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Your Westmont
Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College Music, Theater Double Our Opera Pleasure
Jessica Lingua stars in The Marriage Contract
MONTECITO JOURNAL42 “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau WE NOW ACCEPT FINE FURNITURE/DECOR FOR CONSIGNMENT SANTA BARBARA FINDERS KEEPERS CONSIGNMENT COMPANY WWW.SBFINDERSKEEPERS.COM QUALITY SLIGHTLY USED NEW FURNITURE HOME DÉCOR FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS HOUSEHOLD ITEMS BEDROOM SETS CHANDELIERS LAMPS UNIQUE VASES RUGS MIRRORS TABLES COUCHES 4441 HOLLISTER AVE. SANTA BARBARA, CA 93110 (NEAR MODOC) 805-770- 7715 W estmont’s music and theater arts departments present two, one-act Italian operas offering performers and audience members a chance to enjoy two different stories with varying musical styles. Gioachino Rossini’s The Marriage Contract and Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi will be performed together February 28, March 1 and 3 at 7 pm at the New Vic Theater in Downtown Santa Barbara. Tickets, which cost $20 for general admission/$15 for students and seniors, may be purchased at newvictheater.com. John Blondell, professor of theater arts and stage director, and Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship who directs the play’s music, are building off recent successes of The Pirates of Penzance, Dido and Aeneas, Die Fledermaus, and The Magic Flute. “I am immensely looking forward to the development of these pieces,” Blondell says. “I love working with these young performers, and the pieces are starting to cohere in marvelous and unexpected ways.”
The two operas are incredibly different musically, though they are often paired as a double bill. “Gianni Schicchi was written as part of a trilogy of stories by Puccini, who paired it with a tragedy and a drama,” Shasberger says. “Our pairing puts two of the most engaging comic, one-act operas together from two of the greatest operatic composers of all time, Rossini and Puccini. It’s fascinating how both composers deal with the challenges of true love and the tension between avarice and virtue. They are comedies, so of course virtue wins.” The Marriage Contract, which was Rossini’s first opera written when he was 18, features a new, original libretto, which Shasberger translated.
“The operas are about one hundred years apart in musical style, so it is exciting to hear the singers working in the very different styles of storytelling,” Shasberger says. “It’s been exciting to craft a brand new singing translation for the Rossini opera, as none has been published before to make it available for performance in English. The story really comes alive, the jokes are funny and the characters have a great immediacy in this new setting.”
Blondell is also looking forward to returning to the New Vic. “It’s an intimate, beautiful, warm environment, and our students love to play there,” he says. “I think it’s great for our students, and also great for local audiences. Our students get to play in a downtown theater, and our audiences get to interact with our students in a beautiful downtown location and setting.” Conversation Examines Liberal Arts, Race
“Still Dreaming: Race, Ethnicity and Liberal Arts Education,” the 19th annual Gaede Institute Conversation on the Liberal Arts, gathers a national audience to explore how the liberal arts can promote more inclusive teaching, scholarship and institutional practices February 27-29 at Westmont. The plenary sessions are free and open to the public. See the schedule at west mont.edu/institute/conversations or call (805) 565-6124.
“We’ll ask in what ways a liberal arts education in the past and present has fostered racial privilege and how it can cultivate racial justice,” says Chris Hoeckley, director of Westmont’s Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts.
Highlights of the conference include plenary talks by Estela Bensimon of the University of Southern California, Rudy Busto of U.C. Santa Barbara and Louis P. Nelson of the University of Virginia, as well as a special chapel address by Reggie Williams of McCormick Theological Seminary. Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi “The promise of a liberal arts education has always been its integrated vision of our learning and our lives,” Hoeckley says. “A vision informed by the widest possible perspectives, nurtured by a posture of humility and listening, and equipping us to contribute to healing the world’s deep wounds. That promise rests on the inclusion of voices from the ethnic and racial richness of our own society and beyond. Sadly, full inclusion has been slow in coming and, at many institutions, remains an aspiration more than a reality, to everyone’s detriment.”
