Music is a language without words, unless you add them in, of course. This linguistic fusion has powered vocal music since the dawn of the art, and people of all languages enjoy setting their specific dialect to song.
The Allan Hancock College Singers is a group of vocalists who have worked the entire semester mastering not just the notes in the music for their upcoming concerts, but also the Spanish words, vowels, and other syllables used. It was choral director Ann Lucas, D.M.A., who decided to make the concert a tribute to Spanish and Latino composers.
“To be in a school that is a Hispanic-serving institution at the federal level of designation, to be in a town that has so much rich immigrant culture from south of the boarder, and to not have done an all-Spanish concert, it seems long overdue,” Lucas said. “We have never done an all-Spanish program. Well, a couple of the songs are in Latin, but they were written by Spanish composers, so that’s my ‘get out of jail free’ on that one.”
Lucas had to start her choir with just the words. Only six of her choral scholars are native Spanish speakers, so she started the semester by having them learn the vowel forms and proper pronunciation.
“There’s a lot of other nuance and subtlety,” she said, “so it’s been really tempting to sound like flat-footed Americans!”
Along with the nuances of the Spanish language come the nuances of choir music, much of which is to be performed a cappella. Several instrumentalists will also be joining the ensemble on a couple of numbers, Lucas explained.
“We’ve got two violinists performing on the Guatemalan piece,” she said. “One is our very own soprano Candice Meras*, who is an awesome violinist who is primarily a singer, and the other one is a senior in high school but is a freshman here at Hancock, and that’s Joshelle Conley.”
The piece Meras and Conley will perform on is an 18th century colonial Guatemalan villancico. For another two selections, a local guitarist will join the choir.
“Our guitar player is a good friend of one of our sopranos, and he’s been playing guitar his entire life,” Lucas said. “It always adds to bring something more than just voices to the mix.”
The concert will include selections from as far back as the Renaissance period in Spain and all the way to contemporary Latino composers. The first of two concerts will be performed in Guadalupe at City Hall. The Guadalupe concert will be facilitated by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts and Education Center.
“Guadalupe is local, it takes a little time to get to, and that is a music-loving town,” Lucas said. “If you give a concert in the Guadalupe City Hall, you are going to get a packed house, and I considered, with an all-Spanish program and Guadalupe’s interest in music, what a perfect place to perform.”
The Santa Maria concert will be held at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Santa Maria, the Allan Hancock College Singers’ usual venue. Anyone with a passion for vibrant, rhythmic music will certainly enjoy the program Lucas has put together.
“You can see it in the choir,” she said, “when the spirit starts to move them they do begin to dance, whether they realize it or not.”
*Meras is engaged to Arts Editor Joe Payne.
The big band sound
The Santa Maria Mussell Senior Club is host to Big Band Dance Concerts featuring the Riptide Big Band performing May 4 and the following second Sunday of each month from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the Elwin Mussell Senior Center, 510 Park Ave., Santa Maria. Cost is $10. More info: (775) 843-2830, hornblower0@yahoo.com, or cityofsantamaria.org.
Help out the band
The Santa Maria High School bands presents a tamale dinner, silent auction, and spring concert on May 2 with the dinner starting at 5 p.m. and the concert at 6:30 p.m. at the Santa Maria High School Ethel Pope Auditorium, 901 S. Broadway, Santa Maria. Cost is $5. More info: 925-2567, Ext. 3321, or uvaldivia@santamariahighschool.org.
Feel the jazz
The Allan Hancock College Jazz Band, directed by Chuck Osborne, presents a spring concert on May 4 at 7 p.m. at the Unity Chapel of Light, 1165 Stubblefield Road, Orcutt. More info: 937-3025 or unitychapeloflight@verizon.net.
Showing how it’s done
Allan Hancock College presents a faculty recital featuring college instructors Ann Lucas and David Passage with violinist James Riccardo performing works by Brahms on May 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Severson Theatre, Allan Hancock College, 800 S. College Drive, Santa Maria. Cost is $10. More info: 922-6966, Ext. 3252, or hancockcollege.edu.
Live at Standing Sun
Standing Sun Winery features the Standing Sun Concert Series, including the Dustbowl Revival on May 2 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Standing Sun Wines, 92 Second St., Buellton. More info: 904-8072 or standingsunwines.com.
Storm is brewing
The Radisson Hotel offers live music Fridays and Saturdays including Storm performing May 2 and 3 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel, 3455 Skyway Drive, Santa Maria. More info: 928-8000.
Fresh off the vine
The D’Vine Wine Bar and Bistro features Jerry Stickell on May 1, Santa Rosa performs May 3, Tony Botello performs May 6, and Kyle Reilly on May 7 with shows starting at 7:30 p.m. at the D’Vine Wine Bar and Bistro, 107 W. Ocean Ave., Lompoc. More info: 430-8356 or facebook.com.
In the flow
Creative Juices Lounge presents live music including the Los Tres Amigos live on May 2 and Cheyenne McDonald May 3 performing from 7 to 10 p.m. at the lounge, 874 Guadalupe St., Guadalupe. More info: 219-0518 or creativejuiceslounge.com.
Maverick jams
The Maverick Saloon offers live entertainment, including a “Concert on the Deck” featuring Carmen and the Gang on May 3 at 3 p.m. Carmen and the Renegade Vigilantes perform on May 3 at 8 p.m., followed by “Late Night with guest DJs” at 11:30 p.m. “Suds, Song, and Sandwiches” will feature Owen Johnston live on May 4 at 3 p.m. at the saloon, 3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez. More info: 686-4785 or mavericksyv@aol.com.
Contact Arts Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 1-8, 2014.