Spring 2013, Issue 16, Vol. 45 (March 27)

@lariatnews /lariat.saddleback /LariatNews @lariatnews VOLUME 45, ISSUE 15

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SADDLEBACK AND IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGES’ STUDENT NEWSPAPER WEDNESDAY, March 27, 2013

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Ali Syed was enrolled in DSPS at Saddleback Saddleback College student Ali Syed had enrolled himself with, “[attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] ADHD, panic disorder Staff Witers [and] anxiety,” on the application of servicAn gi e L. Pineda es for the Disabled Students Programs and Editor-in-chief Services on July 11 of last year, according to documents obtained by the Lariat.

Syed went on a shooting spree Feb. 19, killing three people and then took his own life.

According to the DSPS official documents, Syed had specified his necessity for “testing accommodations.”

“Ali Syed applied to DSPS on July 11th after seeing a generalist counselor for academic probation/disqualification, and that the college made attempts to contact him on August 15th, September 14th, and October 5th to schedule an appointment. He did not respond,” Saddleback College spokesperson Jennie McCue wrote in an email to the Lariat.

Counseling office assistant Kathy Schultz wrote an email to Syed saying that the Special Services program had left two messages but were unable to reach him.

“I don’t think just depression leads to acts like that, to experience such a long rampage of rage is something more than depression,” said clinician Katherine Shapiro MACL. “It is more common in men for anger to often build and lead to anxiety and depression, his depression may have gotten so severe he experienced a psychotic episode.” Shapiro said.

According to Syed’s transcripts, his cumulative total GPA going into the Spring semester of 2013 was 0.62.

Valer y Fregoso K ri sten Mart inez Mi chael Grennell

lariateditor@gmail.com

DSPS enrolled: Ali Syed had enrolled himself into the DSPS program with ADHD, anxiety, and panic disorder.

Tustin police department

Volunteers spruce up native garden Shi r ley Smit h

Staff Writer

Extra credit-seeking Saddleback students volunteered at the California native plant garden behind the TAS building Mar. 13.

The garden is not funded nor maintained by the college. Rather, students constructed it in 1990 by donated materials and supplies.

Since then, volunteer students have maintained the garden with its approximate one hundred native plants including, California lilac, coffee berry and love oaks.

These are planted in groupings to designate the six California ecosystems and marked with large markers made and donated by the art department.

John Richards, Lab Technician & Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies leads volunteers about 15 times a year to whatever chores need to be done, imparting knowledge about the plants along the way.

Richards has a pleasant easygoing style that draws in the volunteers and makes them think about our environment.

Controlling the wheelbarrow, Lina Fasheh, 19, criminology said, “I’m here because I drive past the gardens and horticulture section all the time, and I was curious as to who maintained it and what it looks like.”

“We are going to do some work in preparing the surface so we don’t have any weed growth in the summer.”

Said Richards.

Lauren McIntyre, 23, environmental studies, is scooping mulch into the w h e e l b a r r o w.

“It’s a good intro to hands on application to the classes I’m taking.”

According to Richards, Shirley Smith / Lariat the number of students varies Lina Fasheh: Volunteer uses from 2-52 look- a wheelbarrow to move mulch at ing to boost their the California Native Garden by the Saddleback TAS building. grades. ssmith.lariat@gmail.com

Events

list

Courtesy of Calvalry Cahpel

Reach for heaven: The San Juan Capostrano Calvary Chapel raises their hands while they sing as a way of worship in thier beliefs at the gynasium.

‘Alive 2013’ comes to campus

An Easter celebration will take place in the gymnasium at Saddleback College for the very first time. The event will occur for three days from Good Friday, Mar. 29 to Mar. 31.

This event is hosted by a local church, San Juan Capistrano Calvary Chapel, who is pastured by John Randall, and is located directly across from the Mission.

Musical guests include the Scott Cunningham Band, which will play on Friday at 7p.m. and Brenden McPeek on Saturday at 6 p.m.. On Sunday, service will start at 10:30 a.m. with McPeek and the Soul Reformation.

“Close to 1200 are expected to attend,” Randall said. “We were looking for a place big enough to hold our services indoors, and Saddleback College was available. The challenge is to do something different that we have not done before.”

