Chance Program
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Thank you for attending this very special edition of ‘Alumni Shares: Stories From the Park’ panel series. Not only will you have front row seat to the first time these talented ladies from Prince’s New Power Generation band have converged together publicly, you’ll be a part of healing. 100% of todays event proceeds will benefit New Power Generation keyboardist, Chance Howard, who zigzagged the world playing keyboards alongside Prince for nearly 100 sold out shows and has been a working musician most of his life. He is now, however, recovering from a very serious car accident that resulted in 12 broken ribs, a severed aorta and a severely damaged spine. While Chance is recovering in a rehabilitation facility, learning how to walk again, your donations to the GoFundMe his bandmate and friend Candy Dulfer created, as well as your well wishes and participation here today have served to lighten his spirits and financial burden in these tough days. We thank you. PRN Alumni Foundation was founded by former Prince employees with the mission to continue the quiet generosity of their global superstar boss. We support our colleagues in times of crisis, kids music/tech and art programs as well as food sustainability and confidence programs. Just as Prince did. Learn more about us at PRNAlumni.org Cora Dunham began her musical journey at Kashmere High School under senior William Portis and at church under Mamie L. Johnson. She played in the marching and concert bands and by the 11th grade, moved on to play the drum set. After graduating as valedictorian, Cora received her Bachelor of Science Degree at Howard University. After achieving the honor of becoming the first female section leader of Howard's Thunder Machine marching drum section, she went on to win 1st Place against 5,000 drummers in Guitar Center's 2002 Annual National Drum-Off. This crowned her as the first female to make it to the national level, and earned her the title of the Nation's Best Amateur Drummer. Cora and her husband, Joshua, played as the dynamic rhythm section for 5+ years with international artist, Prince, and she can be heard on the Te Amo Corazon, 3121, Planet Earth, and LotusFlow3r albums. Her roster of artists include, but are not limited to, Goapele, P!nk, Zac Harmon, Frank McComb, IL Divo, Phil Upchurch, Maceo Parker, and Ledisi. Cora now drums for BET's Annual Black Girls Rock! Awards and has historically graced the Super Bowl Half-Time Show with both, Prince (XLI) & Beyonce (XLVII). She has played with Beyonce for 2 1/2 years, where she also served as bandleader. Coleman continues to perform across the globe, but for the past years she has spent more time SPECIAL GUEST in her hometown carving out a second career: owner of a construction company. Cora Coleman launched Building Simple, a company that designs modular shipping crates for living and work space. Dutch saxophonist CANDY DULFER has earned her place in music history - with her Grammy-nominated debut album Saxuality, combined worldwide sales of over 2.5 million copies of her solo albums, sensational performances with the greatest names in music, several Number 1 hits in the USA, and her worldwide concert tours and legendary live shows. She rose to fame with high-profile collaborations with Dave Stewart (the worldwide Number 1 smash ‘Lily Was Here’) and of course Prince - including his ‘Partyman’ video, the record-shattering Musicology Tour and their performance at the Grammy Awards with Beyoncé. Candy was also fortunate to work - both in the studio and on stage - with many other music legends, including Van Morrison, Maceo Parker, Sheila E., Mavis Staples, Lionel Richie, Pink Floyd, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, and many others. Despite these amazing collaborations, Candy always focused on her solo career, wanting to stay true to her love for funk, jazz and - above all - live performing, carrying on the legacy of her father, famous saxophonist Hans Dulfer. A female artist who has managed to stay SPECIAL GUEST truly autonomous throughout her career, Candy has been touring the world virtually non-stop for the last 35 years. Her live performances are unforgettable, always exciting. Southern-born guitarist/vocalist Kat Dyson relocated to Los Angeles from Montreal via Minneapolis, where she was a featured guitarist & vocalist with Prince as a member of the New Power Generation. Her contributions to this musical alliance can be heard on the following recordings: Emancipation, The Truth and Newpowersoul. Along the way, she has performed with renowned artists including Cyndi Lauper, Natalie Cole, Ivan Neville, Donny Osmond ,Seal, George Clinton and the P-Funk AllStars, Musique Soulchild, Phoebe Snow, Res, The Winans, Mary Mary, Yolanda Adams, Big Mamma Thornton, Ben E. King, Bo