In the News | Cali Rose

Local and national mentions about my work and The CC Strummers!

Cali Rose featured in OokTown’s Ukulele Podcast

Coming to you straight outta Culver City, Cali Rose comes to talk to us about the beginnings of The CC Strummers, affirms the power of the ukulele in music therapy, and takes us through her journey from studying nursing to full-time musician. Hosts: Stuart Yoshida, Doug Brown. Watch on YouTube or Listen on iTunes.

Cali’s Ukulele Kids Club Workshop Available Online

Register and view future classes

View archived videos of UKC classes

I am honored to have been invited to teach a workshop for the Ukulele Kids Club Academy and I am proud to announce that my class “Turning a Song Into an Arrangement” is now available online.

The UKC is an international charity that delivers thousands of free ukuleles to children around the world to help them manage the stress, anxiety and challenges they face as patients in pediatric hospitals. Families, friends, staff all benefit from this gift of music as well.

The UKC Academy has produced a series of online classes with ukulele teachers and music therapists where you can get resources and expand your ukulele knowledge so please check out their other fine videos.

Cali Rose Invited to Teach Ukulele Kids Club Workshop

October 4, 2020

For several years, my ukulele group, The CC Strummers, has partnered with The Ukulele Kids Club, donating enough money to keep UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital stocked with ukes to give away to kids in pediatrics. Before the pandemic hit, we did regular rounds with our music therapist, Jenna B., playing for the kids, their families, the nurses and staff, folks in the hospital lobby, in the elevators and for the valet guys in the garage. We can hardly wait to get back and share more ukulele joy.

So I was especially honored to be invited back to teach another online ukulele workshop hosted by UKC Academy last September. I talk about how to “fancy up” basic chords while we sing, and share embellishments that are cool AND easy.

a flyer for a ukulele event held september 2020 — virtual event flyer

*(Pre-Pandemic) The CC Strummers gave this terrific kid a ukulele. He was SO excited to run his fingers across the strings.*

Considering all the multitasking we already do when we accompany ourselves on an instrument, it’s nice to learn something user-friendly that we can throw in to the mix. I also talk about the fundamentals—rhythm, harmony, melody—and how the ukulele fits into the “big picture” of music. It was a lovely gathering on Zoom. The ukulele is a global phenomenon because almost anyone can learn to play a song and put a smile on someone’s face. The Ukulele Kids Club is living proof of that.

Overture magazine article: ‘MusicianFest’ Doc Shares the Healing Power of Music

By American Federation of Musicians Local 47

July 2019 Read the article online

Newspaper article: Music improves the quality of life for Long Beach seniors, and keeps them going

By Kalaisha Totty, Press-Telegram

June 26, 2019 Read the article online

Newspaper article: Long Beach Seniors Star In Movie About Music’s Impacts On Seniors

By Amy Orr, The Grunion, July 1, 2019 Read the article online

newspaper article thumbnail showing people singing

Big News! I’m in the Movies!

Music Performance Trust Fund, March 2018 Watch documentary online

Three mature women smiling. They are dressed in shades of pink and red. A banner with the words Musician Fest appears behind them.

Never Too Old is a new documentary depicting music’s power to enrich life for older audiences, and for the musicians themselves. This half-hour film highlights the power of music and explores the paths that led professional musicians (including me!) to perform for older audiences. It shines a light on MusicianFest, an initiative of the Music Performance Trust Fund, to provide free musical performances at senior centers and assisted living facilities in the US and Canada. Watch the half-hour documentary in its entirety on the Music Performance Trust Fund website. I appear around minute 19. Watch the whole documentary—it’s inspirational!