Faculty Member and Daughter Featured at Denton’s Upcoming Jazz Festival
John Racina
John Racina, a faculty member who wears many musical hats at Liberty, was featured in the Denton Record-Chronicle recently regarding his musical talent that will be enjoyed by many at Denton’s upcoming Jazz Festival.
John, a saxophone player, has taught at Liberty 10 years as an assistant band director for Middle and Upper School, and as a teacher in Applied Music in Lower School.
Lisa Racina, John’s daughter, is owner of a dance conservatory in Denton, and will perform with a group of dancers at the festival.
Liberty is blessed to have such a talented group of teachers on staff, like John Racina. To enjoy the complete story from the Denton Record-Chronicle, see below.
Kindred spirits
Going 30 years strong, annual festival still a draw for both young and young at heart
12:36 AM CDT on Sunday, April 11, 2010
By Rachel Mehlhaff / Staff Writer
Lisa Racina and her father, John Racina, will perform separately at the upcoming Denton Arts & Jazz Festival — she with a group of dancers, and he with a jazz quartet.
Lisa Racina, whose dance focus is ballet, owns the Denton Dance Conservatory, which has been around for 22 years. She also stays busy as a performer and the artistic director for the Denton City Contemporary Ballet. Adding to those roles, Lisa is currently choreographing Dirty Rotten Scoundrels for Music Theatre of Denton.
Her father, John, is a saxophone player who has taught at Liberty Christian School since 2000. Before that, he performed at country clubs, weddings and private parties.
He also plays the clarinet and flute.
The University of North Texas graduate — John got a bachelor’s in music education in 1971 — said what really opened the door for his music career was performing as the featured vocalist at the Miss Texas Pageant.
“I took him to show-and-tell after that,” Lisa joked.
When John and three other musicians — a pianist, a bass player and a drummer — take the stage at the festival April 24, their set will be improvised.
“We don’t rehearse,” he said. “We just get up and play.”
The element of the unknown doesn’t affect how much he enjoys himself, John said, because “in jazz, you never know how it’s going to come out.”
His daughter, on the other hand, looks forward to checking out the arts and crafts booths.
“In another life I would probably just do arts and crafts,” she said.
Lisa will perform with her studio and dance company at 4 p.m. April 24.
“She always selects great music,” John said, laughing.
“Oh yeah, my dad’s taste,” she said.
John said he’s known since he was 10 or 11 that he wanted to be a saxophone player. Likewise, Lisa dreamed as a child of becoming a ballerina.
“The one thing about Lisa and I, we both at a young age knew what we were going to be,” John said.
Lisa said she wanted to take a more secure path to her dream, so she opened up a dance studio instead of pursuing a professional dance career. Denton City Contemporary Ballet has staged a holiday dance, A Gift for Emma, for more than a decade.
She credits her mom for being the business-minded one in the family — the person in John and Lisa’s life who “made sure we were both successful,” Lisa said.
Both daughter and father said the festival appeals to all age groups. It’s also a useful marketing tool; after their past performances, John has picked up music gigs and Lisa has signed up future students.
“It’s a great venue for showcasing talent,” John Racina said.
Denton Arts & Jazz Festival
When: 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, April 23; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 24; and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, April 25
On the Web: www.dentonjazzfest.com
Details: Free event.
Racinas’ performances
Date: Saturday, April 24
Time and details: At noon, John Racina performs with his jazz group on the Courtyard Stage; at 4 p.m., Lisa Racina, her Denton Dance Conservatory students and the Denton City Contemporary Ballet perform on the Festival Stage.