Arts & Entertainment

Naomi Ruiz | Staff Writer

SMC Wind Ensemble Live

On Nov. 14, the Santa Monica College (SMC) Wind Ensemble teamed up with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Symphonic Band to perform their first live concert in over a year since the COVID-19 shutdown. The concert featured guest conductors Doris Dotson and Michael James.

For Kevin McKeown, Director of Bands at Santa Monica High School, Adjunct Assistant Professor and Interim Director of Athletic Bands at UCLA, and Wind Ensemble Conductor at SMC and University of California, Irvine (UCI) — being able to perform live again for the Fall 2021 semester was salve for the soul. "The past year reminded us, and many concert goers, how important live music is," he said.

McKeown believes that music can bring people together especially through a shared experience. "We have all gone through so much this past year with COVID-19 and with societal challenges that it’s important to see what we share in common through music performances," he said.

Music does bring people together, and audience members that attended the concert were able to have that shared experience. The performance was an incredible experience that made it seem like the audience was listening to a score from a feature film.

The SMC Wind Ensemble's last live concert was back in Oct. 2019, months before

Maxim Elramsisy | The Corsair Santa Monica College Woodwind Ensemble performs on Sunday Nov. 14, 2021 at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California

COVID-19 changed the scene of live music performances. Typically, the SMC Broad Stage showcases two Wind Ensemble concerts per semester. However, McKeown decided to take it a little slower this semester by having one concert so his musicians could spend more time developing as an ensemble.

The SMC Wind Ensemble has always been a family for McKeown since he began teaching there in 2002. "I’m a proud alumnus of SMC as well, so being able to lead a group that I care deeply for was the most rewarding part of rehearsing again," McKeown said.

The UCLA Symphonic Band is one of the groups he leads, along with the UCLA Bruin Marching Band, also known as the Solid Gold Sound. When getting to have the UCLA Symphonic Band and the SMC Wind Ensemble perform together on the same stage, McKeown said, "being able to share a concert with both of my groups was very special."

McKeown looks forward to adding more musicians to the SMC Wind Ensemble next semester, so that they can look into more advanced literature. He also hopes that their next concert includes diverse representation from composers that are not always highlighted, including more memorable compositions from deceased composers. The flexibility of repertoire is one of the best parts of hearing a Wind Ensemble, and they look forward to sharing that with the SMC community.

Kicking Off Christmas with She & Him

Marlene Herrera | Staff Writer Sarah Nachimson | Arts & Entertainment Editor

Celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their album “A Very She & Him Christmas,” indie folk rock duo She & Him kickstarted this year’s holiday festivities with a two-night performance at The Theater at Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 3 and Saturday, Dec. 5. Actress Zooey Deschanel and singer-songwriter M. Ward lined up a family-friendly holiday program on their “A Very She & Him Christmas Party” tour. The Grammy-nominated pair first released the album “A Very She & Him Christmas” in 2011. It was the duo’s first holiday-themed special and their third album for Merge Records. Greg and Michelle, who did not share their last names, drove out from Pasadena to see the duo perform on Saturday night. "This is my favorite Christmas album,” Michelle said. “We have it on vinyl, and we play it every year since it came out.” Earlier this year, She & Him re-released “A Very She & Him Christmas” as a limited edition collectible in honor of the album’s 10-year anniversary. As described on the Merge Records

Sarah Nachimson | The Corsair Zooey Deschanel performs at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, Calif., for a Christmas-themed concert on Sat. night, Dec. 4.

website, “the deluxe edition of ‘A Very She & Him Christmas’ is pressed on metallic silver vinyl.” Adding to the vintage aesthetic, the new version of the album features Madonna’s “Holiday” and a cover of Wham!’s “Last Christmas.” Greg, who purchased the new silver vinyl, said, “we didn’t realize that it had been ten years until we saw the concert listing and we were like ‘oh my gosh we’re old’.” Opening the event, comedian Pete Lee’s warm-up set was the perfect leadin before the quirky duo. He threw jabs at the overly expensive Hollywood apartment rents and poked fun at himself and his Wisconsin roots. After Lee’s set, Deschanel and Ward began the night’s main performance with their rendition of “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole. Accompanied by a quartet of musicians and two backup singers, they covered a large variety of Christmas classics including the songs featured on the re-released album. The duo performed the now-controversial song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” after Deschanel gave the audience a brief and light-hearted lecture on consent. She said “consent is very important” and told the audience she interpreted the lyrics “say what’s in this drink?” as commentary to the alcohol the character within the song's story was drinking, like gin or whiskey, and not as questioning if the drink had been spiked with a drug. Deschanel declared the duo as first ever to perform this song with genders reversed and defended the artistic decision with the statement that “girls can be aggressive too.” After performing beloved holiday songs such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” the duo ended the night by performing songs from their last three albums, Volume 1, 2, and 3. Deschanal’s sweet and charming voice added to their enchanting stage presence, which garnered them a two-minute standing ovation and “encore” demands shouted from audience members.