The Four Muses Production Team
Jonathan Morgan Jenkins
Jonathan Morgan Jenkins is The Four Muses President and middle son of FM founders Jim and Mary Jenkins. He took up the guitar at an early age and was a member of a performing San Clemente surf band, THE EXCEPTIONS by 5th grade. At the Muses, a Friday Night Hoot was his first solo stage experience. He was assistant stage tech for many of the FM off-site concert productions. After The Four Muses closed, he started work on his BA in Music Education and Composition and also graduated with two California State teaching Credentials. Following years of coaching musicians, specifically vocalists, he earned two degrees in Cinema and Post Production. In 2007, Jonathan created his own music and video production company, PPS.
Sasha Jenkins
Sasha is The Four Muses Vice-President and has an extensive production and performing background in Acting and Musical Theatre. She was the School Director and Lead Acting Coach for some of the largest acting studios in Orange County. Many of her young actors auditioned for and then worked in Television and Film. Currently she is focusing on her personal career as a Jazz Vocalist. Jonathan and Sasha are currently in the studio creating her new recordings.
Jeffrey Jenkins
Jeffrey Jenkins in the 3rd son of Four Muses founders Jim and Mary Jenkins. He began his entertainment experience at Friday Night Hoots on The Four Muses stage reciting scenes from the popular group “Firesign Theater Radio” show albums. His theater management experience began at the San Clemente Miramar Theater when they were a functioning local movie house. After the theater operations ceased and after The Four Muses closed, Jeff was integral in helping produce live concerts at the Miramar which included many headline acts. Following that, Jeff returned to theater retail and management with the Edwards Theater Group and was soon promoted to senior management.. He was not only responsible for managing numerous theaters, he was also their Go-To-Guy for opening many of their new theaters in Southern California.
Jon Michael Brinkman
Hello Four Muses community. Of all the many stories and people I could reference regarding The Four Muses, the person who had a positive effect on my life was Mike Brinkman. He was so smart. He was a super talented sound engineer. Mike was an essential part of our Four Muses production team, especially when we produced concerts on location. I worked on the production team for many of these shows and often assisted him. When sound problems arose, and they did, Mike kept a cool head and we all worked the problem . He and his wife at that time even lived at our house for a bit. That is when I got to know him better.
An even more interesting personal connection is that his sister, Nona Brinkman, was in my San Clemente High School class of 1972. We actually met each other in December of 1962 when I was a new student at Concordia Elementary School. I am so grateful for them both.
Unfortunately, Jon Michael Brinkman, a loving husband, father, grandfather and brother, a leading figure in Hollywood’s broadcast and postproduction communities and vice president of strategic business development at Panasonic Broadcast & Television systems, died suddenly on Sunday, March 16, 2003, at the age of 54, in Santa Clarita, California. I was so sad to hear of his Passing.
As I have been rebuilding The Four Muses, I knew that I must write a tribute to him from our family. I reached out to Nona, and she referred me to numerous written tributes to her late brother. So, I will start with the entire tribute written by his last employer, Panasonic.
PANASONIC - March 21st, 2003 Secaucus, NJ
Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Company announced today the death of J. Michael Brinkman, its Vice President of Strategic Business Development. Mr. Brinkman died Sunday, March 16 in Santa Clarita, CA.
“Michael Brinkman was a dedicated, talented executive and the entire Panasonic community will miss the invaluable contributions he made in furthering the company’s initiatives in the broadcast and production industries,” said John Baisley, President, Panasonic Broadcast. “Our heartfelt sorrow and prayers are with his wife and family during this difficult time.”
Mr. Brinkman was a 16-year Panasonic employee, and most recently was responsible for Panasonic Broadcast’s strategic business development activities. He directed the company’s innovative Technology Partnering Program where he worked with more than 30 of the industry’s leading manufacturers to incorporate Panasonic’s leading digital compression technologies into their products and systems.
Mr. Brinkman was a long-time member of the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE), the International Teleproduction Society (ITS), a founding member of the Hollywood Post Alliance as well as active in numerous other industry organizations. He sat on the board of directors of groups as diverse as USC’s Entertainment Technology Center, The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, and the AAF Association. Prior to joining Panasonic, he was an award-winning producer-director working in the fields of documentary and education production.
J. Michael Brinkman Scholarship Fund
Michael Brinkman was a founding member of the HPA and an award-winning producer/director working in documentary and educational production. He served as vice present of strategic business development with Panasonic for 16 years and as a leading figure in Hollywood’s broadcast and post production communities, Michael often helped others understand technology in the service of the creative endeavor.
In 2003, Michael Brinkman died and the J. Michael Brinkman Scholarship and Mentoring Fund was established in honor of him. HPA provides diversified educational opportunities and industry access to bring the educational experience beyond the classroom, in addition to financial scholarships, in order to continue Michael’s legacy to the industry and the people who choose to make it their career.
Tribute
Jon Michael Brinkman was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on May 13, 1948, to Frank Henry and Jane Collins Brinkman. He was their oldest child, and he was later joined by two sisters, Nona and Cindy. From an early age, Michael was a leader. In 1959, at the age of 11, with his father in Okinawa, Michael was the “Man of the House”. He took care of many of the duties the man of the house would do, and did them responsibly.
During his Junior High days, Michael was forced to attend charm school, because his Southern mother wanted him to have good manners and social graces. Everyone who knew Michael, from a social, sporting or business environment can attest to the fact that he was a perfect gentleman under any circumstance.
Always a great orator, Michael was selected to speak at his high school graduation. This ability led him to make many other speeches, at DeMolay during his years there, and in other service organizations. Perhaps his best speech ever, though, was the one in which he reflected on the role of a father and son at his own father’s memorial service.
Before working at Panasonic, he taught kids about television and film production – everything from how to shoot a camera to editing, to directing. Before joining Panasonic, Michael was an award-winning producer/director working in documentary and education production. Michael was a 16 year Panasonic employee and most recently was responsible for Panasonic Broadcast’s business-development initiatives. He directed the company’s Technology Partnering Program, where he worked with more than 30 of the industry’s leading manufacturers, including Apple Computer and Avid Technology, to incorporate Panasonic’s digital compression technologies into their products and systems.
An active member of Hollywood’s technology societies and professional organizations, a longtime member of the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers and a founding member of the Hollywood Post Alliance, his deep commitment, insights and amazing capacity to give of himself touched so many in the entertainment industry. “His exuberant optimism and his tireless devotion to creating understanding in times of industry challenge and opportunity will serve as one of his many legacies,” said Hollywood Post Alliance president, Leon Silverman.
Michael sat on the board of directors of such groups as USC’S Entertainment Technology Center, the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and the Advanced Authoring Format Association. He was always a very busy person, but if he could possibly squeeze in a little time to help anyone, he would. One time, his sister, Nona, needed a person to judge a science fair that she was in charge of. She recruited Michael, and he stayed through the whole fair, helping to judge over 100 projects fairly.
Michael was in the prime of his life and career, a husband, father, friend, outdoorsman, and world traveler. He was one of those people who left an afterimage that always lingered after he left a room. I’m trying to keep that in mind now.
I’d like to say farewell and thank you, and to respectfully acknowledge his family’s great loss. I personally appreciate the contribution he made to my life and work, and can only assume it was just one tiny part of his many accomplishments.
Thank You Mike!
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