Camille Gavin: Bakersfield composer makes happy music — listen for yourself
| Monday, Dec 29 2008 07:44 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:48 PM
GO & DO
“Mountain View Rondo”
When:9 a.m. Friday
Where:KVPR 89.1 FM (radio)
Information: Call 800-275-0764
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“The Empties” awards dinner
When:6 p.m. Sunday
Where:Hodel’s, Olive Drive and Highway 99
Admission:$40
Information: 327-PLAY
Images
Michelle Weingarten in a scene from "The Laramie Project," which is up for an award at the Empties.
Richard Southwick
Bakersfield composer Richard Southwick’s “Mountain View Rondo” is happy music — the kind that makes you smile when you hear it. Its main theme is bright and breezy, especially the staccato passages, and when I first heard it, I saw in my mind’s eye images of children skipping through a sun-drenched field of Kern County’s glorious wildflowers.
But you needn’t take my word for it. Tune in to KVPR 89.1 FM radio at 9 a.m. Friday and you can hear it for yourself. A recording of the rondo by the Los Angeles-based Great Notes Woodwind Quintet will be broadcast that time.
Incidentally, the quintet performed the rondo as part of its program for a Dukes Memorial concert at First Congregational Church two years ago, which is when the CD was made.
Unlike a lot of contemporary music, Southwick’s is melodious. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself humming along as this particular piece is played. Other compositions he’s written have been performed by members of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra and the CSUB Concert Band.
Southwick, a retired instrumental music teacher, is an affable fellow, known for his wry humor and his “15-second jokes,” such as the one about a little girl who, when asked why she is smiling up at the sky as lightning and thunder dance overhead, makes this simple reply: “God is taking my picture.”
During the many years he spent teaching in public schools, the composer wore his hair in a buzz cut. Now he wears it long enough to tie up in a ponytail. He explains his current coiffure by saying, “I had to retire to become a long-haired professor.”
“Mountain View Rondo” was inspired by a request from a New York musician Southwick and his wife, Margaret, met while on a European cruise.
“We were on this boat on the Danube and I got acquainted with a clarinet player of the New York Woodwind Quintet,” he explained. “He asked me to write a composition for his group.” Upon his return home, Southwick composed the rondo; the quintet has performed it several times since.
Another of his pieces, “Sonata for Violin and Piano,” will be broadcast on KVPR on Feb. 2. It will be played by two Bakersfield musicians, Darius Johnson, violinist, and Patrick Bender, pianist.
‘THE EMPTIES’
Wonder of wonders, The Empty Space will celebrate its sixth year of existence with its annual “Empties” awards dinner on Sunday at Hodel’s.
And I’m not the only one who thinks it surprising that the theater is still in business.
“It amazes me too,” said 22-year-old Kristina Saldana, the finance director who’s a business major at Cal State Bakersfield. “We’re celebrating that we have made it through another year. This is the most fun thing we do and we want everybody who loves theater to come and be with us.”
As part of the program, Bob Kempf, artistic director, has prepared a video showing the nominated actors and scenes from nominated plays.
Brian Sivesind, the founder of The Empty Space, is back in town after completing his master of fine arts degree at UC Irvine. His stated mission for the Empty was “setting theater free.” In other words, no admission is charged; but donations are always welcome.
For the more well-attended shows, such as recent “Laramie Project,” Saldana said the average donation is $8 per person.
The theater has no “angels,” no corporations or individuals who provide big chunks of cash. The major financial contributors are the board members, most of whom are actors and directors at the Empty as well as local theaters.
“We don’t really have a budget,” Saldana said. “It’s mainly month to month. Our first concern is paying the rent — $2,800 a month — and keeping the doors open.”
