Grossmont College Gospel Choir performs Oct. 29 and 30

      The Grossmont College Music Department is proud to present the Grossmont College Gospel Choir and the Grossmont College Master Chorale in two concert performances this weekend, both scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
     On Saturday, Oct. 29, the concert will be held at the Calvary Baptist Church of San Diego, 719 Caesar E. Chavez Parkway, San Diego. On Sunday, Oct. 30, the concert will be held at the Paradise Valley Seventh Day Adventist Church, 2701 East 8th St., National City.

"Breaking Boundaries" dance performance at Grossmont College

       The Grossmont College Dance Department will present “Breaking Boundaries: Student Choreographers’ Showcase,” Thursday through Sunday, October 27 to 30, 2011.

       Evening performances on Thursday through Saturday will begin at 7:30 p.m. Matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday will begin at 2 p.m. All performances will be held in the Stagehouse Theatre on the Grossmont College campus.

Cuyamaca College technician brings a beautiful spirit to his job

           

John Thomas, Ornamental Horticulture technician



             For John Thomas, working as a technician in Cuyamaca College’s Ornamental Horticulture department has never been just a 9-to-5 job.

He’s represented the department at numerous events, including the Turf Management Seminar, the Sustainable Urban Landscape Conference, and the Aggie Open golf tournament. He’s spent countless hours preparing for the Spring Garden Festival, the annual event that draws more than 6,000 people to the Rancho San Diego campus.

Thomas’ passion and enthusiasm for his job was recognized October 18 when he received the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Chancellor/Classified Senate Award, a commendation presented quarterly to outstanding staff. He was nominated by Brad Monroe, coordinator of the Ornamental Horticulture program.

Fifty and Fantabulous at Grossmont College

     Guests at Grossmont College's 50th anniversary celebration Saturday night were treated to a delightful evening at the college's new Health and Sciences complex. This video offers some variations on the night's theme: "Fifty and Fantabulous."



Grossmont's Vocal Recital Guild holds first concert Oct. 23

      A new student club on the Grossmont College campus called the Vocal Recital Guild will host its inaugural concert at 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, at the campus Recital Hall, Room #220, Building #26. Tickets are $5 and available at the door. Martha Howe, an adjunct Music Department instructor, is proud to present a class of very talented performers.

      The theme for the concert is “From Opera to Broadway.” Selections will include “Dido and Aeneas,” by English Baroque composer Henry Purcell in 1689; Dank Sei Dir Herr by Georg Friederich Händel (1684-1759); “Patterns” from “Baby,” a musical written by David Shire that first ran on Broadway in 1983; and, “Someone’ Been Sending Me Flowers” by David Baker. Piano accompanist at the concert will be Sylvia Hartman.

      Members of the Vocal Recital Guild include music voice major students enrolled in a performance studies class taught by Howe, who has been appearing in opera and theater productions since a student at Point Loma High School in San Diego (class of 1969). She is a versatile singing actress who has performed with numerous opera companies and symphony orchestras throughout the United States, Canada and Austria. Howe lived and worked in New York from 1980 to 1994, and then lived in San Francisco, Paris and Vienna, until 2007.
   

Cuyamaca College offers introduction to green building careers with free training

  RANCHO SAN DIEGO – For those interested in a career within the “green” construction industry, Cuyamaca College is providing a three-week introductory course free to eligible students through a training program co-sponsored by the San Diego Workforce Partnership.

      The Introduction to Green Building Careers is funded through the State Energy Sector Partnership, an offshoot of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and will help displaced workers, the long-term unemployed, new workers, military veterans, and older youths gain the skills to compete for jobs in the expanding green economy.

Wheelchair basketball competition Oct. 26 at Cuyamaca College

Players competing in the 2010 wheelchair basketball game at Cuyamaca College

The always rousing wheelchair basketball game, where tumbles and spills are as much a part of the action as the pivoting and spinning of custom-built wheelchairs across the gym floor, is set for noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Cuyamaca College gym as part of the college’s annual commemoration of National Disability Awareness Month.

The game, in its 14th year, is being coordinated by the college’s Disabled Students Programs and Services office and men’s basketball coach Rob Wojtkowski.  

"Got Plans?" college and career fair to be held at Cuyamaca College Oct. 22

     The Grossmont Union High School District will host its eighth annual

“Got Plans?” Career & College Fair for high school students and parents on Saturday, October 22, 2011, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Cuyamaca College. 

      More than 6,000 students are expected to obtain information about  post-secondary options at the fair, which is a partnership between the Grossmont Union High School District and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District. 

"Aesop's Fables" to be performed Oct. 21 and 22 at Grossmont

        

 What’s so bad about counting your chickens before they are hatched? And what is a wolf in our sheep’s clothing anyway?

       Discover life lessons about our foibles, common sense and humanity at the Grossmont College Theatre Arts Department production of “Aesop’s Fables,” a whimsical production that highlights Aesop’s imaginative fables, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Stagehouse Theatre on campus.

        

15th Annual Aggie Open Oct. 21

       The 15th annual Aggie Open, a golf tournament that benefits Cuyamaca College's ornamental horticulture department and its botanical society's scholarship fund, will be held Oct. 21 at the Bonita golf course. Registration is at 10:30 a.m. and tee time is noon.
   
       This event attracts more than 130 industry professionals from the landscape, golf and related green industries along with students from the Cuyamaca College Ornamental Horticulture Department. The four-person scramble is open to the public and is billed as a fun day on the links.