Previous Gaede Institute Conversation topics include “High Anxiety: Liberal Arts and the Race to Success,” “Knowledge in Crisis: Liberal Learning in a ‘Post-Truth’ Age,” and “Liberal Arts for a Fragile Planet.”
The Gaede Institute, created in 2001, promotes the continued vitality of the liberal arts tradition in American higher education. In May 2006, Westmont renamed the institute former president Stan Gaede.
Music Faculty to Perform House Concerts
Westmont music professors have brought back the popular Select House Concert Series, performing four chamber concerts on Saturdays, March 21, April 25, May 30 and June 20; all at 3 pm in homes to be announced once tickets have been purchased. Individual concert tickets, which go on sale beginning March 1 at westmont.edu/music, cost $50 each or $160 for a four-concert package. All proceeds support scholarships for Westmont music students.
“The attendees last year were delighted with both the wonderful settings and the intimate connection with the music-making of our wonderful faculty artists,” says Michael Shasberger. “The range of performances creates an exciting series of concerts featuring solo artists and chamber music on a variety of instruments and voices. Last year the series sold out quickly.” Cellist John Saint’Ambrogio will provide a historical survey of cello music with focal points from Bach, Rachmaninov and Saint Saens on March 21. Soprano Nichole Dechaine, accompanied by pianist Bev Staples, will perform beloved art songs and arias on April 25 in the Santa Ynez Valley. Tenor Bryan Lane, accompanied by French hornist John Mason and pianist Erin Bonski-Evans, performs pieces by Britten and Schubert on May 30. Flutist Andrea DiMaggio, bassoonist Paul Mori, and harpsichord accompanist Neil Di Maggio perform an afternoon of Baroque classics on June 20. •MJ
upon for residential use, along with some commercial and agricultural uses. Available data shows that area groundwater levels are generally low following the worst drought in this region’s history. The Montecito GSA is tasked with developing and implementing a Groundwater Sustainability Plan to ensure long-term sustainability of the basin and prevent undesirable results, such as seawater intrusion and depletion of groundwater supplies. Plan development is a several year process and is currently underway.
Groundwater provides a significant portion of California’s water supply, and the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) became State law in 2015. Groundwater basins around the state have been “prioritized” based on factors such as population, groundwater pumping, and the number of water wells. SGMA compliance is required for the Montecito Groundwater Basin which is categorized as “medium priority.” To implement SGMA requirements for the basin, the Montecito Water District Board of Directors formed the Montecito Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency) on April 28, 2019 as authorized by California’s Department of Water Resources.
The Montecito Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s mission is to ensure a reliable and sustainable groundwater supply for the community through effective basin management pursuant to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Visitwww.montecitogsa.com; email info@montecitogsa. com; or call (805) 969-2271. Local Realtor Named Carpinterian of the Year Lori Bowles, an affiliate agent with the Montecito office of Coldwell Banker Realty, was named the Carpinterian of the Year for 2019 by the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce.
“I am honored to be named the Carpinterian of the Year,” said Bowles. “As a happy resident for over 35 years, I have loved giving back to my community by being of service to Carpinteria High School, the Carpinteria Valley Little League and other areas of our beautiful town. I simply wouldn’t be at home anywhere else!”
Active in her community, Bowles first served as a pioneer in the Carpinteria High School (CHS) Parent Support Group with the intent of supporting special programs for students VILLAGE BEAT (Continued from page 13)
Local realtor Lori Bowles was recently named Carpinterian of the Year by the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce
and staff. In 2004, she took on a leadership role in the CHS Boosters and has continued beyond the graduation of her son through 15 years of service on the Boosters’ board, supporting 7,000 CHS athletes with over $400,000. The span of her service to CHS has been longer than the high school careers of 12,000 students, three athletic directors, two principals and four superintendents.
