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THE RANCHO SANTA FE NEWS
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THE RANCH’S BEST SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS
APRIL 5, 2013
Couple shines new light on Bach’s music By Tony Cagala
RANCHO SANTA FE — For more than 200 years now the music of Johann Sebastian Bach has been performed in concert halls and churches worldwide. His music has been etched onto a record made of gold that is still today hurtling through interstellar space on the Voyager spacecraft in the hopes that if intelligent life does exist, and played the record, they could experience his music among other sounds and images of Earth. Conductors Richard and Helen Westerfield are looking to bring Bach a little closer to home, allowing listeners to experience Bach in a whole new way with their inaugural concert at the Village Church April 13. The program will be the first time they’re working together so intensely on creating a new vision to Bach’s music, Richard said, who has been a conductor of worldrenowned orchestras since 1993. Helen serves as the director of music ministries at the Village Church. The married couple that now resides in Del Mar met each other prior to studying music abroad in Europe on Fulbright scholarships. “We got to know each other in the hills of Bavaria,”
Helen and Richard Westerfield are collaborating on a new musical performance that will provide an exploration into some of Johann Sebastian Bach’s compositions at the Village Church in Rancho Santa Fe. Visit theranchosantafenews.com to see a video clip of Richard talking about Bach’s music. Photo by Tony Cagala
Richard said. “It looked very much like ‘The Sound of Music,’ with lots of flowers cows…it was very much romantic. And we got
engaged shortly after that. But the thing that was exciting for us is that we shared a common interest in music and especially in the music
of Bach. “And that began all the way back then, and we’ve had the idea of doing with Bach, something distinctive with Bach really, since then.” As a piano player and composer Richard, who once filled in to conduct the New York Philharmonic on a day’s notice, said he was drawn to conducting because of the fact that it was done with other people. “It was a teamwork, collaborative effort and that a conductor actually doesn’t make any sounds at all,” he said. “It’s all about inspiring other people to play their best, and to play in a way that’s together.” But during this performance, Richard will get a chance to make his own “sounds,” in a sense, by providing commentaries and some brief biographical notes on Bach and his music. “It’s an attempt to help people find a way inside the music so that they can relate to it and appreciate it more,” Richard said. With the couple having lived with and studied Bach’s music (Helen studied Bach with conductor Helmuth Rilling, co-founder of the Oregon Bach Festival), it’s been a dream of theirs for the past 25 years to present TURN TO BACH ON A19
Del Mar OKs raise for city manager By Bianca Kaplanek
DEL MAR — Council members approved a $630 a month raise for City Manager Scott Huth with a 4-0 vote at the April 1 meeting. Councilman Al Corti was absent. The boost represents a 4.2 percent increase for Huth, who joined the city in January 2012 with a threeyear contract requiring a performance evaluation at least once every six months for the first year and annually thereafter. After meeting in closed session, a requirement for personnel matters, council members Lee Haydu and Don Mosier were appointed to negotiate the terms with Huth, who came to Del Mar
CHAMPIONS OF THE COURT Students from the Torrey Pines High School mock trial team takes first place in the San Diego County High School Mock Trial Competition in March. A5
City Manager Scott Huth (center) talks with Councilwoman Lee Haydu and resident Bill Michalsky during his 2012 welcome reception. Council authorized a $630 monthly increase to Huth’s contract at the April 1 meeting. Photo by Bianca Kaplanek
after serving as the public services director for Coronado since 1995. “Our city manager is basically a 24-hour job,
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seven days a week,” Haydu said. “Scott even works on vacations because I’ve gotten calls and emails from him.
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“Even though we’re a city of 4,000 people, we have got big city problems,” she added. “We’ve got beaches. We’ve got the (Del Mar) Fairgrounds in our city limits. So we have a lot more responsibility for our city manager than some truly small towns of 4,000. I think Scott does deserve this raise.” Haydu noted Huth joined the city while it was developing a ballot initiative for downtown revitalization and trying to settle a lawsuit with the fairgrounds over expansion plans there. “He kept pounding until we got what we wanted,” she said. “So he has worked very hard for his first year and gotten us pretty far.” Under the amended agreement, Huth will receive an annual cost-ofliving adjustment based on the county’s consumer price index. The increase cannot exceed 3 percent annually and it will not be reduced by a negative CPI. The 2013 increase, retroactive to Jan. 1, is $255 TURN TO MANAGER ON A19
Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club president Helen DiZio (at podium) addresses the Rancho Santa Fe Association board and members of the community. The board voted unanimously March 22 to purchase the property using Covenant Enhancement Funds for more than $2.3 million. Photo by Sandy Coronilla
Association agrees to buy Garden Club property By Sandy Coronilla
RANCHO SANTA FE — The Rancho Santa Fe Association board voted unanimously at its March 22 meeting to move forward with the purchase of the Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club property for more than $2.3 million. The Garden Club is used commonly used as a community gathering place for both special occasions like graduation ceremonies, cotillions and weddings as well as Garden Club events. After two years of discussions between the club and the association, an understanding was met last month, which included the sale of club property to the Association, however, the Garden Club itself would continue to use the facilities for its events. Association Manager Pete Smith said other options besides acquiring club property were considered, including the possibility of selling the property on the open market or hiring a property manager. “Under the first option, the Association Board shares the Garden Club’s concern that a new property owner would not operate the property in the best interest of the community and there would be no guarantee that the proceeds of the sale would be reinvested in the community,” Smith said. And the second option was tossed out because the Garden Club would have to increase its money making events at the club, including events for “outside groups.” “This would have a negative impact on congestion,” Smith said, “and diminish the value of the property to our community as an exclusive amenity.” The proceeds from the purchase of the Garden Club will be deposited into a special Community Fund
to be held at the Foundation for the benefit of the community living in the covenant area. In the future, local nonprofit organizations could submit requests to an oversight panel consisting of Association board and Garden Club board representatives. “For many years the Garden Club has struggled with the issue of maintaining the facilities and property,” Smith said. “In recent years, it had proven to be a very difficult task to find willing and competent volunteers to take on the challenging task of managing the property.” That is, until Helen and Steve DiZio stepped up, Smith said. “The DiZios and the Garden Club board have come to the conclusion that the current structure for running the facilities cannot be maintained,” he said. Helen DiZio spoke to the challenges and her hope for the future success of the Garden Club property. The board meeting, which occurred outdoors, lasted more than hour and included questions posed by association board members and audience members alike. There was a lively give-and-take, with most guests registering their support for the acquisition. One area nonprofit’s president, Carla DiMare of the Rancho Santa Fe Senior Center, asked the board to consider giving the funds directly to community organizations rather than making them go through hoops to benefit from the purchase of the garden club. “I think it’s a better way to allocate the funds,” DiMare said. She suggestTURN TO GARDEN CLUB ON A19