There was something for everybody’s musical tastes in 2016, from the solo singer/songwriters to the concert orchestras. Every week, Local Notes serves as a place to celebrate—and more often give a heads-up about—the skill of local musicians, bands, and ensembles. Everyone is welcome.
Interesting artists came through town, local music organizations welcomed new collaborators, but mostly people connected over their shared love of music. Whether you were in Santa Maria, Guadalupe, Lompoc, Buellton, Solvang, or Santa Ynez, there were concerts to attend. Some were formal, some you could clink glasses of beer during, but they were happening, and locals enjoyed them.
Take a moment to remember some moments in the Central Coast’s music scene, and start thinking about the concerts you won’t want to miss in 2017!
FRIENDS WITH MELODIES: Gale McNeeley, right, and Betty Faas, left, wooed audiences locally with their program Songs Our Mother Sang, which they performed at a handful of venues on the Central Coast in August.
FRIENDS WITH MELODIES: Gale McNeeley, right, and Betty Faas, left, wooed audiences locally with their program Songs Our Mother Sang, which they performed at a handful of venues on the Central Coast in August.
MASTER MENTOR: Dr. Marcus Engelmann (right) retired from Allan Hancock College after 30 years of teaching music classes at the school when the 2016 academic year concluded.
PHILHARMONIC’S NEW FACE: The Santa Maria Philharmonic Society President Jed Beebe, right, welcomed the society’s new music director and orchestra’s new maestro Michael Nowak, left, on March 25 in Santa Maria.
CONNECTING WITH MEMORY: The Country Oaks Care Center began the Music and Memory program, which donated iPods, iTunes gift cards, and headphones for the residents there to enjoy music from their youth.
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE: Bilingual songwriter and children’s book author José-Luiz Orozco performed a live concert at Jiménez Elementary in Santa Maria on April 7, singing songs to help kids learn in English and Spanish.
Contact Arts Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 29, 2016 – Jan 5, 2017.