In addition to her service at Carpinteria High School, she has also been a board member of the Carpinteria Valley Little League since its inception in 1996. Over the years, she has served in numerous capacities, including secretary, concessions chair, fundraising chair, safety officer, information officer and team-parent liaison. She also continues to assist children with league registration fees so that every child can play without exception. •MJ
MONTECITO SANITARY DISTRICT HONORS AWARD WINNING STAFF MEMBERS MONTECITO SANITARY DISTRICT HONORS AWARD WINNING STAFF MEMBERS MONTECITO SANITARY DISTRICT HONORS AWARD WINNING STAFF MEMBERS
At its meeting on January 30, 2020, the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) Board of Directors honored Chief Maintenance Mechanic Perry Cabugos and Treatment Plant Operator Marc Ciarlo for their recent Tri‐County California Water Environment Association (CWEA) awards. At its meeting on January 30, 2020, the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) Board of Directors honored Chief Maintenance Mechanic Perry Cabugos and Treatment Plant Operator Marc Ciarlo for their recent Tri‐County California Water Environment Association (CWEA) awards. At its meeting on January 30, 2020, the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) Board of Directors honored Chief Maintenance Mechanic Perry Cabugos and Treatment Plant Operator Marc Ciarlo for their recent Tri-County California Water Environment Association (CWEA) awards.
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Perry Cabugos and Marc Ciarlo in front of the MSD recycled water pilot project Perry Cabugos and Marc Ciarlo in front of the MSD recycled water pilot project
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Perry Cabugos and Marc Ciarlo in front of the MSD recycled water pilot project Mr. Perry Cabugos, MSD Chief Plant Maintenance Mechanic, received the 2019 CWEA Mechanic Technician Person of the Year. Mr. Cabugos is a jack‐of‐all‐trades, whose ability to think outside the box, along with his knowledge and expertise in the mechanical field has contributed significantly to the efficient and cost effective operation of the District. Mr. Cabugos has been instrumental in upgrading and maintaining District facilities, such as the District’s new recycled water pilot project. Mr. Marc Ciarlo, MSD Treatment Plant Operator Grade 5, received the 2019 CWEA Treatment Plant Operator of the Year. Mr. Ciarlo is the first operator in the state to receive an Advanced Water Treatment Operator Grade 3 certificate. He holds eight additional state certifications that testify to his expertise and knowledge in wastewater treatment field. Mr. Ciarlo enthusiastically conducts public tours of the District facilities, engaging the community with his knowledge and passion for wastewater treatment. If you are interested in touring MSD facilities, please contact the District at 805‐969‐4200 or email staff@montsan.org Mr. Perry Cabugos, MSD Chief Plant Maintenance Mechanic, received the 2019 CWEA Mechanic Technician Person of the Year. Mr. Cabugos is a jack‐of‐all‐trades, whose ability to think outside the box, along with his knowledge and expertise in the mechanical field has contributed significantly to the efficient and cost effective operation of the District. Mr. Cabugos has been instrumental in upgrading and maintaining District facilities, such as the District’s new recycled water pilot project. Mr. Marc Ciarlo, MSD Treatment Plant Operator Grade 5, received the 2019 CWEA Treatment Plant Operator of the Year. Mr. Ciarlo is the first operator in the state to receive an Advanced Water Treatment Operator Grade 3 certificate. He holds eight additional state certifications that testify to his expertise and knowledge in wastewater treatment field. Mr. Ciarlo enthusiastically conducts public tours of the District facilities, engaging the community with his knowledge and passion for wastewater treatment. If you are interested in touring MSD facilities, please contact the District at 805‐969‐4200 or email staff@montsan.org Mr. Perry Cabugos, MSD Chief Plant Maintenance Mechanic, received the 2019 CWEA Mechanic Technician Person of the Year. Mr. Cabugos is a jack-of-all-trades, whose ability to think outside the box, along with his knowledge and expertise in the mechanical field has contributed significantly to the efficient and cost effective operation of the District. Mr. Cabugos has been instrumental in upgrading and maintaining District facilities, such as the District’s new recycled water pilot project. Mr. Marc Ciarlo, MSD Treatment Plant Operator Grade 5, received the 2019 CWEA Treatment Plant Operator of the Year. Mr. Ciarlo is the first operator in the state to receive an Advanced Water Treatment Operator Grade 3 certificate. He holds eight additional state certifications that testify to his expertise and knowledge in the wastewater treatment field. Mr. Ciarlo enthusiastically conducts public tours of the District facilities, engaging the community with his knowledge and passion for wastewater treatment. If you are interested in touring MSD facilities, please contact the District at 805-969-4200 or email staff@montsan.org
Universal Audio Product Specialist Maureen Provencher gave a mini-training session on their LUNA software
MONTECITO JOURNAL44 Led Zeppelin with Brain Hardgroove. Eddie worked on Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin lll, Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti, The Song Remains the Same and Coda. Hardgroove, a seven-year TEC Track presenter, is a record producer, bassist and member of the legendary hip-hop group Public Enemy. Brian said, “A significant takeaway about both Eddie and Zeppelin is that the music and the recording process was important to them.” Kramer talked mic placement and anecdotes about the band dancing to their music. Recording was done in two or three takes. Attendees included Janie Hendrix who reminded Kramer what Jimmy Page said to him when they first met, “Get it right Kramer!”
