Introduce Yourself : Rock Opera Composer with a love for mythology and the occult in Seattle, Washington by Jon Sewell

This is my "Super Hero Origin Story", written in the third person. (Because information should be entertaining!) At age four Jon took ballet, drew pictures of mermaids in fishbowls on the backs of flat-bed trucks, and enjoyed playing underneath the piano while his grandfather imparted a love of jazz. By nine he was playing cello himself and beginning a life-long interest in mythology. Growing up in the shadow of an active volcano and a nuclear power plant during strained economic times and under the watchful tutelage of religious zealots, his disposition was shaped by idyllic days in forest and field distorted by the overarching threat of divine retribution and wrathful calamity. As an adult Jon traveled to Seattle to pursue a career in the performing arts as a guitarist, singer and composer. The influences of jazz and psychedelic rock permeated his writing while his exploration of the esoteric aspects of religion, ritual and the occult further impacted his composition and reshaped his view of reality. Wanting to explore something deeper, Jon brought his love of drama and mythology into his creative work. He was inspired to compose music for each of the seven planetary rituals that comprise Aleister Crowley’s Rites of Eleusis. For over a decade he has been composing and performing with his wife, Melissa Holm in these rock operas. Working as a mild mannered project manager by day, by night Jon shreds on the guitar while he runs a community theater company and audio-video production house that has been recognized around the globe for the innovative and entertaining adaptations they develop for stage and video. And Jon is genuinely pleased to meet you!