Music

Gary Moskowitz Learning to play the recorder is a lot of fun for 8-year-old Jacqueline Gelghegan, but she's not sure if her family is quite as enthused. Jacqueline is one of about 160 third-graders at Keppel Elementary School who spends about 30 minutes every Tuesday and Thursday learning about music notes and how to play them by blowing air through a recorder. "I don't think my parents really like the noise too much when I practice at home," Jacqueline said.

Come one, come all, to St. George's "Music for Charity Event" at 7 p.m. on Feb. 3. Providing the night of snappy jazz, with torch songs and other favorites, will be Razzmatazz, featuring vocalist Jan Abell, and Steve Fry on keyboards, drummer Pete Lippman and tickling the trumpet Pete Peterson. St. George's Episcopal Church invites the community to put on its dancing shoes or just come enjoy some delightful jazz, wine and dessert to support a worthy cause. All net proceeds will go directly to Door of Hope, a privately funded, faith-based outreach for homeless families to help them regain their life and dignity in the community.

Violins were in position, bows were at the ready, and, with instruments angling off shoulders and heads craning toward a teacher, a group of students started making music. Their bows slid and instruments slipped, but a uniform tone still emerged from the beginning strings music class, reverberating off the walls of the Monte Vista Elementary School auditorium Wednesday. The children started with musical scales, playing the rising notes as the morning sunshine poured into the airy room from a side window.

Brooks Vinson likes to think that he has a height advantage playing the upright bass. The 6-foot-4-inch Vinson is just as tall as the instrument. The 76-year-old La Crescenta resident has been playing the bass with his band, "The Wright Stuff," as a hobby for several years. For Vinson, who learned to play when he was 13, the instrument is a way for him to keep up with the music of decades past. His band performs to the sounds of the 1940s and '50s, and big band and swing are the group's favorites.

From his home studio in a Glendale apartment, professional musician Tim Kobza mixes up his latest collaborations or records music with his band Modereko. Inheriting the music genes of his piano-teaching mother, Kobza chose the guitar as his instrument, which has taken him from his hometown of Omaha, Neb., to concert venues around the world. Intern JJ Yang spent time with Kobza, 46, and discussed his music career, early experiences with music and work as a guitar teacher.   How did you get started with music, and specifically the guitar?

Jake Shafer fumbles with the compact disc player in his car as he drives to Ventura. At first glance it might seem as if he's driving to the Vans Warped Tour concert for pure fun, to see bands that are old favorites and catch new sounds. But Schafer is mixing business and pleasure as an intern with the music company that produced the tour's compilation CD. Music blasting, he agrees with the old Mastercard advertisements that the opportunity to be an unpaid intern in the music industry is priceless.

Instead of watching “Lord of the Rings,” “Chicago” or “Gladiator,” Pasadena Young Musicians Orchestra will re-create the films’ music with an 84-member orchestra. The orchestra’s spring concert “Lights! Camera! Music!” will be Sunday in Sexson Auditorium at Pasadena City College. The performance will feature music from film genres including action, historical adventures, space odysseys, comedies and musicals. The orchestra has a more than 50-year tradition for students in 10th grade through college.

Sunday Paul Andersen It has long been said that the human voice is the supreme musical instrument, able to convey melody and message at the same time. Following that line of reasoning, it would seem that a cappella music, which is purely vocal with no instruments, would be among the highest forms of art. Anyone who has seen either Rockapella or the Coats perform would probably agree with that assessment. After all, both groups often cause audiences to drop their jaws as their voices merge together in silken harmonies that reflect back to the fact the Italian term a cappella literally means "as in a chapel or church."

Despite publicity and promotion, the crowd at Saturday afternoon's Musical Afternoon on the Lawn was smaller than expected. "The music was great. There was nobody here," said Steve Pierce, a Crescenta Valley Town Council member who worked on the event committee for Crescenta Valley Park. "It's hard to get people to get off their couches and attend these wonderful events that we have throughout the community." Three La Crescenta students passed out fliers to businesspeople in the area, in addition to Pierce mentioning it at the recent CVTC meeting and the CV Chamber promoting it on its website.