Gear of note: The D’Angelico Guitars NYC announcement to build custom solid-bodies and semi-hollows to spec by renowned luthier and longtime D’Angelico collaborator Gene Baker at their California shop starting February 2020. Booth performance artist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (Steely Dan-The Doobie Brothers-consultant on missile defense), gave a demo talk on the classic New Yorker Guitar. SLO, California’s king of the guitar string, Ernie Ball announced the 2020 line of Steve Lukather signature model guitars, and the expansion of their Slinky string line and guitar straps. Of note is the new combo string sets of six or seven called the Skinny Top Beefy Bottom Slinkys (10, 13, 17, 32, 44, 54) for you bendy shreddy note pickin’ rhythm players. For acoustic guitar amps, Blackstar’s new Sonnet line are light, compact and powerful, and co-designed with acoustic guitar virtuoso Jon Gomm. Each model has two independent channels for the mic and instrument, with their own EQ and reverb level settings, XLR and USB outputs and Bluetooth audio playback. Electric guitar amps got a new mini from Orange Amps with the Orange Terror StAmp, a compact hybrid amp that fits on a pedalboard. The space-saving design is the 12AX7/ECC83-based tube preamp that’s married to a 20W Class AB sol
She Rocks Icon Award winner Suzie Quatro
id-state power amp.
Tech-weenies thronged to Universal Audio (UA), in Scotts Valley, California, for their beta intro of the LUNA Recording System, a full-featured music creation, recording and analog-style production system on your computer. It consists of a UA Thunderbolt-equipped audio interface, the LUNA Application, LUNA Extensions and LUNA Instruments. I had a hands-on demo with the software team expert, and it was easy to navigate and yet endless in what it can do, with a feedback button to UA for users, with quick routing and recording audio through DSP-powered UAD plug-ins and Neve Summing, and an Integrated Multitrack Tape emulation. LUNA is available as a free download for Apollo and Arrow Thunderbolt audio interface owners (Mac only) Spring 2020.
I was invited to attend the 8 th
annual She Rocks Awards at the House of Blues honoring women in the music industry, founded by Laura B. Whitmore (Korg USA) of The Women’s International Music Network (the
US Sales for Orange Amps James Garza with their latest toy, Orange Terror StAmp
WiMN). Co-hosts were Mindi Abair and Lyndsey Parker, opening act was D_Drive Band. The program was an evening of inspiring speeches and performances by the winners. All the women honored are experts at their profession and pay it forward. Winners were Legend Award: Gloria Gaynor; Icon Award: Suzi Quatro; Powerhouse Award: Linda Perry; Inspire Award: Lzzy Hale; Vision Award: Tal Wilkenfeld; Innovator Award: Beatie Wolfe; Champion Award: Suzanne D’Addario Brouder; Dreaming Out Loud Award: Tara Low; Trail Blazer Award: Myrna Sislen; Excellence Award: Judy Schaefer; and Mad Skills Award: Ebonie Smith. NAMM’s Music for Life Award to Jason Mraz, NAMM Believe in Music Award to Dave Lopez from Odyssey Innovative Designs, The 35th Annual NAMM Tec Awards for Outstanding Technical Achievement: Genelec Aural ID and S360 A SAM products, Universal Audio Apollo x16 and Capital Chambers PlugIn, and API 2448 Console and the 550A 50th Anniversary Edition 3 band EQ product. Tech Achievement: Shure
“My books are, in a way, a record of my life - that part of it that came to flower and fruit in my mind.” – John Burroughs Bassist Victor Wooten at the U.S.-made DR Handmade Strings booth
