Music is the soul of Columbus Center for Spiritual Living
We sing together just to make sure that Spirit knows we are in the house!
Lisa Yvonne Ferraro: Minister of Music, Producer and Art Director
A global force for good, renowned vocalist and songwriter Lisa Ferraro is also respected around the world as a leading retreat facilitator and producer, Spiritual mentor, and ICF certified Personal Growth & Empowerment coach. Whether singing or leading meditation workshops, Lisa plays with the subtleties of the delicate vibrational balance between thoughts, sound, belief, faith, wisdom and materialization. Her music and her wise and beautiful poetry teach others how they can change their lives by expanding their consciousness.
In 2018 Lisa received the Arts Award from Centers for Spiritual Living world wide organization in recognition for her consciousness raising musical contributions to the world. She and her late wife Erika Luckett received this award. Lisa is a contributing writer to Science of Mind Magazine. She reviews books and recordings as well as writes inspired articles.
Lisa has recorded and performed nationally and internationally with big band jazz ensembles, rock and soul bands, and in a duo with the dynamic vocalist and virtuoso guitarist Erika Luckett. In 2009, Lisa and Erika were selected from among thousands of musical groups to perform songs from their recording On the Way of Love: Songs Inspired by Rumi at the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Melbourne, Australia.
Lisa debuted an original composition with Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops, and has performed and recorded with jazz legends Houston Person, Hendrik Merkins and Roger Humphries. As a recipient of a Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour grant for many years, she toured throughout the US and Canada with Mike Tomaro and the Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra. Her recording Jazz Up the Holidays was nominated for an International Independent Music Award in 2006. Her latest expression, Serenading The Moon, made the Billboard Jazz charts and culminates in a collaboration with some of the finest players on the jazz scene today. As a composer, Lisa Ferraro has written music for ABC TV’s Wife Swap; Polygram Films; The Roberto Clemente Foundation; and the play The Other Side of the River, which aired on PBS stations. A talented songwriter, Lisa was commissioned by Major League baseball and the Pittsburgh Pirates to write and perform the song More Than A Man commemorating the late great Roberto Clemente.
Choir directing is one of Lisa’s super powers. She has a way of making everyone she’s standing in front of sing at an energetic level they’ve not experienced before while creating a synergy of symphonic sound producing a powerfully charged force which heals, shifts and realigns all beings in it’s path! Truly a wondrous experience.
Along with Rev. Dr. David Leonard, Lisa co-founded Circle of Love Gathering. More about COLG at circleoflovegatherin.com
Our music supports the powerful Sunday messages through the soulful sound of our house band, Tony Bonardi on keyboards, Steve Perakis on bass, and Joe Nelson on drums, along with our talented singers and musicians.
Each Sunday special guests offers a wide variety of musical styles, from soul to jazz to rock and roll.
Tony Bonardi, Piano
Tony Bonardi has been wowing audiences with his creative keyboard skills for over 20 years.
As a teenager he cut his teeth performing in Northern Ohio clubs under the tutelage of St. Louis bluesman and Tina Turner alum, Sonny Robertson. Now residing in Columbus, Tony keeps a busy schedule playing with a variety of acts throughout the Midwest.
Just as adept playing salsa and top 40 as he is in a jazz environment, Tony truly brings his diverse, energetic influence to all appearances.
Steve Perakis, Bass Guitar
Steve Perakis performs locally and internationally in a multitude of styles, on electric and double bass.
He writes and composes in many styles and is the leader of several local groups, teaches privately and owns a growing project recording studio.
He has been playing bass for more than four decades, has two decades of accompaniment experience in musical theater, international and modern dance. He also sings, plays guitar, drums and keyboards.
Joe Nelson, Drums
For me, music is one of the most direct expressions of the divine. It’s joy brings people together, heals our souls, and helps make our connection to each other more clear. I’ve been playing music since before I can remember but my professional career started at age 15.
My collegiate studies were at The University of Cincinnati, Capital University, and The Ohio State University. I’ve also studied in Caracas (Venezuela), as well as Salvador and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Able to perform most styles of Western Pop Music, I regularly perform Latin American music, Rock, Soul, Country, Jazz, Worship, and Reggae.
I reside in Columbus, Ohio with my wife Jenny and two sons, Sam (13) and Shade (2). I have had the pleasure of being on staff at the Columbus Center for Spiritual Living for 6 years.
Carisa Holmes – Vocals, Flute, Singer/Songwriter, Assistant Choir Director
Carisa Holmes is an author, coach, and musician on a mission to facilitate the birth of creative power and to promote the acknowledgement and recognition of the creative arts as vehicles for self expression, healing, and evolution.
Carisa is a singer/songwriter, electronic music producer, and multi-instrumentalist who finds her joy in exploring many different genres of musical expression. From the deeply restful meditation music of her group Sanjati, to her emotive New Thought songs, and the danceable beats of her EDM group Tingari, Carisa’s music opens a portal to realms beyond form, initiating an inpouring-outpouring of a mystical essence that runs deeper than emotion and reflects the light of her soul.
Carisa enjoys exploration and expansion in her craft, and has appeared at major music festivals – such as Electric Forest and Rootwire Transformational Arts Festival – as well as private retreats, raucous celebrations, and quiet ceremonies. She is also thrilled to be a part of the music program at the Columbus Center for Spiritual Living, where she is grateful for the opportunity to share her choral and solo music.
When she’s not performing or writing, Carisa loves using her voice in her healing work, and facilitates sound therapy and creative arts programs in Central Ohio and beyond.
Jesse Powers – Vocalist, Guitar
Jesse Powers is a small-town lady and South Carolina native now enjoying the bright lights and smooth tunes of the midsize city of Columbus, OH.
With her tumbling vocal stylings and powerhouse melodies, Jesse’s sound seeks to captivate, awaken, and entertain those who listen.
Her raw and poignant lyricism blended with straightforward guitar work create a musical skydiving experience—a long lyrical jump into the depths of the human heart softened by a parachute of undemanding instrumentation.
Wasting no time, her perceptive and penetrating songs fly straight to the soul. Her debut album “Begin” was released in late 2017.
Chad Warren
Chad has grown up in the New Thought movement and straddles both the world of popular music and spiritual songs.
Chad is a songwriter and guitar player and is currently working on a new CD entitled Learning to Communicate.
He is also a frequent guest at the Young Adults Service on Wednesday evenings.
Ralph Leeseberg
Ralph plays music in all the New Thought churches and Centers in the area.
He plays with the sixties rock band, The Bead People, and is a singer-songwriter well-known for his humor and sense of fun.