     The event includes lunch, dinner, golf and free range balls, along with other special activities on the course and during the awards dinner. More information here.


        

Grossmont College to host Lester Bangs Memorial Reading event Oct. 19

      The Grossmont College English Department’s Creative Writing Program will pay tribute to a deceased rock `n’ roll critic and former student as part of its Fall 2011 Reading Series. The third annual Lester Bangs Memorial Reading will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19 in Building 26, Room 220, on the El Cajon campus. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

      Leslie Conway “Lester” Bangs, who attended Grossmont College from 1966 to 1968, was known as “America’s greatest rock critic.” He wrote for Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and Creem before he died from suicide in 1982. He was portrayed by actor Philip Seymour Hoffman in the 2000 movie “Almost Famous.”

     

Grossmont College Symphony Orchestra to perform Oct. 21 in downtown San Diego

     The Grossmont College Symphony Orchestra will present “I Am Woman,” a performance featuring Anna Belaya, soprano, starting at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21, at the St. Joseph Catholic Cathedral, 1535 Third Ave., at Third Ave. and Beech St., in Downtown San Diego.

        The public is invited to attend. Admission is free, however a free-willing offering will be held. Selections will include: “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” by Joan Tower of New York; "The Four Temperaments,” by Danish composer Carl Nielsen; and, Symphony No. 3, also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, by Henryk Gorecki of Poland.

     For more information, call (619) 644-7254, or visit www.grossmont.edu/music and click “Concert Schedule.”

Grossmont College alum scores big at jazz competition

Joshua White performing at the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Competition
Photo by Elisa Kommins Morris

             

             It was just a few years ago that Joshua White decided to pursue his passion of playing jazz piano, spending hours listening to jazz greats like Herbie Hancock.

                But when White, 26,  placed second in the prestigious Theolonius Monk International Jazz Competition in September 2011, it was Hancock who came to him offering praise following White’s performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

                “He said I inspired him,” White said.

                White studied piano for years, but he said his two years at Grossmont College played an important role in his development as a musician. He majored in music theory and played in the Grossmont orchestra and the college’s music ensembles until he transferred to San Diego State University in 2005.

               “It’s about the people,” White said of his experience at Grossmont. “It definitely put me in a position to meet individuals who shaped my path. It was a great experience learning from different types of people.”

Grossmont College Career Center to host `Career Week,’ Oct. 10 to 14

     The Grossmont College Career Center will host “Career Week” from Oct. 10 to 14. The theme of this year’s “Career Week” is “Your Road to Success.” The event will include workshops, clinics, presentations and panel discussions designed to provide information about career and industry trends and help students achieve their career goals.

      “Our goal is that Career Week will create excellent opportunities for students to network, discover skills and learn job search strategies,” said Nancy Davis, Career Center student development services supervisor. “We want to help students gain a glimpse into the working world.”

"Whites and Woods" tennis tournament at Grossmont College

   

 The Grossmont College women’s tennis team will host its third annual “Whites and Woods Doubles Tournament,” a fundraiser for the Grossmont College women’s tennis program, starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, at the Grossmont College tennis courts.

     Players are encouraged to wear all white and use wooden rackets (wooden rackets will be available for rent for $5). Cost to play is $40 per team. A prize will be presented for the most authentic outfit. Grossmont College women’s tennis coach Megan Haber is expecting about 25 teams to participate. For more information, contact Nathan Welden at (619) 920-9052, or visit www.FletcherHillsTennis.com, click “Whites and Woods.”

College counselors lauded with outstanding faculty awards



Teresa McNeil discusses transfer issues with Kevin Gallagher,
admissions officer at UCSD



Janice Johnson receives her award at
Grossmont College convocation

Two veteran counselors who help pave the way for students at  Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges to transfer to four-year campuses have been given top faculty awards recognizing their dedication to the colleges and the students they assist.

Janice Johnson is the recipient of Grossmont College’s Distinguished Faculty Award and Teresa McNeil has been honored with Cuyamaca’s first-ever Outstanding Faculty Member Award.

Both have the job title of “articulation officer,” working with colleges and universities to ensure the community college courses are a match with those offered at the four-year schools.. They also are arbiters for students, intervening on their behalf when transfer credits are challenged.

Exhibition opens at the Hyde Art Gallery

    

          The Hyde Art Gallery, located on the Grossmont College campus, is now presenting “Painting at the Hyde,” an exhibit through of 39 paintings by current Grossmont College Art Department faculty members, including Jennifer Bennett, Daphne Hill, Tom Lazzara, Bill Mosley and Michael Wheelden, as well as former faculty member Anna Stump and Ben Aubert, gallery curator.

         The artwork reflects the use of acrylic paints, oil on canvas and pen and ink drawings. An opening reception with the artists will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 4. Free parking is available in parking lot #1 on the evening of the opening reception. The exhibit closes on Thursday, Oct. 27. Admission is free. The Hyde Art Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Gallery is located in Building #25 across from Café 200.

Dance classes offered at Grossmont College

      The Grossmont College Dance Department will present two classes with master class instructors on Saturday, Oct. 15 at the college’s main dance studio, Building #24, Room #271.

      A class on modern dance taught by John Malashock will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by a class on salsa dancing taught by Michael John Saltus from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m. Cost to attend is $10 for one class or $18 for both classes.

       The classes are part of the Grossmont College Dance Department’s Fall 2011 Master Class Series.