Wireless Technology, Townsend Labs Microphones-Recording and KORG DJ Production. Film Sound Production: Bohemian Rhapsody; Interactive Entertainment Sound Production: Marvel’s SpiderMan; Record Production/Album: A Star is Born (Soundtrack), Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper; Record Production/Single or Track: “Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish; Remote Production/Recording or Broadcasting: 61 st
Annual Grammy Awards (CBS); Studio Design Project: Old Mill Road Recording; TV Sound Production: Game of Thrones and Tour Event Sound Production: Freshen Up, Paul McCartney. The Les Paul Innovation Award to Joni Mitchell presented by Herbie Hancock. The 2020 TEC Hall of Fame Award to recording engineer Dave Pensado and record industry veteran Herb Trawick. Parnelli Audio Innovator Award to Karrie Keyes; Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Honor to Mark “Springo” Spring and Garth Brooks presented Michael Strickland (Bandit Lites) the Visionary Award. •MJ
OSB Artistic Director Kostis Protopapas and Sandra Urquhart presenting an award to Roger Chrisman (photo by Priscilla)
Honorees Roger and Sarah Chrisman with the Chrisman Studio Artists Chandler Johnson, Kelly Guerra, Julia Metzler, and John Allen Nelson (photo by Priscilla)
Eric Small and Il Postino star Sarah Vautour (photo by Priscilla)
Among the teeming tony torrent of supporters, noshing on honey glazed duck breast, Chilean sea bass and wild mushroom risotto, were mayor Cathy Murillo, Barbara Burger, Carol Vernon, Janet Garufis, Joann Younger, Anne Towbes, Mary Dorra, Nina Dunbar, Marilyn Gilbert, Palmer and Susan Jackson, Miles Hartfeld and GretchenLieff, Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp, Dick and Marilyn Mazess, Ed and Renee Grubb, Jonathan Fox, Greg Gorga and Tam Trinh, Mahri Kerley, Caren Rager, Robert Weinman, Bob and Sandy Urquhart, Kevin Marvin, Simon Williams, Dan and Meg Burnham, and Howard Jay Smith. An evening of high note and many in between...
MISCELLANY Page 494 Once Upon a Dream To the Gail Towbes Center for Dance where State Street Ballet founder Rodney Gustafson gave me a sneak peek of the tony troupe’s first ever production of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty. The work will feature an edited score and the story reimagined, with additional choreography by Marina Fliagina, Cecily MacDougall, and Megan Phillip, supplementing the original work by French legend Marius Petipa. Brazilian Deise Mendonça will play the principal role, with Jack Stewart as the dashing prince when the show opens at the Granada on March 14. It will also feature a very creative bamboo-framed 16ft. long dragon designed by Christina McCarthy of UCSB Theater and Dance, which takes four men to carry on stage.
“It is so big we have to rehearse with it in the parking lot as it won’t fit in the studio,” says Rodney.
The day before the official world premiere, 1,200 school children have been invited to watch a free show. In keeping with the theme of the production, they have been asked to wear their pajamas for the event. What fun...
OSB Gala Committee: Steven Sharpe, Joann Younger, Barbara Burger, Joan Rutkowski, and Carol Vernon (photo by Priscilla)
Seeing Gold It wasn’t quite the Olympics, but KEYT-TV reporters Kelsey Gerckens and Tracy Lehr were definitely going for gold at the 70th annual Golden Mike awards in Los Angeles.
The ABC affiliate broadcaster on TV Hill won the coveted trophies at a glittering Radio and Television News Association of Southern California gala at the Universal Hilton, with Kelsey – who won the Amazing Race and $1 million four years ago with her husband, KEYT morning news anchor Joe Buttitta – garnering the accolade for best weather segment for the third consecutive year.
Tracy, who also anchors on occasion, won her trophy for best TV serious feature reporting.
KEYT-TV Golden Girls Tracy Lehr and Kelsey Gerckens
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