E l i z ab e t h Or t i z

Staff Writer

Health & wellness fair at SADDLEBACK Wed. Apr. 10, upper quad, 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

IVC faculy lecture series Real-life mad scientist presented by ohn davison at IVC Mon. Apr. 1, BSTIC 101, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

“I think it makes a statement that the church doesn’t just want to be behind closed doors, but has a desire to be visible in the community.”

Randall said.

The church will continue to meet across from the mission, but in the mean time it may have caught some interest.

“I am encouraged by seeing other believers of Jesus on campus, shining his light,” Aria Arthur said.

There are currently two Christian clubs that meet in the quad area during the week at Saddleback College. The Christian Students Club and the New Christian Ministry Club.

For the full story including to find a link to a video on youtube go to www.lariatnews.com.

Cultural movie night at SADDLEBACK Wed. Mar. 27, SSC 212, 6 p.m.

eortiz.ariat@gmail.com

Spring 2013 Career Fair at IVC Tues. Apr. 23, SSC quad, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Student commencement speaker deadline (Application found at SC 260 and outlines are due with app) April 5, 2013, SC 260, 12 p.m.

OPINION

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Lariat

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

Editorial: The drinking age is just too restrictive Lariat Staff

All over the world, legal drinking ages vary from 14 to 16.

In the United States, the right to drink an alcoholic beverage is restricted until we reach age 21.

This holds true even if we are legally allowed to vote and join the military.

We believe that the drinking age should be lowered.

“In Switzerland, drinking is incorporated into the family life,” Swiss citizen and former Saddleback Student Pascal Stäheli, 22, said. “We are exposed to alcohol earlier, and are not advised to not drink, rather taught how to drink in moderation.”

Stäheli explained that the way someone is raised defines how they will behave around alcohol. It is because of this that he believes that the maturity level in Switzerland is higher compared to the U.S..

The 18th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was added in 1920, after which the making, selling, possessing, and consumption of alcohol became absolutely illegal. After 13 years of increased criminal rates and a fight for power over alcohol between the government and underground crime groups, Prohibition came to an end in December of 1933. As a result, the drinking age fluctuated from state to state for nearly five decades.

According to Moms Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.), on July 17, 1984 President Ronald Regan passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. This act legally made the federal drinking age 21, an act that has

significantly sepataurants rather than rated the U.S. from unsupervised housother countries. es and fraternity In the U.S., parties which often when someone result in irresponsiturns 21, it is a celble binge drinking ebrated event. It is and blackouts. a day in which one Many argue that can legally do what anyone under the many of them have age of 21 is too illegally particiimmature to parpated in for years, ticipate in drinking. drink.

We think otherBecause the wise. government has “An age does put a high restricnot define maturition on the drinkty,” Dylan Gala, 21, ing age, our culture Undecided, said. “I has made drinkknow 50 year olds ing to be more of that shouldn’t be ala social rebellion lowed to drink, and rather than a cul18 year olds who tural tradition. Due could drink responto this, many teens sibly.” and young adults It is not an inthink it is cool to dividual’s age that drink to get drunk determines their rather than to drink maturity level, but J OIN THE M ILIT A RY to enjoy. their upbringing “I feel like peothat does. Europle would learn to pean cultures have be more responsicontinually proven ble earlier if it was this. lowered. Sure there We believe will be idiots. But that if someone is there are always idmature enough to even go to jail, iots,” Saddleback vote and enlist in College student the military, one Alyssa Riney, 19, should be given the Communications, right to at least eni s a b s o l u t e l y u nn a c e p t a b l e said. joy a beer.

By repealing the According to National Drinking an article by PsyAge Act of 1984, chology Today, in America’s issue the early 19th cenof reckless undertury, members of age drinking could the military could Illustration by Hayley Slye greatly decrease. consume alcohol By lowering the HARD ALCOHOL: The stupidity of a few should not take away the opportunity of a majority on base, regardless drinking age, young of the legal drinking like European cultures. It would to take place in regulated enviteens and adults can be taught be more common for drinking ronments such as bars and res- age. Many military bases had how to consume in moderation bars and clubs accessible to the

de n r 21 C u e l p a o n e P

Choose a Career

Vote in an Election

but having a drink

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Saddleback administrator responds to critical Lariat editorial Dear Lariat Editor, Last week, after receiving your March 7th email requesting a report on Ali Syed’s records, I informed you that the college was reviewing your request with legal counsel to determine if federal and state confidentiality laws would allow the college to release the records. I was disappointed to see that this information was omitted from your March 12th opinion editorial in the Lariat.

