Arts Division Staff

George Gomez-Wheeler is a composer and performer of acoustic and electronic music. His work combines diverse instruments and genres, musical interactivity between performer and computer, concepts of spatialization, and video processing. His current research interests continue to focus on a theoretical approach to electroacoustic music composition as well as the creation and mapping of new electronic musical instruments that attempt to capture human expression.
He performed for fifteen years as a saxophonist and Technical Director of the Liquid Skin Ensemble, a seven-member group comprised of classical, jazz and rock musicians, which performed at major venues in Los Angeles, such as the Japan America Theater, the Getty Museum, as well as at the LG Arts Complex in Seoul, Korea.
He is a co-founding member of Frère Concrète, a new music electroacoustic duo that consists of flute, saxophones and EWI, dueling laptops, and visuals, which has performed at different university venues in Los Angeles including The Daniel Recital Hall at CSULB, The Wild Beast and the R.O.D. Theatre at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).
George has collaborated with choreographers for many years. Recently, he premiered “Arise,” a commission for percussion quartet, at REDCAT (May 2015), and “(R)evolve,” a collaboration with Choreographer Leslie Scott at the Sharon Disney Lund Theatre, CalArts. He also was involved in the event “Speed Dating and Hookups” at Art Share L.A. (May 2014), which included a structured improvisation with Damon Rago and a free improvisation with Loretta Livingston.
His Multimedia Video/Dance collaboration with Choreographer Lauren Winslow-Kearns, and Filmmaker Mark Vanocur, with the piece, “Everywhere I Look,” is part of the New York Library permanent collection. Additionally, he has composed original music and sound design for the Body Talk Dance Company
As a professional sound engineer, he worked with many local groups spanning from Rock, Punk, Ska, and Latin Jazz to Postmodern/Contemporary Classical.
Dr. George Gomez-Wheeler recently created the Music and Integrated Technology program at Rio Hondo College. Prior to that, he served for over fifteen years on the Composition/Theory faculty at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSULB, as well as Cypress College, Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA), and the Sharon Disney Lund Dance Department at CalArts. He received his Ph.D. from UCI in Integrated Composition, Improvisation, and Technology (ICIT).

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Wendy has worked at Rio Hondo since 1999.  She began her career at Rio Hondo as a student worker, and became the Division Secretary for the Arts and Cultural Programs in February of 2016.   Wendy loves the arts and is thrilled to get to work in an area surrounded by it.  When time and opportunity permit, she can be found moonlighting as a concert photographer or coming up with outlandish Halloween themes for the office.   Her work can be found in various bands websites, and in an upcoming movie in 2017, but if you blink you might miss it.  She is also working on merchandise featuring her past work.

 

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Abby has worked at Rio Hondo College since the beginning of 2017.  She earned her degree in Sociology from Cal State Fullerton with a minor in English.  She works behind the scenes on all the logistical needs for each event as it relates to Theatre, Music, Dance and Art as well as the Family and Community events the college offers.  She can often be found spending weekends attending community events, art exhibits and live music.

 

 

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Gabe attended Rio Hondo College in the 1980’s. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre from Cal State San Bernardino.  Gabe has worked at the Mark Taper Forum and La Mirada Theatre Center, as well as many area theaters as a carpenter, properties artisan and technical director.  Gabe is also an accomplished actor and an aspiring playwright, loves karaoke, long walks in the moonlight and is fond of German lagers.  He has traveled and performed with Rio Hondo theatre students to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and to our sister city, Changshu, China.

 

 

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Bio coming soon

 

 

 

 

 

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Dave began his work in the theatre in 2014 as a photography student right here at Rio Hondo. He was awarded Federal Work Study, and the only opening available at the time was at the Wray Theater. Although he had never worked in a theater before, and had very little knowledge of the technical side of theatrical production, he dove right in. In his first week of working in the theater he fell in love and wanted to learn as much as he could. He made it a point to absorb every bit of knowledge from the theatre staff and faculty, and now he is proud to work as the Theatre Technician alongside the same amazing people to taught him so much.