The Singer and The Songwriter is the musical duo of queer-mixed-race-Mexican-American vocalist/songwriter Rachel Garcia and Vietnamese-American guitarist/songwriter (and MHS theatre alumnus) Thu Tran. “The duo creates soft melodic songs, that could just as easily exist as poems. Beautiful, and full of sound and emotion” (Playlist Play) while their multi-cultural backgrounds bring depth and diversity to the rich traditions of folk, jazz and blues music; genres they navigate between with ease and fluidity.

The duo has been captivating audiences across the US with their intimate live shows at house concerts, theaters, listening rooms, and coffeehouses. At times heartbreaking and at times hilarious, their performances are open-hearted conversations with the audience where they share their stories full of honesty, humor and wit, while delivering their songs with riveting, economical precision. Their live shows are filled with “inimitable storytelling, musical mastery, and soul-baring honesty. These two are truly a gift.” (High Plains Public Radio)

Garcia’s voice is “rich and mellow, strong and elegant, delicate and turbulent” (The Huffington Post) while Tran’s dynamic guitar-playing “shimmies and swings like Django Reinhardt” (Nooga).

In 2022, they were named finalists in the Grassy Hill New Folk Song Competition at the Kerrville Music Festival as well as finalists in the 21st Annual NewSong Competition. They have released 3 critically-acclaimed albums, and are currently preparing to release their next full-length album.

We are a group of people from different backgrounds. We have had different experiences. We have different religious beliefs. We represent this diverse community….like a spice rack. Spices add flavor to the blandest of foods. And we add flavor to life through our differences and our mutual love of theatre.

For the second time in four years, our theatre program has been selected by a board of governors to perform in this summer’s Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland! Our trip will begin in London, where we will take in the sites while acclimating to the British time zone, then traveling north to Edinburgh where we will perform a piece we will have created ourselves for an international audience at the world’s largest arts festival!

This is a huge honor for Milpitas High and the entire Milpitas community.

Our performances (on August 4, 5, 7, and 8) will be part of the American High School Theatre Festival, which is now celebrating its 28th year of existence. WE WILL BE PERFORMING A SHORT SNEAK PEEK OF OUR SHOW, A MESS OF MORALITY, AT THIS CONCERT! 

To learn more about us, and the show we are creating for this adventure, go to our website: https://kschwart2.wixsite.com/messofmorality

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Ours is an award winning program, with most of our awards being for playwriting. These awards were won through our participation in the 1440 Countdown at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. Our theatre courses focus heavily on creating original material using various prompts, suggestions, and performance styles. We do also use scenes from both classical and contemporary plays.

We give students a forum to express themselves, and provide a safe space for them to tell their stories, speak their truths, and develop their self-esteem. We encourage students to build bridges of understanding across all facets of life. We also foster an appreciation of the arts. Students aren’t just training for the performing arts; they’re preparing for working relationships in all career pathways. In all fields.