Be Our Guest with BOG Alena Bernardi, Catriona Fray & Manoela Wunder (HomeGrown Recording & Collective and 'Coming Home to the Soul' musical)

Alena received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Michigan State University in 2011 as well as a certification in Music Learning Theory at the Early Childhood Level from University of South Carolina. Alena began working as the Music Director at the renowned Los Angeles Elementary and Early Childhood educational institution: Hollywood Schoolhouse in 2011. In June 2019 Alena premiered her critically acclaimed and highly reviewed “Swiped The Musical,” an inspiring musical romantic comedy about online dating, which premiered June 21st at The Hudson Theatre in Hollywood for the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Swiped The Musical received the Fringe’s Encore’s extension award for the success of its initial run.Alena co-founded Unicorn Music Academy in January 2020 to open up the young people’s hearts and minds to the music around them and give them the tools they ned to organize their ideas and create freely. Most recently Alena has been writing, recording and producing with artists at Homegrown Recording Collective. In November 2021 Alena and her writing partners Catriona Fray and Danny Pravder traveled to New York City to produce a new work titled “Divine Feminine Soul” at The Duplex. CATRIONA FRAY is an artist, teacher, and one of the co-creators and producers of Homegrown Recording & Collective. Her music transcends the spirit into an earthy, soulful Gospel/Worship/R&B/Pop experience. Her first single “Do I Believe In Love” was released in August 2021, recorded at Homegrown Recording, and is available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube! Her NEW single “No Fear In Love” is now released on all platforms as well! ​ She is a graduate of UCLA's School of Theater, Film, and Television, where was she was a featured soprano in the UCLA ScatterTones a cappella group, traveled around the country singing at the White House, opened for Grammy Award winning Pentatonix, and filmed with recording artist Jojo in a national commercial for Freeform. ​ She has worked on two Kathleen Marshall (three-time Tony Award director/choreographer) productions Mamma Mia at the Hollywood Bowl and Sweet Charity as Rosie. Her favorite leading roles include the Witch in Into the Woods, Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, and Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde. NYC Off-Broadway concert credits include, Swing 46, Town Hall, Feinstein's/54 Below, (Le) Poisson Rouge, and The Duplex, where she produced, created, and starred in her own cabaret The Melody Plays On: No One is Alone to help raise awareness and donations for the local domestic violence awareness non-profit "Never Alone Again,” and more recently debuted a piece of original material “Divine Feminine Soul”. During the pandemic, she directed/choreographed/music directed a musical revue for a children's theater (socially distanced and masked), taught musical theater classes, and founded Catriona Fray Studios for the Performing Artist. She teaches piano, guitar, voice, acting, dance, musical theater script writing/songwriting, and yoga to students of all ages! Manoela is a native of Rio de Janeiro, violinist and multi-instrumentalist who has established herself in LA as an exceptionally versatile artist. Classically trained, she has a strong passion for improvisation in jazz, blues, and rock genres and is an active composer and arranger. Notable live performances and recordings include Janelle Monáe, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Kygo, Renée Fleming, The Tenors, Common, Deltron 3030, Amanda Palmer, Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra, Frank Ocean, Marco Antonio Solís, Gloria Trevi, and a Quincy Jones benefit with Lang Lang. In addition, Manoela has been featured in films, TV shows and commercials, and regularly plays as a solo guest violinist with local acts. Her music has been heard in the most prominent halls across the country, including Hollywood Bowl, The Forum, Greek Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall. Website: https://www.homegrownrecording.com/