Diddley, Odetta, Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir, Celine Dion, Roch Voisine and many others. Her studio work includes sessions for Keb Mo', Ziggy Marley, Sheila E., Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) and Mick Jagger [Alfie soundtrack], Jeff Healey, Jamaican producers Sly and Robbie, Cat Cooer of Third World and Bernie Worrell (Parliament Funkadelic). Before joining forces with Prince, Ms. Dyson was a contributing guitarist and vocalist on the multi- platinum Cyndi Lauper greatest hits album, "12 Deadly Cyns", along with 'Sisters of Avalon' "At Last" and "The Body Acoustic". She continues to perform with Ms. Lauper. Highlights of her work in film and television include: As a featured credited musician, she can be heard in the filmscore for DANCING AT THE BLUE IGUANA, She also composed and performed several pieces of music for HBO's AMERICA UNDERCOVER. Ms. Dyson has also been a fixture as lead guitarist in such talk-show house bands as The Wayne Brady Show, The Donny & Marie Show, and The Magic SPECIAL GUEST Hour, with Sheila E. Kat is a go-to guitarist for many; including Black Rock Coalition events, such as THE BRC all female orchestra. She's released an EP 'COLOUR KOMMENTARY, she continues composing music for television and film in Los Angeles. Mayte Garcia grew up all over the United States and in Germany, thanks to her father's military career while spending her summers in Puerto Rico. Drawing inspiration from her mother, a professional belly dancer, Mayte began classical ballet and belly dancing at the age of three, and became the world’s youngest professional belly dancer at age of 8 when featured on the popular TV show, “That’s Incredible.” At age 18, Prince asked her to be a part of the New Power Generation. From 1992 to 1996, she was a featured dancer and background singer with Prince and the NPG, appearing in several music videos, tours, award shows, national and international television shows. She is prominent in much of Prince’s work at that time either dancing, singing, directing or choreographing. Under Prince’s mentorship, she released the album “Child of the Sun,” with the single “If I Love You 2Night.” Mayte and Prince were married 1996 though 2000. Mayte was recently seen in her first studio film, New Regency’s 'Firehouse Dog', and the independent feature 'Life Is Hot IN CrackTown' opposite Victor Rasuk, Brandon Routh and Kerry Washington. She also starred in ‘Ego' opposite Eve and Vincent Laresca. On television, Mayte has appeared on Lifetime’s “Army Wives”, USA’s “Psych,” NBC’s “Las Vegas” as well as the season finale for the TNT show “The Closer,” and on the FX hit show “Nip Tuck.” She is the author of a bestselling book ‘The Most Beautiful: My Life with Prince’, appeared on the TV show ‘Hollywood Exes’ and currently runs a busy SPECIAL GUEST 501c3 non-profit placing adoptable dogs with new and loving families, Mayte’s Rescue. Rhonda Smith is an innovative musician and visionary, and has sparked several genres of music including smooth jazz/funk and electrified funk/rock. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, her family moved to the French and Jazz-influenced Montreal while Rhonda was still a child and surrounded by the sounds of piano riffs, her mother’s instrument of choice, as well as a lot of rock & roll. Rhonda attended McGill University in Montreal where she studied jazz performance and played with many notable Canadian artists including Claude Dubois, Daniel Lavoie, Robert Charlebois, and Joanne Blouin. She won a coveted Juno Award (The Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for her work with Jim Hillman and The Merlin Factor. A chance meeting with Sheila E. put Prince and Rhonda in the same orbit. After an audition she found herself in the studio recording bass parts on his 'Emancipation' album the very same day. In addition to the near decade she spent alongside Prince, Rhonda performed with Chaka Khan, Beyonce, T. I., Erykah Badu, Patti Austin, Patrice Rushen, Brenda Russell, Lee Ritenour, Larry Graham, Patti Labelle, Little Richard, Najee, Candy Dulfer, Rachel Farrell, Kirk Whalum and George Clinton. Rhonda has been featured in numerous music videos, appeared on the covers of Bass Player and Bassics magazines and even spent stints with The Martin Short Show and The Wayne Brady Show. She released solo records, 'Intellipop' and 'RS2', and Photo: Prince also spent time cultivating her own band, Rhonda SPECIAL GUEST Smith and Karma Deuce. And if her creative cup wasn’t already full, Rhonda can also be found currently touring with guitar legend, Jeff Beck. Powerhouse vocalist and entertainer Shelby Johnson, aka 'Shelby J’ hails from North Carolina and her decade in Prince’s New Power Generation ensemble began in the pouring rain at the NFL's XLI Halftime Show, performing in one of the most popular and revered halftime shows in NFL history.