Valentine’s wishes Mercury in retrograde not for the busy student an excuse to be horrible
The Collegian FEATURE, PAGE 4
Issue 8 • Friday, Feb. 14, 2019 •
OPINION, PAGE 3
/deltacollegian
TRIBUTE TO THE QUEEN
deltacollegian.net
Choir works toward Carnegie Hall after spring semester BY VIVIENNE AGUILAR News Editor
(Top) The Hamiltones’ Tony Lelo performs during a tribute to Aretha Franklin at Delta College. (Bottom) Antoine Duprice Miller, a Delta alum, and Valerie Gnassounou-Bynoe, a Delta dance professor, mid-performance. PHOTOS BY EVA MARTINEZ
BY ISAIAH JOHNSON Staff Writer
On Feb. 8, the Delta College’s African American Employees Association hosted a tribute to Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin in the Atherton Auditorium. The event was filled with music that flowed through the auditorium from performances by The Hamiltones and Sidney Cruz. “It was an incredible experience,” said Elaina Mat, an audience member and Delta student. The event started with a tribute video which showcased many of Franklin’s accomplishments, including a meeting with President Barack Obama. Delta’s jazz band then hit the stage led by singer Cruz. Cruz performed iconic Frank-
lin hits such as “Respect” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” with a voice projection and range sure to bring a smile to the Queen of Soul’s face. “It was a lot of pressure, we added the dancers today and then I was watching recordings of me standing still and I was like I got to move and then I tried to incorporate their dance moves to some of my stuff so it looked like we were a little more in sync,” Cruz said when asked about the improvised choreography. After the performance, a video giving praise to the diva’s iconic fashion moments was played before being cut short due to technical issues.
See TRIBUTE, page 8
In late May of this year, Delta’s choir will be performing at Carnegie Hall in New York. Dr. Bruce Southard, professor and chorale director at Delta, was personally called to perform at Carnegie Hall by Maestro Peter Tiboris of MidAmerica Productions. “I said ‘yes’ because you don’t turn something like that down,” said Southard. Tiboris and his production company are “the foremost independent producer of choral concerts in Carnegie Hall.” Southard was recognized by Tiboris for his work with the Stockton Chorale. The Delta choir will make up the bulk of the members attending from the Stockton area. Students from Lathrop High School and Mable Barron Elementary School, and members of the Stockton Chorale will all be traveling with Southard. Lawrence Torres (Bass) and Jazzy Hidalgo (Soprano 2) are members of Delta’s choir and will be performing at Carnegie Hall in May. They will join other choir members from around the Stockton area and rehearse John Butte’s “Mass of the Children” for their Carnegie Hall performance. The piece is said to pose challenges to the performers, by Southard. “All in all it’s going to be fun so I’m up for the challenge,” said Torres. He and Hidalgo both mentioned how excited they are to travel. The students are prepared for the rehearsals, but are looking forward to sightseeing and bonding. “It’s a really good opportunity and it’s something we would like to do more of because it’s really good for our students. Ensembles that tend to tour more often actually seem to perform better all the way around. There’s a sense of camaraderie that gets built up, and because students have to pay their own way, there’s really a higher level of dedication to the project and to the outcome of the project,” said Southard. The Delta choir will be holding fundraisers throughout the semester such as radio-grams and their Broadway-themed concert in March. “Lawrence is actually probably our biggest thrust in getting fundraising moving and going. He just really believes in it,” said Southard.
Former Delta baseball coach entered in hall of fame BY JOSEPH MUNOZ Entertainment Editor
The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) held its annual Hall of Fame banquet for 2019 inductees. Pat Doyle, who was head coach for the Delta College baseball team from 1977 to 2000, was elected this year. Doyle remained head coach for 23 season and lead the Mustangs baseball team to 17 playoff appearances, for a ca-
reer win/loss record of 568-274. Doyle was informed in July 2018 that he had been inducted into the Hall of Fame, his first time on the ballot. He was officially inducted at the ABCA Hall of Fame Banquet in January 2019. “You know it was just one of those things where it’s not something that was always on my radar and I was nominated for it. I just thought ‘oh gee, you get nominated.’ And so I was fortunate
to get inducted after my first year of nomination,” he said. After his time with the Mustangs, Doyle coached several European baseball tournaments. He also served as an assistant coach for Team USA in the 1994 World Baseball Classic. Doyle describes his coaching style as a defense focused playstyle, but emphasized that there was more to coaching than knowledge of the game.
“They need to have compassion and understanding with the age group they’re dealing with and make the game fun. You don’t need to be a knowledgeable, professionalized baseball coach.” ABCA looks to coaches who not only have a strong baseball resume, but also have positive impacts on the game and their communities. See full story on DELTACOLLEGIAN.NET
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