Serial entrepreneur and spa visionary LeBrina Jackson
Intrigued by the legacy of Vichy's wellness traditions, serial entrepreneur and spa visionary LeBrina Jackson founded and aptly named her very first spa Pure Vichy, knowing she wanted to incorporate the healing powers of water into her offerings. Drawing inspiration from a visit to France and her passion for water-based wellness, LeBrina aimed to bring the essence of Vichy's healing waters to Texas, creating a sanctuary where clients could experience the revitalizing benefits of hydrotherapy that she had fallen in love with.
Today, LeBrina's dedication to Vichy's legacy lives on at her Escape Spa in Cypress, just outside of Houston. Offering a range of Hydrotherapy services, LeBrina’s treatments seamlessly integrate Vichy practices with contemporary spa techniques to stimulate circulation, aid in relaxation, and promote healing and wellness. Water therapy has proven beneficial for a variety of health conditions including arthritis, fibromyalgia, back pain, cardiovascular diseases, and sports injuries, making the spa’s treatments perfect for anyone seeking an overall boost in their health and wellbeing.
“I read years ago that in Latin SPA stands for ‘solus per aqua’ or ‘health by water.’ Water has always held almost sacred space when it comes to healing,” explains LeBrina. “Then after experiencing the healing power of natural geothermal hot springs around the world as well as visiting Vichy, France, I realized I always felt like I pushed a hard reset button on my personal renewal. It became clear that if I wanted to offer authentic wellness therapies in any spa I would create, it was essential to incorporate water-based treatments into the service menu."
Among the spa’s signature treatments is the Nourishing Glow Wrap, a standout service that combines exfoliation with a luxurious volcanic clay mask. As warm water cascades over the body, detoxification and relaxation intertwine, leaving your skin feeling soft, hydrated, and radiant. Similarly, the Vichy Recovery Massage melts away stress under eight shower heads, followed by a full body massage and a body scrub — a synergistic blend that relieves tension. Additional signature treatments include the Sleek and Slim and Illuminating Vichy Body Peel, also designed to harness the power of water to boost relaxation and rehabilitation.
These offerings not only pay homage to the rich heritage of Vichy's spa culture, but also reflect Escape Spa's commitment to modernizing traditional wellness rituals.
Book a service at Escape Spa to experience the magic of Vichy hydrotherapy and expand your self-care regime.
LeBrina Jackson
Watching Phantom, Miller was “transfixed” at how a single musician and instrument could enhance the film’s spooky atmosphere and draw the audience into a dream-like world of romance, obsession, and dread. “I turned to my parents and said, ‘I wanna do that!’” laughs Miller. “They thought they had a crazy kid on their hands.”
Now 22, living in Rochester, NY, and studying orchestral conducting at the Eastman School of Music, Miller has since mastered the art of accompanying silent films on the organ and performs in theaters across the U.S.
Organist Brett Miller
On Friday, Oct. 25, Miller performs at Jones Hall for an especially spooky Halloween silent film double feature: The 1920, post-World War I German expressionist classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari; and Miller’s childhood fave, The Phantom of the Opera. The concert is part of the Houston Symphony’s Halloween Frights at the Symphony series, which includes an interactive screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with special guest Patricia Quinn (Oct. 26); and two screenings (Nov. 16 & 17) of Tim Burton’s stop-motion animation classic The Nightmare Before Christmas, with Danny Elfman’s tuneful score played live by the orchestra.
After that life-changing experience with Phantom, Miller approached his neighborhood church’s music director and simply asked if she would teach him how to play the organ. While similar to the piano in that there is a keyboard, Miller quickly discovered the organ is actually a wind instrument, with knobs or “stops” that when pulled release air to a specific set or “rank” of pipes, which each have their own unique timbre. (One rank of pipes might produce a soft, clarinet-like sound, while another a blast of brass you can feel in your guts.) And then there’s the pedal board, which is played with one’s feet.
“We organists are part octopus,” says Miller, who speaks about music-making with both genuine reverence and good humor. “We’re constantly moving.”
No two organs are identical, so when Miller is booked for a performance, he has to wrap his head, arms and feet around a new instrument. (For Friday’s silent-film double-feature, an electronic organ is being brought in and installed for Miller to play.)
When accompanying a silent film, with the screen in full view and without a click track or any other modern synchronization, Miller plays composed passages and stock cues (with titles like “Chase #4”) in combination with in-the-moment improvisations. For The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Miller uses a couple of themes from the original full orchestra score for the film composed by Giuseppe Becce. (Fun fact: In the 1913 silent movie The Life and Works of Richard Wagner, one of the first feature-length biopics, Becce played the title role and wrote the accompanying music.) For Phantom, Miller draws from a partial surviving score, preserved by The American Organ Society, along with excerpts from Charles Gounod’s Faust.
For Miller, one of the most exciting things about accompanying silent films is that each performance is unique and caters to the shifting moods of the viewing audience. “You kind of have to manipulate an audience,” says Miller. “But also know what the audience wants from you.”
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