As such, the college’s intentions on this delicate issue pertaining to federal privacy laws were misrepresented.

While the college is invested in helping our Lariat students have access to information, we must always act professionally and ensure that we are properly interpreting and following the law before handing over records that may infringe on the privacy of students and their families.

The opinion of legal counsel is that based on the U.S. Department of Education’s interpretation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), it is within the discretion of the district to decide whether to release the documents in this highly unusual circumstance. The col-

lege and district take student privacy rights and laws protecting those rights seriously.

Given that it is within our discretion to release the documents in this circumstance, the college and district have made the decision to honor the Lariat’s request.

Attached are Ali Syed’s application for Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSPS), a student history report, and an email from a DSPS to Ali Syed. Personal information on the application for services has been redacted.

To help clarify the abbreviations in the student history report, the report shows that Ali Syed applied to DSPS on July 11th after seeing a generalist counselor for academic probation/disqualification, and that the college made attempts to contact him on August 15th, September 14th, and October 5th to schedule an appointment. He did not respond.

Thank you for your inquiry and patience as we worked to accommodate your request while honoring our commitment to the privacy of our students.

Sincerely, Jennie McCue

Lariat

soldiers where they were able to drink.

“Overseas, as long as you’re not on base and underage you can drink all you want,” U.S. Air Force and Saddleback alumnus Gabe Reza said.

He went on to say that there is line between federal and military law.

If you are mature and old enough to enlist to fight for our country, without a doubt you should be able to enjoy a drink in this country. Key word: enjoy.

Those who don’t have the opportunity to travel overseas and are not able to enjoy an alcoholic beverage usually tend to find a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy that can provide fake identification, and having a fake I.D. puts underage drinkers at risk of getting into serious trouble.

It’s like restrictive parenting: Tell a teenage girl that she can’t date that older guy with the motorcycle and tattoos and it will only make doing just that more appealing. If the U.S. did not restrict alcohol consumption, young people would not feel to need to rebel. Just like they did during prohibition, people will find a way to go about getting what they want.

If alcohol was introduced at a younger age and within the American culture, teens and young adults would be taught how to drink in moderation within regulated environments.

An increase in the experience of consuming alcohol in moderation from a younger age could greatly decrease the number of irresponsible underage drinkers. lariateditor@gmail.com

The Common Core: A tale of two subjects The national Common Core initiative poses a threat to literature in the classroom Melanie Roberts

Staff Writer

Storytelling has been an integral part of education since humans began observing the world in which they live. Literature has always been societially significant, until now.

The new Common Core Standards passed in 2013 may change the direction of English classes in a negative way, especially at the high school level.

According to its official website, The new California Common Core Standards for English are aiming to better prepare students for the curriculum in college courses by gearing high schoolers toward an expository reading and writing model rather than a literature based one.

According to an article by NPR, the new standard will incorporate historical documents, such as Martin Luther King’s letter from the Birmingham jail and 70 percent of what students read must be nonfiction.

While the new standards won’t take away literature completely, I fear that with limited school days, teachers won’t be able to get to everything. With the new model, it seems novels will be the first to be cut out.

Kevin O’Connor, dean of liberal arts at Saddleback College said the model is changing, be-

cause students entering colleges like Saddleback are not well prepared for the English courses at the college level. This lack of preparation then forces students into remedial courses, pushing

argument based. The old system creates disconnect between the two levels of English classes.

I agree that being put into remedial courses after graduating

Hayle

POETIC JUSTICE: Nonfic-

y Slye

tion works trump literary classics

them behind in their goals. “[In college] the students are being asked to think critically and form their own positions on those ideas and facts and opinions that are discussed in the class and read in the materials,” O’Connor said.

He said that the essays students are asked to write in a college class are expository and are

high school is unproductive, but I don’t think cutting literature is the answer. A solution may be that literature could be paired with historical aspects going on at the time the piece was written and then relate it to modern times. That way, students would still be able to read fiction, but relating it to themselves would also allow them to

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critically analyze their own surroundings.

O’Connor argues that if students are interested in literature, then they can explore it for themselves or declare an English major.

“If we help people become critical readers maybe more people over their life will pick up literature on their own,” O’Connor said. “A college composition course should not be a literature course, because your love of literature, if you have it, you can fulfill that by deciding to be an English major.”

