Love Letters to Vincent
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“Love Letters for Vincent” – a very special multi-art tribute to Vincent van Gogh, co-created by pianist Kayleen Asbo and poet Rosemerry Trommer.
Celebrate the life and legacy of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh—who changed the way the world saw itself through his art. World-renowned pianist and cultural historian Kayleen Asbo composed eighteen pieces inspired by specific works that span his career, and beloved poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer created poems for each piece, creating an interdisciplinary tapestry of art, music and poetry that explores not only Vincent’s life story, but also belonging, beauty, madness, devotion, loss, identity, creativity, gratefulness, how we meet the most difficult moments of our lives, and just how connected our stories are.
7pm, Michael D. Palm Theatre
Advance Tickets: $20/Adults, $10/Students
About Kayleen and Rosemerry:
Kayleen Asbo (piano) is a passionate scholar: a cultural historian, musician, writer and teacher who weaves myth, music, psychology, history and art with experiential learning. A past faculty member of the Pacifica Graduate Institute and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Kayleen also taught for the Osher Life Long Learning Institutes at UC Berkeley, Sonoma State University and Dominican University. Her classes on a wide array of topics ranging from Depth Psychology to Dante to the History of Classical Music have been hailed as “inspirational,” “fascinating and compelling,” “transformational” and “truly life changing.” Her favorite description came from an event producer who introduced her as a cross between Joseph Campbell, Leonard Bernstein and Wonder Woman.
Educated at Smith College, Mills College, the San Francisco Conservatory, Pacifica Graduate Institute and the University of California, Kayleen also holds three master’s degrees: one each in music (piano performance), mythology and psychology. Kayleen has been a guest presenter and lecturer on the intersection of history, mythology, psychology and the arts at Oxford University in England, the Assisi Institute of Depth Psychology Conference in Italy, the Houston Jung Institute, Chartres Cathedral in France, the Cambridge Jung Institute, Grace Cathedral and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. In Pre-Covid times, Kayleen was a pre-concert lecturer for the San Francisco Opera and the music historian in residence for the Santa Rosa Symphony https://www.kayleenasbo.com/
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer (poet) co-hosts Emerging Form (a podcast on creative process), Secret Agents of Change (a surreptitious kindness cabal) and Soul Writers Circle. Her poetry has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, PBS News Hour, O Magazine, Rattle.com, American Life in Poetry, Carnegie Hall stage, and her daily poetry blog, A Hundred Falling Veils. Since 2006, she’s been writing a poem a day. Her poetry collections include All the Honey, Hush (winner of the Halcyon Prize) and Naked for Tea (finalist for the Able Muse Book Award). Her poems are included in the acclaimed anthologies Poetry of Presence, How to Love the World and The Path to Kindness, and daily she hosts The Poetic Path on the Ritual app. She teaches poetry for parents, scientists, mindfulness retreats and kindergarteners. One-word mantra: Adjust. www.wordwoman.com
