Music

The organ has been called the “King of Instruments” because it gives the musician access to more sounds, range, and power than all other instruments. One must also remember that, before the age of electronics and synthesizers, the organ was the only instrument that could emulate scores of instruments, just with the flick of a […]

He’s coming. One of the greatest musicians of our time will be performing just a hop, skip, and jump away in Santa Barbara, thanks to the Community Arts Music Association (CAMA) of Santa Barbara. Itzhak Perlman is the world-renowned violinist known for his performances and interpretations of beloved classical music. He’s performed just about everywhere, […]

Summer is the season of the concert series, and one local winery is in the seasonal spirit.  Koehler Winery has two concerts left in its very first summer concert series, which showcases acoustic singer-songwriters on the winery’s peaceful lawn. Perched atop a hill in Los Olivos, right off of the Foxen Canyon wine trail, Koehler […]

I’m still in the dawn of my career as a musical educator. I teach several instruments—piano, guitar, and mandolin, among others—at Music Motive in Nipomo, and I talk to every student I have, from kindergartners to senior citizens, about music theory and the ideas surrounding what they’re learning. As any educator will probably tell you, […]

Forget about Lake Wobegon. This transmission is coming from Los Alamos. You can also forget about hearing from Dusty and Lefty; Captain Bucky is here. And your beloved Guy Noir has been replaced with the wine-centric gumshoe Peno Noir. Bedford Winery is raring up for its 11th annual “W.I.N.O. Radio Dinner Show.” The annual event—a […]

Talent comes in many forms. I should know, having judged this year’s Santa Maria Has Talent competition. An upcoming event inspired by that model—but without the competition—will feature performers of all ages and abilities. Lezlie’s Showcase of Talent is gearing up for its first-ever talent show, which is set to continue as a quarterly event […]

The Lompoc Library Foundation has been offering a concert series every year since 2007 as a gift to the community that’s given the small nonprofit so much support. The “Concerts on the Library Lawn” always feature three consecutive concerts in August that bring fun, relaxing music to the patch of grass outside of the library. […]

Sometimes, unavoidably, I appear as part of my reporting. I may be a writer, but I was a musician first, and I can’t help but have a foot each in the local art and music communities. Your humble columnist has performed Handel’s Messiah with the Allan Hancock College Singers and Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra, was […]

Climbing the mountainous path that is a doctorate in music takes a huge amount of skill, discipline, and raw talent. Luckily, Bridget Hough-Meynenc possesses of all those traits, which helped her recently secure her doctor of musical arts degree in collaborative piano performance at UCSB. Unity Chapel of Light—a nondenominational church in Orcutt—remembers when Hough-Meynenc […]

Music has expanded into genres so multitudinous that no single publication can hope to cover them all. Unfortunately, this means many music lovers must scratch deeper to find magazines that feature what they’re interested in. One local by the name of Joseph Timmons took matters into his own hands and created an online publication called […]

In the age of electronic pop music, many young kids couldn’t tell you what instruments make a string quartet or symphony happen, let alone what they sound like or how they look. The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum is holding an upcoming summer camp by Central Coast Music Academy, Inc., which allows kids between ages […]

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame legends Stu Cook and Doug “Cosmo” Clifford made up half of Creedence Clearwater Revival with the Fogerty brothers, completing one of America’s favorite bands of the 1960s and early ’70s. Now, decades later, Cook and Clifford serve as a solid musical foundation for Creedence Clearwater Revisited, which will be […]