I disagree that those are the only ways that students are able to fully experience literature.

If literature is not experienced through novel or poetry at the high school level, then it is less likely to know whether or not an English major is right for someone.

While I don’t argue that nonfiction and writing from experience are good things, I worry that the art of fiction will be lost. The majority of students will be denied the opportunity to experience works such as Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, which teaches students issues and moral dilemmas that are still relevant to the human experience today.

mroberts.lariat@gmail.com

About the Lariat

The Lariat is the student newspaper of Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College. The Lariat is an independent, First Amendment, student-run public forum.

One copy of the Lariat is free.

Additional copies may be purchased for $1 at the Lariat newsroom, which is located in LRC 116.

Letters to the editor are welcomed. Please limit letters to 200 words or less and include a name, valid e-mail address and signature.

All letters are subject to editing by the editorial board.

Unsigned editorials represent the views of the Lariat’s ediorial board and do not represent the views of Irvine Valley College or Saddleback College or the South Orange County Community College District.

Lariatnews.com launched in fall 2007. Visit us on Facebook at “Lariat Saddleback” or follow us on Twitter, @lariatnews.

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SPORTS Ex-Gauchos stock rising as NFL Draft looms

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Lariat

WEDNESDAY, March 27, 2012

Mi chael Grennell

Sports Editor

With the NFL Draft rapidly approaching, former Saddleback Gauchos Menelik Watson and Kyle Long raised their draft stock with solid performances at last month’s NFL Combine.

Long put up impressive numbers during the four day event. His 4.94 40-yard dash time was the third fastest among offensive linemen, just short of Oklahoma tackle Lane Johnson (4.72), and Arkansas-Pine Bluff tackle Terron Armstead (4.71). His performance at the broad jump was among the top 15 by offensive linemen at the Combine.

Having the slowest time in the 3-cone drill at the Combine highlighted some of Watson’s struggles at the Combine. Watson did not appear among the top 15 performers in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump, and 20 yard shuttle.

Despite this, many people still have high hopes for his potential in the NFL. A scouting report from Bleacher Report submitted

by Eric Stoner said, “While his workout numbers left something to be desired... his light feet, agility and ability to mirror [were] all apparent.”

While speculation remains that Long will be selected somewhere in the early to middle part of the second round, there is a growing number of fans and analysts that believe Watson will go in the first round.

CBSSports.com senior NFL columnist Pete Prisco had Watson going to the New Orleans Saints with the 15th overall pick in a mock draft posted on Monday. NFL.com analyst Matt Smith had Watson going in the first round also, but to the Indianapolis Colts with the 24th overall pick.

The NFL Draft will take place over three days, from Apr. 25-27. The first round will take place on Apr. 25, the second and third rounds will be drafted on Apr. 26, and the final four rounds will be drafted on Apr. 27.

Lariat Sports Roundup IVC Baseball defeats Gauchos for second time Irvine Valley Lasers Baseball team held off their conference rival Saddleback College in a 5-4 extra innings win on Thursday afternoon.

IVC defeated the Gauchos in 10 innings, improving their overall season record to 8-14 (3-7 in conference).

Freshman outfielder Zack Davis helped lead the Lasers to victory with a game winning RBI single in the tenth inning.

The Lasers next game will take place on Mar. 28 when they travel to El Camino College to take on the Warriors.

Photos Courtesy of Saddleback Athletics Department

Moving on Up: Kyle Long (left) and Menelik Watson anchored the Gauchos offensive line during Saddleback’s 2011 season. Long is currently projected to go in the second round according to NFL.com, while Watson is projected as a late first / early second round choice.

2013 NFL Combine Results Kyle Long

Menelik Watson

40-Yard Dash

4.94 sec

5.29 sec

Vertical Jump

28.0 In

24.5 In

Broad Jump

107.0 IN

103.0 IN

3-Cone Drill

7.83 Sec

8.31 Sec

20 Yard Shuttle

4.63 Sec

5.01 Sec

77 (Eventual Starter)

85 (Immediate Starter)

NFL.com

Prospect Grade

Lasers zap Knights in men’s volleyball match Irvine Valley Lasers Men Volleyball team clenched the win against San Diego City at home, 20-25, 25-19,25-19, 2725.

With this win Irvine’s overall season record improves to 10-3 and in conference 4-3.

Key players like Trey Bernal earned 12 kills, 10 digs and 4 aces against San Diego while

teammate Jon Guyman managed 11 kills as well as Billy Crow with 17 digs.

