra Composition Competition, Honorable Mention in the 2009 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards, and was selected for the NYSSMA 2004 Young Composers Honors Concert. She has also performed as a classical accompanist and jazz pianist in various groups and settings.

Leo Sherman is a bassist and composer in the New York and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas. He currently resides in NYC and freelances around the Mid-Atlantic. While in D.C., Leo was fortunate to perform with members of the Airmen of Note, Navy Commodores, and other national big bands. He also played with a professional latin/salsa band called Big Band Caliente. Some of the musicians he's performed or recorded with include: Conrad Herwig, Rich DeRosa, Benito Gonzalez, Joni Paladin, Gail Marten, Tim Ford, Bob Boguslaw, Ed Crowe, Frank Russo, Michael Price, Jeff Antoniuk, Perry Conticchio, The Joe Etzine Trio, Donvonte McCoy, Mark Mosley, and Brian Settles, and he performs regularly at clubs and restaurant-bars such as Shrine, Smalls, the Lenox Lounge, and Stop 125.

Violin- Flora Yousefi

Violin- Kim Chiesa

Violist Elaine Wisniewski is a music education major at Montclair State University and chapter president of A.S.T.A. (American String Teachers Association) Wisniewski plays with the Tim Keyes Consort, teaches at the MSU Preparatory Center for the Arts, and hopes to play with a professional orchestra someday.

Cellist- Mitsuko Flynn