Joel Patterson, Westmont director of music and worship, says Westmont now has a significant, permanent presence in the international music market and thus a greater presence in the world.

Westmont’s 2009 chapel CD, “All the Saints,” features several heartfelt recordings of worship in the aftermath of November’s devastating Tea Fire. The album is a snapshot of Westmont’s worshiping ethos and includes a special message from President Gayle D. Beebe about the fire.

The previous year’s CDs include “The Sea Will Resound” from 2008, “In the Sanctuary” from 2007, “Before All Things” from 2006 and “The Love of God” from 2004.

Santa Barbara High School sophomore Allison Lewis starring in last year's Bravissimo! performance of "Music Man."

About three dozen junior high and high school students enrolled in Westmont’s Bravissimo!, an 11-day musical theater camp, will perform Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” Thursday, June 25, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Porter Theatre. Tickets are $5 and can be reserved by e-mail to thinkcamps@westmont.edu and picked up at the door.

“Cinderella” is co-directed by Miller James, local playwright and Westmont theatre arts instructor, and Rebecca Hodson, Westmont music instructor. Kate Paulsen, a popular actress with Lit Moon Theatre, Providence Hall High School theater director and Westmont alumna, is the choreographer.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein production was originally presented on television in 1957 staring Julie Andrews. The Bravissimo! production includes Allison Lewis, a 10th grader at Santa Barbara High School, as Cinderella and Patrick Schlesselmann, a 10th grader at Bishop Diego High School, as Prince Charming. The cast also includes sisters Maggie and Katie Langhorne, who have performed in all three previous Bravissimo! productions. Katie will be a first-year student at Westmont this fall.

The camp, which began June 13, engages the students in the process of creating and performing a full-scale musical. Instructors teach singing technique, acting, set-design, costuming and technical direction. On the final day of camp, Friday, June 26, students will help strike the set, giving them the full theater experience.

Through mid-August, Westmont offers other Think Camps, including Computer Quest, Creative Youth Project, Discovery Camp, Somos Amigos and Living Like Writers, as well as Warrior sports camps.

Carr Field, before and now

Westmont has hired Robert Ruiz as head coach of Westmont baseball. As Azusa Pacific University’s assistant and associate head coach for the past five years, he helped win 36 or more games in three of the past five seasons.

Ruiz coaches the Warriors at a time of great change on the field as well. Heavy equipment has leveled the backstop, bleachers and dugouts at Carr Field. A giant sifting machine has been sorting top soil, removing the rock from dirt. By the end of the year, the new baseball field will be repositioned and include new dugouts, seating for fans and a press box.

Westmont Athletic Director Dave Odell says Ruiz is a strong Christian leader with a track record of winning. “He is someone who understands how to recruit and coach within the rigorous academic curriculum at Westmont,” Odell says.

As hitting coach, Ruiz led the Cougars to post their best three-year totals in batting average (.344), hits (2,132), doubles (422), home runs (304), total bases (3,516), runs (1,653), RBIs (1,490) and slugging percentage (.567). Ruiz was also APU’s infield coach, third base coach and recruiting coordinator. He has recruited and coached seven players later selected in the Major League Baseball draft.

A student athlete and graduate of Pitzer College, Ruiz earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership at APU.

“Competitive athletics offer the experience of adversity, challenge, work ethic and selflessness,” Ruiz says. “Standing on a foundation of positive values and the right character attributes allows for success in this environment. The bi-product of integrity and value-driven athletes is the ability to win or being prepared to win in all the challenges or obstacles presented. I am passionate about leading a group of young men and preparing them to win while at the same time encouraging them to become great people who are building their relationship with God and making a positive impact in their community,” said Ruiz.

Ruiz finished his baseball career at Pomona-Pitzer College with a .315 average, 31 doubles, 24 home runs, 140 runs and 118 RBIs, leading the Sagehens to two conference championships. He was twice named to the All-SCIAC and All-West Region teams.

The new Warrior coach is experienced in evaluating baseball talent. Ruiz has served as a talent evaluator and instructor at the Stanford Baseball Camp, Team One Showcase and the Under Armor National Tryout, Tournament and Camp. He has also served as a baseball camp instructor at Harvard and Azusa Pacific and is scheduled to work at a USC camp this summer.

Rebuilding a Home in Las Barrancass

Westmont officials are praising Santa Barbara city and county planners and building officials for expediting the reconstruction of buildings and homes destroyed in the November Tea Fire. Construction workers are making extensive progress rebuilding the 14 Las Barrancas faculty homes leveled in the blaze as well as the three structures in Clark Hall that burned. While the floor plans remain the same for the Las Barrancas homes architect Gil Garcia has incorporated code upgrades for the new homes. Architect Peter Ehlen and student life officials have improved the function of the floor plans in the Clark Hall residences.