Irvine’s upcoming match will be at Palomar on Wednesday then will be hosting Grossmount home on Friday.

Gauchos baseball strikes back at Lasers

With their backs against the wall, Saddleback Gauchos baseball team put up a big rally to win the game against IVC 5-2.

Third baseman Brian Romero homered at the end of the seventh inning to put the Gauchos up by two runs, and finished the day 2-3 with two RBI. First baseman Noah Graham went 3-4 in the win, including an eighth inning solo home run to make the final score 5-2.

Starting pitcher Tyler Brashears threw a four-hit complete game in the winning effort, only allowing two runs.

The Gauchos next home game will be on Mar. 30 against San Diego Mesa Check us out Online for more stories

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A&E

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WEDNESDAY, March 27, 2012

Late Night DJ: DJ Ear looks intensly at his laptop as he looks through his playlist to make the selctions for The Mix radio show, a blend of Hardstyle, Dubstep and House music.

Anibal Santos / Lariat

Saddleback DJ after midnight Ani bal Sa ntos

Staff Writer

At KSBR, on a cold foggy night in the empty Saddleback College campus, DJ Ear begins setting up his equipment in preparation to host the Mix, which runs from midnight to 2 a.m. on Saturday nights.

As DJ Ear is connecting the last cables of his laptop to the audio equipment in the studio. Then, he realizes he left his mixer at home. It’s eight minutes before The Mix is about to begin.

“I’m really frustrated right now,” he said looking down at his equipment.

Tonight he won’t be able to skillfully blend his eclectic mix of music, which every disc jockey is known for doing.

“I feel so empty right now,“ he said minutes before the show.

He has no time to get it back, but DJ Ear is a professional DJ, so he carries on the show by controlling the music with his laptop.

“You’re in The Mix with DJ Ear, bigger, faster and more powerful. On 88.5 FM KSBR Radio, Mission Viejo,

Saddleback College after hours,” a recorded voice of a woman with a British accent said.

The opening track begins and he starts the show off with a Celtic house dance track.

DJ Ear, whose real name is Weston Ahren, 25, radio broadcasting and audio, has been bringing his skillfull blend of electro dance music to Saddleback radio for about a year and a half.

He has also DJ’d at various conventions across southern California.

The genres and sub genres that he plays during his show include: Electro, Trans, Hardstyle, UK Hardstyle, Gabber, Dubstep and Hardance.

The Saddleback campus may be void of activity, that even a pin dropping could be heard, but inside the Student Services building the walls are vibrating from the radio station’s sounds.

This is pretty much the bear bones of being a DJ. You take away the crowd and the ambiance and this is all it is,” he said during a break in the set of tracks that are blasting into the KSBR studio room.

KSBR is known for its strong em-

phasis on smooth jazz, but on Saturday nights DJ Ear breaks away from the traditional programming. The Mix is also one of the few FM stations to play the variety of dance music that mainstream radio stay away from.

“I’m excited to do a show even though it’s a late at night,” he said.

“He started with us in 2010 and from the begining he showed interest in doing a mix show. He has been a solid addition to our Saturday line-up,” Terry Wedell, director of KSBR Radio said.

Currently he is one of the busiest DJs in the electronic dance scene.

Besides hosting The Mix, he is also involved with the Saddleback’s The Monday Night Meltdown, which airs every Monday night at 7 p.m. on OC Rock Radio.com. He is also working on a new album, which he will debut on July 4 at the Anthrocon Convention in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

“Personally I like to play a lot of uplifting music,” he said. “Personally I like to listen to different kinds of music and see what to do I enjoy and what would other people enjoy. That has al-

ways been my approach.”

He said that being a good DJ takes more than spinning records and creating sound effects to dance. It’s also about taking the audience on a journey.

He said it takes good decisions to make smart song transitions, beat matches and creativity.

According to DJ Ear, the latest software has made work of DJs easier in terms of blending the and transitioning, but it has made it harder for many to distinguish themselves among their peers.

“Initially it has taken a lot of that hard work you need to DJ, it’s gotten to the point to that if everyone is special, no one is,” he says. “If it’s going to be that easy then you have to really make the effort to stand out among everyone else,” he says. “It takes more than just putting your first up in the air to do this job.”

