Santa Ynez Valley News from Solvang, California • B1

00 1 VALLEY LIFE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2018 syvnews.com SECTION LISA usic has the ability to tran- scend time and space and cre- ate a universal language that moves people. Here in the Val- ley, local jazz enthusiasts Ruth and Del Hoover are playing their part to ensure that the universal language of music is heard by in- spiring new generations of musi- cians and bringing the commu- nity together. A few years ago Sana Ynez Val- ley Union High music department received and gener- ous and stunning donation from the Hoovers: A ve-foot Yamaha baby grand piano. The white piano sits in the music hall like an anchor to the music program, lling the room with ed depth and layer- ing each song that is sung with harmonic vibrancy. found a home at the high school, and the student body be prouder.

Music-in-the-making Ruth Hoover spoke about her time as a real estate agent in the San Fernando Valley area during the 1970s, and said that one year her heart spoke to her. got tired of working for a bank and told my husband, want to do something As luck would have it, she had taken on an earlier client who happened to be a singer looking to purchase a place of business to showcase his vocal talents. Although the deal never materi- alized, something greater hap- pened. She was inspired and brought back to her roots. mom got us into music, she had a piano.

And I learned to love jazz when I moved to California from Syr- Ruth said. guess I got out Not long after the idea gelled, the Hoovers struck a deal and be- came owners of a cocktail bar in 1983 that they named sta member who loved jazz said she knew several jazz-lovers that would be willing to assist recalled Del. recommended Frank Collette. He agreed to be our house band and brought numerous jazz groups to ll our With growing attention from the Los Angeles community and well-known acts gracing Stevie stage, Del continued to work full-time in IT while Ruth ran the business. They said two years later when their competitor, the landmark jazz club came on the market because the owner died unexpectedly, they closed Stevie and bought They kept the name and turned it into a jazz and Italian dinner club.

had to rst clean it up. There were some things going on in the back of that club that have Del said, shaking his head. With over ve years of memo- ries as owners of the largest and most popular jazz club in the San Fernando Valley top jazz performers like Bill Berry, Louie Bellson, Steve Allen, Dee Barton Buddy Collette, Bill Henderson, Buddy Defeanco, and Doc Sever- insen of the Tonight Show Band graced the stage the Hoovers were forced to sell. job change required the two to relo- cate to the Central Coast, and the transition was hard, they said. jazz club meant a lot to me.

Everyone there was like fam- ily. never forget Ruth said. Del followed up with, a jazz club is not a money-mak- ing proposition. You make money in that sort of I saw on social media that my friends were in Obendorf, Austria, in the chapel where was rst sung in public, and upon seeing it I felt a profound reverberation move through me, as obvious and palpable as the ground-shaking waves that ac- company those SpaceX rockets blasting from Vandenberg. I was immedi- ately reminded of the powerful juju contained in the melody of that precious Christmas carol.

It was written on or around Christmas Eve 1818 by Franz Gruber, a musician and teacher who served as the organist and choirmaster in St. Nicholas Church in Obendorf, near Salz- burg. The assistant pastor, Josef Mohr, had written a poem, and wanted to present it as a song at Christmas Mass, so he asked Gruber to set it to music. It was composed and performed on solo guitar, and sung by the two of them on Christmas Eve. Legend has it that a man who had come to service the church organ obtained a copy of the lyrics and the sheet music, and took it home to his village in the nearby Ziller Valley, where he played and sang it for others.

Two traveling groups of folksing- ers heard it, added it to their rep- ertoire and started performing it all over Europe, and eventually one of them sang it in America. While the song became widely popular, neither the lyricist nor the composer did. Neither did they ever collect royalties on one of the biggest-selling songs of all time. Gruber wrote to music authorities in Berlin and else- where, stating he was the composer, but they either believe him or care. Until the end of the 20th cen- tury, it was widely supposed the melody was written by someone famous like Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven.

Finally, in 1994, a manuscript written in the hand of Josef Mohr was authenticated and dated by researchers. It states Mohr wrote the words in 1816 and Gruber composed the music in 1818. the earliest manuscript that exists of the song, and the only one in handwriting. The words have been trans- lated into over 300 languages, but for me, the words are not what give the song its power; the real magic is in the melody, although I admit, when we sing is if my heart is open and I can let go of my hangups, I become calm, healed in that moment. Probably the most storied example of the healing power comes from rsthand accounts of soldiers who fought in France in World War I.

