Chris & Tim & Friends band
Christine Plasencia, throughout her career as a music instructor and performer, has always nurtured the love of music in herself and her students. Christine earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in violin performance from Central Michigan University (1982-1986). She continued graduate work in performance and music education at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (1986-1989). During this time she played in several professional symphonies including Saginaw Symphony (1984-1986), Memphis Symphony (1987), and the Springfield Symphony (1987-1989). Christine’s interest in musical styles shifted over the years to fiddle and jazz styles. Over the years she has lead several bands including Fiddle Gumbo, Segue and most recently Chris and Tim and Friends.
Christine’s love of music has guided her for over 20 years as a private music instructor of violin, viola, cello and piano. She developed two after school string programs in Oxnard, one at St. John’s Lutheran School and Church (2008-2019) and one at Our Lady of Guadalupe School (2018-2021). One of her favorite teaching positions was teaching incarcerated youth to play the violin at Colston in Ventura and the Juvenile Justice Facility in Oxnard (2003-2013). In the years 2010-2012 she co-founded the Ventura County Harmony Project with Pablo Plasencia which later became the Laby Harmony Project which provides tuition-free, long-term, high quality musical opportunity to children in underserved communities.
Tim Martinez
Tim Martinez is a passionate musician, woodworker and cook whose creativity shines through everything he does. Whether improvising a guitar solo, crafting a custom piece of furniture, or creating something memorable in the kitchen, Tim approaches every endeavor with imagination, precision, and heart.
His love of woodworking is rooted in a remarkable family legacy. Tim’s grandfather, an accomplished craftsman, served as chief draftsman for LA Mill Works, whose architectural woodwork graces such landmarks as the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Getty Villa in Malibu, and the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena.
Tim’s family history extends even further through his grandfather’s great-uncle, Edwin Kleber ( E.K.) Wood, founder of the E.K. Wood Lumber Company. Before the Great Depression, E.K. Wood became one of California’s largest lumber companies, pioneering the shipment of lumber by rail in the United States. The company also owned the magnificent wooden sailing ship C.A. Thayer, built in 1895. After more than six decades in service, the vessel was donated to the San Francisco Maritime Museum, where it remains one of the museum’s treasured historic ships.
Growing up surrounded by this rich woodworking heritage, Tim learned that beautifully crafted objects should be built to last for generations. That philosophy continues to guide his work today, with every project created to become a future heirloom.
Tim’s creative spirit emerged early. He began playing piano at age six and displayed an exceptional mechanical aptitude from childhood, building nearly anything he could imagine. As a young teenager, he designed and built a remarkably detailed Ace Frehley costume-including the platform boots, costume, and full-size replica guitars. At thirteen, he completed his first electric guitar and soon began playing it in his school’s jazz band.
Influenced by artists such as Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Rush, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Jeff Beck, and Genesis, Tim developed his musicianship largely through self-study. Over the years he has performed in rock bands, jazz ensembles, orchestras, show productions, and vocal groups, cultivating a lifelong love of musical performance.
At age twenty-four, Tim turned his woodworking talent into a profession after being commissioned to reproduce and hand-carve architectural details for the restoration of a historic Montecito estate designed by renowned Santa Barbara architect George Washington Smith.
For more than thirty-five years, Tim has earned his living through his craftmanship, creating exceptional custom furniture, architectural pieces, and one-of-a-kind heirlooms-most of them his own design. His two greatest passions, woodworking and music, continue to inspire one another. Whether performing rock, jazz, bluegrass, or fiddle music, shaping fine wood in his workshop, or preparing a memorable meal, Tim brings the same dedication to excellence, artistry, and originality to everything he creates.
