A Christmas Choral

Santa Barbara Choral Society, under veteran conductor Jo Anne Wasserman, was in fine form with its eighth annual Hallelujah Project at the Lobero, which also included Sing! program choral students from the Music Academy and pajama-clad president Scott Reed in a rocking chair reciting ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Accompanied by an orchestra, the enthusiastic singers sang a great selection of Yuletide favorites, including “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “The First Nowell,” and “White Christmas,” as well as Handel’s rousing “Hallelujah Chorus” from The Messiah conducted by Ray DiBartolomeo on the Sunday I attended who won the chance to wield the baton in an auction.

A jolly Santa Claus just added to the festive fun…

Big Real Estate Deal

Real estate power couple Ellen DeGeneres and actress wife Portia de Rossi have just broken the record for the most expensive deal ever closed in Santa Barbara County.

The tony twosome have dropped about $70 million on two neighboring properties of Carpinteria land totaling 10 acres, a 3.4-acre plot with a Tuscan farmhouse-style home at $41.7 million and an adjacent 6.6-acre lot complete with a lake for $28.2 million.

The previous record was for a $63 million sale of a 237-acre Montecito ranch two years ago.

The couple’s new property sits on an oceanside bluff with its own trail down to the beach and 9,066 square feet of interior living space, including a sprawling five-bed, eight-bath main house and a guest house with an additional bedroom and bathroom.

Nearby Home Sold

After listing for $36.5 million in July, a beachfront Carpinteria property has sold for $29.948 million with the buyer paying all-cash.

Insurance mogul Ron Lockton purchased the gated Padaro Lane property from the estate of the late California builder Paul Griffin Jr., who died
last year.

Lockton also bought all the furniture in a separate transaction for “north of six figures.”

The home is around 8,850 square feet on half an acre with 66 feet of ocean frontage. The six-bedroom house also comes with a 1,000-bottle
wine cellar.

Local Mom Doesn’t Like Phones at Dinner

Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow has banned her children from having mobile phones at mealtimes because she wants them to engage in “great discourse.”

The Oscar-winner insists daughter Apple and son Moses always sit down at dinner as a family, something she learned from her parents, director Bruce Paltrow and mother actress Blythe Danner.

Speaking on a U.K. podcast, Paltrow said: “We felt special being included at the dinner table even though it was a nightly event.

“If they had friends over then we sat with them at the table and had long conversations. It’s something I’ve carried on with my kids as well.

“We always have dinner together as a family with no phones allowed at the table.”

A great idea…

Doordan and Ford on Board

John Doordan and Kate Ford have joined the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.

Doordan, a longtime senior manager with worldwide corporate experience, is determined to help preserve Santa Barbara’s historic heritage and is president of the nonprofit Santa Barbara Club’s Preservation Foundation, and sits on the board of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, where he currently chairs its historic resources committee.

Ford is best known locally for her roles as an elected member of the Santa Barbara Unified School District board from 2018 to 2022, and as the principal-executive director of the Peabody Charter School.

She has also won two Educator of the Year awards and is a longtime member of the museum’s education committee.

Voyces in the Chapel

St. Anthony’s Chapel resonated to the sounds of the Quire of Voyces under founder-conductor Nathan Kreitzer with an idyllic concert, Mysteries of Christmas.

The talented group of singers, founded in 1993, sang an Advent Calendar of a cappella music with each song, from the sacred cathedral sounds of motets by High Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis to traditional carols, opening a small door to the beauty and delight of Yuletide.

A heavenly performance…

Sightings

Singer Lady Gaga checking out the Rosewood Miramar… Behati Prinsloo, Namibian supermodel wife of Maroon Five rocker Adam Levine, shopping at Pierre Lafond… Ellen DeGeneres and actress wife Portia de Rossi at the Honor Bar.

Pip! Pip! Be safe, wear a mask and get vaccinated. And a Merry Christmas to all.