In December 1914. With French, British and Belgian soldiers on one side and Germans across the way, each hunkered down in frozen bunkers, on a Christmas Eve afternoon, a group of senti- mental Germans started pining for Christmas. They lit candles, and made little decorations, and one started singing Nacht, Heilige and others joined in. The Allied soldiers recognized the tune and began singing along, each in their own language. Not to suggest that it happened ev- erywhere, but in certain pockets, soldiers from both sides got out of bunkers and met in the middle, hung out, smoked cigarettes and exchanged whatever they had.

They took the time to tend to their wounded and gather their dead, and for a few days they called a truce. If it could happen there, in the most violent of war zones between people literally trying to kill each other, then it could hap- pen here, between people who di er merely in their theories and tastes and beliefs. Stevie Wonder said, in need of and I believe the heart is in need of beauty, so I urge you to sing along. get dissuaded or distracted by the words. Hum, if you prefer.

The real magic happens when voices and hearts join together in unison, harmony, calm and in heavenly peace. Ron Colone can be reached at ron. A song and its power RON COLONE The Central Coast of Cal-ifornia is a horse mecca, with an inordinate number of talented of good horsemanship. The movement away from traditional, often violent, meth- ods of horses to a more gentler, intel- ligent form of working with the nature of horses, seems to have settled comfort- ably in the center of the tri-county areas of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Legendary trainer Ray Hunt said he could identify a good horseman within ve minutes of seeing him move around a horse.

He was looking for qualities that created a partnership between horse and man. are not born leaders. They are natural says Richard Winters who knows a thing or two about training horses. I caught up with him recently to hear more about his book Rider to Horse- Richard was awarded the Western Equitarian Award for trainers in the Western riding disciplines who choose to train horses in the absence of vio- lence. won a World Cham- pionship in the National Reined Cow Horse Association and a Road to the Horse Colt Starting Championship.

Richard is shaping the future of young people and horseper- sons as the Director of the Horse Program at The Thacher School in Ojai. Leadership is an import- ant word in lexicon and why he was tempted by the er to come back to Thacher where he saw an envi- ronment that nurtured the les- sons he learned about horses. are looking for some- one or something that says go this way and things will work out for They work that out in their environment. We domesticate them and put them in our backyards. If we can be that kind of leader that our horse needs us to be, then amazing what they will do for us.

But when that leadership breaks down, when they feel that coming from us, they start relying on their own in- stincts to run away or spook or other Richard added. Going from to Horse- is not about the art of rid- ing, rather a horseman is a more elite group, often understanding its takes a lifetime of learning that never ends. Richard wants to be the kind of horseman his horses need him to be. Horses are not ghters or confronta- tional. Their goals are to avoid danger and to thrive.

They want to feel safe and comfortable. I am that kind of leader my horse needs me to be, go over a jump, follow a cow, walk down the trail, what- ever we need him to do. But they have to feel that leadership from the little things that make a horseman. Richard sees a lot of green riders who need to learn the basics to be safe and have fun around a horse. But he likes taking his students beyond the rst dozen lessons or so to begin to layer the thousands of other small points of under- standing.

a short while I can teach a student to lead a horse across the yard. But the point is not about can we lead our horse but how we lead our horse. One little thing, added to the 989 other things you learn, sep- arates you from the ordinary rider. Now you begin to put to- gether a package that does make a big di erence. Horsemen are concerned about the manner in which your horse follows your In training, easy to say you can achieve leadership and cooperation by making the right thing easy and the wrong thing di cult.

Be rm as necessary and gentle as possible and re- ward the slightest try. That can be the simplest answer to every challenge. Tune into timing and balance, they are the most important. Sometimes not so important what you do, but what you quit doing. Debbie Roberts Loucks grew up on Flag Is Up Farms in Solvang.

She is the daughter of Monty and Pat Roberts. You can follow her on her popular podcast Horsemanship Radio. EQUINE TALK Expert discusses leadership revival in horsemanship Monty Roberts training tip Use communication to establish trust, support the learning and earn a position of leadership. Roberts Local couple donates baby grand piano to Santa Ynez HS jazz band LEN WOOD PHOTOS, STAFF Del and Ruth Hoover, left, recently donated a baby grand piano to Santa Ynez Valley High School music department. Posing with the Hoovers and their gift, are teachers Les Rose, center, Nichole Dechaine, right, and the school choir.

Santa Ynez Valley High School music teacher Les Rose, left, talks with Del Hoover. Winter Concerts Winter Concerts are scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 11, when the cert performs at the SYVHS Theater at 7 p.m.; and on Wednes- day, Dec. 12, when the and Vocal performs at St. In the Valley, Los Olivos at 7 p.m.

Admission is $10 for $5 for students. Concert tickets purchased will be good for both events. DEBBIE ROBERTS LOUCKS Play it Please see JAZZ, Page B2.