Joe Payne

The Allan Hancock College Singers have been practicing their parts diligently all semester (not acting parts, but singing parts: bass, tenor, alto, and soprano), in preparation for the choir’s spring concert “Devotion.” The program includes music that spans centuries of musical tradition. “It’s a little open ended, because I don’t tell you devotion to what, […]

Jane Russell and the Swinging Forties: Those names on the bill were a sure thing to pack the Radisson Hotel’s Vintner’s Lounge with folks looking for music with some swing—until the Hollywood icon’s passing on Feb. 28. Still, Swinging Forties has continued performing music from the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s in the hopes of keeping […]

True musical knowledge is a difficult commodity to come by, and unbeknownst to many, Santa Maria has played host to a mastermind in the musical arts for nearly a quarter century. Students uncountable have been helped by the priceless knowledge dispensed tirelessly by Dr. Marcus Engelmann, Fine Arts Department chair and music instructor at Allan […]

During fourth period at Ernest Righetti High School, a visitor can pass wings of students silently reading, listening to lectures, and working on group projects. Someone nearing room 502, however, will start to hear a steady bass line, followed by drums, then guitars, keyboard, horns, voice, maracas, and, of course, the marimba—the instrument that gave […]

Having lived in the Santa Maria Valley my whole life, and grown up as a musician, I’ve come to notice a stereotype about the area’s music scene. I am referring to the generally stated: “Santa Maria doesn’t have a music scene!” People who believe that are wrong. This misconception, in my humble opinion, comes from […]