After clearing away charred debris, workers poured new slabs on top of existing slabs for the gutted Las Barrancas homes. Crews started work in April and have completed the framing and trusses on six homes, began framing four others and completed the roof of one home. General contractor Parton-Edwards Construction says residents will be moving back into their homes starting in December.

Work is also finishing on 27 other Las Barrancas homes that were damaged in the fire. By the end of June, crews will have removed every window and replaced them with aluminum-framed windows, which meet current fire codes.

The Las Barrancas Homeowners Association is moving forward with ambitious plans to fit the roofs of each of the 41 homes with solar panels.

Since the foundation and masonry walls of Clark M and S are sound, Melchiori Construction crews are using the existing walls to rebuild. The residence halls will be rebuilt using steel rather than wood studs for interior walls. A sink and a shower will also be added to the first and second floor bathrooms. Clark F, which housed Resident Director Mark McCormick and his family, will be rebuilt to better accommodate the family and improve the cottage as a gathering space for students. Crews have poured a new foundation and slab for Clark F and report that all work at Clark should be finished in mid-August before the start of the fall 2009 semester.

The physics building and Bauder Hall were also destroyed in the Tea Fire, but trustees decided not to rebuild them for now as the departments they housed, psychology and physics, will move into Winter Hall when it’s completed in 2010. The site of Bauder has become a temporary parking lot, and construction materials are being temporarily stored where the physics building once stood.

Updated construction photos of new building and Tea Fire rebuilding are available for viewing.

Kayla Stilwell and Edd Noell

Recent Westmont economics and business graduate Kayla Stilwell of Bakersfield, Calif., won $500 for her first-place entry in a campus-wide essay contest about economic liberty and the financial crisis. Stilwell’s essay, “Government Failure and the Ensuing Crisis,” explores the reasons behind the financial crisis and evaluates the role of previous federal government policies. The Westmont Economics and Business Department and the economics honorary society Omicron Delta Epsilon (Alpha Pi chapter) sponsor the annual essay contest.

Professor Edd Noell says judges commented that Stilwell’s essay “employed a strong marshaling of arguments and evidence, careful organization and reasoning, and a superior writing style.”

Senior Reanna Kuitse from Goshen, Ind., won $300 for her second-place entry. Senior John Evancoe from Irvine, Calif., and sophomore Emily Rottman from Brookfield, Wis., share the $200 third-place award.

With a rising number of bank failures and homes in foreclosure, recent federal government efforts have focused on bailing out failed financial institutions and possibly nationalizing banks with taxpayer funds. Noell says many analysts see these efforts as inconsistent with the economic freedom affirmed in the U.S. Constitution. “Students were asked to provide alternative policies more aligned with economic freedom,” he says.

A panel of judges, which included economics and business department faculty, critiqued the essays on quality and quantity of arguments and evidence offered, organization, writing skills, depth and breadth of research and clarity.

More than 200 people enjoyed an inspirational evening with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson May 31 at the Westmont Athletics Presidential Scholarship-Challenge dinner. The former NBA All-Star told stories from his youth and from his days as a professional basketball player, encouraging the audience to serve others.

The purpose of the two-day event, which included a golf tournament at Birnam Wood Country Club, is to raise crucial financial aid for talented and deserving Westmont student-athletes.

Johnson, the son of a single mom, grew up in Sacramento and was raised with the help of his grandparents. He recalled being awakened one night when he was six years old by his grandfather. After driving Johnson to the projects, his grandfather handed him a $20 bill, told him to go knock on the door of a particular apartment, and to give the money to the women who answered the door. The young Johnson did so and observed the tears of the women who received the money.

After returning to the car, Johnson’s grandfather drove home without saying a word about what they had done. When they arrived home, he tucked his grandson back into bed.

“I thought I had had a dream,” said Johnson. “But years later I asked my grandmother and she told me that the woman had been on the news the night before because her home had been burglarized and burned down. Among the things lost were the Christmas presents she had bought her six children.

“We didn’t have a lot of money,” continued Johnson, “but my grandfather taught me that night that even though it is hard to do when things are not going well, you do it anyway because it is the right thing to do.”

Years later, Johnson would ask legendary coach John Wooden to give him words to live by. Wooden reinforced his grandfathers’ lesson with two words – help others. He also encouraged Johnson to make each day his masterpiece.

During Johnson’s rookie year with the Phoenix Suns, the team was in Boston to play the Celtics in a 7:30 game. Players were expected to arrive by six o’clock. Rookies arrived by five because once the veterans arrived they couldn’t get any floor time.

“Being a hungry rookie, I thought I would get there at 3:30,” said Johnson. “I heard noise coming from the court and decided to see what was going on. There was MVP Larry Bird, who had already won championships, working on his three-point shots. He’d shoot from outside and a bellboy would rebound for him. I sat down to watch and he hit three or four in a row. I decided I’d go to the locker room to change when he missed one. He hit eight, nine in a row and I kept watching. Eighteen 19, 20 in a row and I began to wonder if he ever missed. He made 32 in a row before I left for the locker room – I don’t know if he ever did miss. I learned that night what it takes to make it in the NBA. Watching the MVP show up at 3:30 to take shots had a profound impact on me. I learned about work ethic and commitment and the importance of making the extra effort when people weren’t looking.”

