String Theory

Vadim Bezkrovnij brings SWC's first chamber orchestra

By Stacelyn Labio

Vadim Bezkrovnij has agreed to create Southwestern College's first symphonic chamber orchestra, but there are strings attached. Lots of strings. A whole section of them. A world-class violinist himself, Bezkrovnij began working at SWC in 2005, by resurrecting the string class and founding SWC's first string quartet.

Energetic arts coordinator victim of layoffs

Arts faculty say Silvia Lugo is indispensable

By Angel Huracha

"If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, did it fall?" asked the pensive yet poetic Silvia Lugo at the April meeting of the Southwestern College Governing Board. "If Southwestern College students stage a performance and no one attends, does it matter?" Lugo has spent the last decade tirelessly making sure SWC students who act, sing, dance, play music and create art have an audience.

Former SWC student sells his doodles for dollars

By Ernesto Gonzalez

First there was Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe and William Blake. Now there's Jon Esparza. SDSU and Southwestern College alum Esparza shares something with the literary lions. He self-published his first book in conjunction with a new program at Borders Books.

Drowning out el diablo

By Christine De Jesus

It is a good thing Valerie Mercado was only pretending to be Lucifer in the bold but blemished production of "El Jardin" (The Garden). The real Prince of Darkness would have been mighty angry about all the surrounding noise. Director Goya Flores set playwright Carlos Morton's modern day Chicano twist on the epic tale of good and evil in Southwestern College's Botanical Garden.

Multimedia artist pulls it all together

By Tanya Castell

Michael Barrows can paint, photograph, write and put together inanimate objects to create thought-provoking pieces of art. He presented his best work at Southwestern College's Student Art Gallery with an exhibit entitled "Risk Works: When Mind Meets Matter.

Leonardo still rocks our imaginations 500 years later

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

By Albert H. Fulcher

Leonardo da Vinci was the quintessential Renaissance Man. His influence can be felt in nearly every field of study. Students of art, anatomy, botany, aeronautic, science, engineering and mathematics know his name and study his 500-year-old ideas and innovations.

Christian rapper goes on the record

By Serina Duarte

Rock-n-Roll was decried as "devil's music" by some men of the cloth in the 1950s. Nicolas Shivers is doing his best to see to it that God puts some Southwestern College rock on His iPod. Shivers, 24, left Grossmont College to come to SWC for its celebrated music program.

Ceramics show has cracks

By Lyndsay Winkley

In an environment of consumerism and waste, the concept of creating something beautiful out of commonly discarded items was brilliant. John Lewis' beginning ceramics classes were posed with a unique assignment - take unused, damaged, or abandoned ceramic items and create a piece of art.

Bach to the future for skilled trio

Windsor Hills Consort keeps great music alive

By Leila Rodriguez

Weapons of choice lay out in front of three somber warriors. Lute, harp, recorder, krummhorn (an ancient double-reed instrument) and viola da gamba (an early version of the cello) for the Windsor Hills Consort, all necessary to do battle with Bach and Handel.

SWC's Mariachi lives up to its lofty billing

By Terry Lancaster

Southwestern College's elite Mariachi Garibaldi is on top of the world, but got emotional while honoring Mariachi brethren who ended up in the bottom of a ravine. Dr. Jeff Nevin's much-honored ensemble was doing more than counting time during its stellar spring recital.