Soothing Sounds

Music Academy of the West staged two concerts for Recovery and Hope at Hahn Hall in the wake of the recent mudslides and flash floods.

The hastily organized free events featured soprano Julie Adams, alumnus cellist Joshua Roman, pianists Natsha Kislenko and Margaret McDonald, clarinetist Richie Hawley, alum and faculty member Nico Abondolo, trumpeter Paul Merkelo, and Julie Landsman on horn.

“We wanted to bring people together,” says academy president Scott Reed. “We have a strong community, and we wanted to share our condolences with those have suffered. We want to be a positive resource.”

The 10-piece performance featured works from Shubert, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Purcell, Mozart, Dvorak, and Bernstein, wrapping poignantly with “Somewhere” from West Side Story.

A thought-provoking show in the midst of tragedy.

Small Appetites

Mitchell Sjerven, owner and operator of three eateries, including Bouchon in our Eden by the Beach, says his restaurants have suffered a major drop in business of up to 50 percent.

Customers have started to return, but Mitch says visitors who previously reserved for holiday bashes and other parties, are reluctant to rebook, saying they don’t feel right partying in the wake of the tragedies.

“‘Just not feeling it’ is the most frequently cited phrase,” he says of the reasons for the cancellations.

Mitch suggested, speaking to the Los Angeles Times, that TV titans Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres train their lenses on the bright sunshine, wide beaches, and back-in-business restaurants as a way of helping overcome previous images of carnage and devastation.

“That would help immensely.”

According to Visit California, the nearly two-week Highway 101 closure resulted in a loss of $13 million or $949,000 a day, in visitor spending in Santa Barbara County,

Food for thought.