Johnson also reflected on the 1993 NBA Finals between the Sun’s and the Chicago Bulls.

“I was guarding B.J. Armstrong and John Paxson in the first two games and I played terrible,” said Johnson. “We lost both of those games and were headed to Chicago for game three. Somewhere over Kansas I was napping under a blanket when Coach Paul Westphal woke me up. He told me he had good news and bad news. The good news was that the series wasn’t over. The bad news was that I was going to be guarding Michael Jordan.

“At that point I lost my faith,” quipped Johnson. “Why would the God I serve give me an impossible task? We got to Chicago and instead of going into the Westin, I went right across the street to a church and told God I didn’t believe in him any more.

“When we walked out for the start of the game, I told Jordan I was going to be guarding him and then I elbowed him during the tip-off. We scored the first time down the court and then Chicago brought the ball down the court. Jordan caught the ball and motioned to his team to clear out. He was going to show me he could take me one-on-one, and he did.

“That game went to triple-overtime. I played the whole time and we won. Jordan was averaging 45 points and I held him well under his average at 43.The moral of the story is that even when times are tough and the odds are insurmountable, keep your faith. The good Lord can get you through anything, even guarding Michael Jordan.”

Johnson encouraged those in attendance in their support of Westmont Athletics and the scholarships they were helping to provide. He also encouraged them to follow Wooden’s advice and to make their lives about helping others.

Johnson serves as a model of that advice, having helped to revitalize the inner-city community by serving as the founder and CEO of St. HOPE (Help our People Excel). Originally an after-school program aimed to help 12 young men, the program has grown to have a major economic and educational impact on the community.

Last November, Johnson was elected mayor of Sacramento, defeating twice-elected incumbent Heather Fargo. Johnson ran on a campaign of change through increased police protection, improved public education and economic revitalization. Long known for his work ethic while an NBA player, Johnson is bringing together a coalition to address the needs of a city that is battling a skyrocketing crime rate and that saw two-thirds of its city schools fail to meet state academic growth standards in the past year.

Lilia Abadjieva works with actors in rehearsal for "Measure for Measure/Othello."

The Lit Moon World Shakespeare Festival, led by artistic director and Westmont theater professor John Blondell, earned two Indy awards at the 2009 ceremony hosted by the Santa Barbara Independent. The annual theater awards recognize excellent work done in the local region.

Lilia Abadjieva received an award for her direction of the Lit Moon and Westmont co-production of “Measure for Measure/Othello,” which blended the two political plays into an expressive new work. Abadjieva, a distinguished Bulgarian director, was an artist-in-residence at Westmont in the fall of 2008. She worked with Westmont students, alumni and theater department chair Mitchell Thomas to develop the play.

Finnish actress Nina Sallinen won for her one-woman performance of “Poor, Poor Lear” in Westmont’s Porter Theater. She portrays an aging actress who chooses “King Lear” as her farewell performance.

A third play associated with the World Shakespeare Festival also took home honors. Irwin Appel of the University of California, Santa Barbara, theater department accepted an award for his direction of “The Winter’s Tale.”

Photograph © Cheyenne Ellis

Montecito’s only annual juried art exhibition opens with a reception Thursday, May 21, 4-6 p.m. in Reynolds Gallery. Views and Visions: Interior Space, on display May 21 through June 26, gathers submissions from artists throughout Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The reception will include an awards ceremony announcing winners of the $1,000 first prize and other cash awards, chosen by juror Elyse Gonzales.

Photographer Cheyenne Ellis is the featured artist of the exhibition. After graduating from Westmont in 2000, she studied at Brooks Institute of Photography before apprenticing under established photographers in Los Angeles and New York. Since 2005 she has worked independently shooting catalog and editorial images for clients including Volcom, New Line Cinema and Entertainment Weekly. For this exhibition she photographed outdoor spaces in Argentina, Louisiana, New York and elsewhere that convey a sense of interior enclosure.

Gonzales is the curator of exhibitions at the University Art Museum at UC Santa Barbara. Prior to coming to UCSB in May 2008, Gonzales was the assistant curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania. She will consider broad interpretations of the theme from literal building interiors to psychological, social or other conceptual forms of space.

“Interior Space” is the fourth annual Views and Visions exhibition, each featuring a Westmont alumnus. This is the third year the exhibition has been juried, and each year has seen increased numbers of participating artists. Previous themes include still life and shoes.

Reynolds Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. For directions to campus, visit the college’s Web site at www.westmont.edu. For more information, contact (805) 565-7140 or nprice@westmont.edu.