“Do you know how to read a crowd? Do you know how to keep them there,or are you going to screw up your transition from song to song? Do you know what songs to play? What music to play to keep people on the

dance floor?” he asked.

Despite new software technology and the vast styles electro dance music, DJ Ear has kept a simple and straight forward approach to his practice.

“I’ve always seen DJing as taking the audience on a journey,” he said.

“I’m always looking to play something that no one has heard of before.”

It’s one hour into the show, and DJ Ear takes a small break from playing his set to check the activity on The Mix’s Facebook page.

In the last year and a half, The Mix has begun developing a following on social media. The show has also begun developing an audience in Europe where dance music is very popular.

DJ Ear returns to the microphone to identify the artists that just played and identify the radio station.

“You are tuned into The Mix right here on 88.5 FM KSBR. This is where the party is at every Saturday night,” he says.

asantos.lariat@gmail.com

Award recipients’s solos wow at McKinney Theater Child stars showcase theirs talents to a Saddleback College audience.

E R i c Gorm a n

Staff Writer

The Saddleback College “orchestra co-sponsors a concerto competition for instrumentalists and vocalists studying with members of the Music Teachers’ Association of California or the American String Teachers’ Association,” the Department of Music’s pamphlet explains.

“In addition to prizes and trophies, the winners receive an invitation to perform as guest soloists with the Symphony in a special concert presentation.”

Backed by the Symphony Orchestra and led by Saddleback’s newly appointed conductor Yorgos Kouritas, the three concerto contest winners performed onstage at the McKinney Theatre on Mar. 16, for the Concerto Gala: Catch a Rising Star, to a very warm reception, having accepted their invitations.

The first prize winner “is a very young, and very, very promising pianist,” Kouritas said as he introduced the third and final soloist, Jake Clayton. “Two weeks ago when he showed up for rehearsal, I asked

him, like any other soloists, ‘do you need a little time to warm up?’ and he said ‘no,’” Kouritas said, expressing how competent a musician the soloist is.

Clayton, 10, who was invited onstage, showed no hesitation. His selection was Wolfgang Amade us Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A major - K488.

The piece called for him to pause routinely throughout.

“He’s gonna play an encore,” Kouritas announced to the audience and smiled.

The encore piece was Impromptu Op. 90 No. 2 by Franz Schubert, according to Tina, Clayton’s mom.

“I practice two hours every day, I’m ten years old and I’ve been playing for five and a half years,” Clayton said. “My teacher is Dr. Stewart. She’s awesome, and my mom is too, because she practices with me.”

The first of the contest winners to enter the stage was Kenichi Kiyama, 15, who is an “amazing young violinist.” He is “doing an amazing job,” and “he’s just a wonderful person to work with,” Kouritas said during his introduction.

Kiyama performed Edouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, which he explained as “very technically difficult, with very contrasting emotions in it.”

“Overall it’s a very fun piece,” Kiyama said, as he explained that it “feels absolutely wonderful” to be a contest award recipient, because “it’s a once in a lifetime chance, especially for a high school student.”

His impressive display of intricately-complex bow work and fingering was matched by his composure and passion for his instrument.

After Kiyama’s performance, Lauren Graham graced the stage in a stunning golden dress to showcase her awardwinning talent. Singing as a soprano, she performed Glitter and be Gay, from the operetta Candide, which was composed

by Leonard Bernstein.

“She has the honor to be studying with one of our instructors here, Mr. Farthing,” Kouritas said. “Only a top level singer could” sing the songs that she did, back-to-back, in her contest application.

Graham’s performance fluctuated from joy to sorrow, as she expressed a wonderous scale of emotion and tones.

After the soloists’ performances, the orchestra played selections from Nicolai Rimsky - Korsakov’s Scheherazade.

From the roaring seas to passionate love, the orchestra marvelously closed out the evening with a beautiful, but morbid piece that chronicled the tale of a woman who told her husband 1,001 fairytales to save her own life. The selection included an exquisite violin solo by Priyanka Venkatesh, a breathtaking bassoon solo by Brian Woodworth and overall expert musicianship.

“It was a wonderful evening of music,” Dr. Wheeler said, a retired professor from Cal State Fullerton and current Saddleback student.

For the full story visit www.lariatnews.com.

egorman.lariat@gmail.com

Eric Gorman / Lariat

Child star: Jake Clayton took home the first place award in the concert competion.

LARIATNEWS.COM/SPORTS