Grand Strand Newsmakers

School Enrollment for The Sun News Regional Spelling Bee

Early bird enrollment is from August 22 through October 16 and Standard enrollment is from October 17 through December 15 for all elementary and middle schools in Horry and Georgetown Counties for The Sun News Regional Spelling Bee.

The winner of the regional bee will represent the area in the Scripps National Spelling Bee held in the Washington, DC area. The Sun News provides hotel, travel and miscellaneous expenses for the speller and a chaperone.

The 2018 Regional Spelling Bee will be held at 3 p.m. on March 10, 2018 at the St. James High School Auditorium. Schools should go to spellingbee.com to register. For additional information or questions, please contact Kimberly Gary at (843) 626-0355 or kgary@thesunnews.com.

MYRTLE BEACH

MB Estates hosts zoological visit

Myrtle Beach Estates Assisted Living and Memory Care community hosted a Brookgreen Gardens Zoological visit on September 12. The residents came face to face with an alligator, opossum, snake, and an owl. The interaction was priceless and enjoyed by all. Our residents look forward to the many activities that are held here on a daily basis. Myrtle Beach Estates is located at 3620 Happy Woods Court, Myrtle Beach.

Coastal Carolina University moves up in U.S. News Best College rankings

Coastal Carolina University is ranked second in the Best Value category for Southern regional universities in the 2018 edition of the U.S. News and World Report “Best College” annual rankings, released yesterday.

Of the 64 universities in the Best Value category, the No. 2 ranking places CCU ahead of Converse College (10th), Appalachian State (11th), the Citadel (20th), Elon University (25th), Winthrop University (52nd) and the College of Charleston (61st). CCU ranked eighth in the Best Value category last year.

CCU tied for 52nd in the Best Regional Universities (South) category, up from 62nd in last year’s report. Coastal also tied for 19th in the Top Public Schools category and 29th in the Best Colleges for Veterans category.

Coastal has earned high rankings in the Best Value category consistently for the past five years. According to U.S. News & World Report, the Best Value calculation is based on a school’s academic quality and the net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of need-based financial aid.

“This latest ranking reflects the continuous efforts of our entire University to provide the best possible education to our students at a reasonable cost,” said CCU President David A. DeCenzo.

“Regional University” is defined as an institution that provides a full range of undergraduate and master’s programs, but few doctoral programs. Institutions are ranked against their peer group in one of four geographic regions: North, South, Midwest and West.

CCU offers 73 undergraduate programs and 21 graduate-level programs including one Ph.D. program.

Jazz drummer Kobie Watkins teams up with CCU faculty and students for concert

Star jazz drummer Kobie Watkins will join Coastal Carolina University faculty and students in a performance Thursday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Edwards Recital Hall. Tickets are $17, with discounts available.

Watkins will perform a series of his original songs as well as numbers composed by CCU Department of Music faculty in an eclectic, fluid musical performance. The first half of the program will feature Watkins playing with the CCU student Jazz Combo, including Nick Lewis on trombone, Bobo Ferguson on tenor saxophone, Tyler Hughes on bass, Conner Mills on piano, Tyrice Murray on drums and Cynthea Kelley on vocals. The second half will feature Watkins performing with Tim Fischer, associate professor of music, on guitar; Matt White, associate professor of music, on trumpet; and guest musician Brett Belanger on bass.

Watkins, a Chicago native, earned a master’s degree in jazz pedagogy from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and has played with Branford Marsalis, Joe Lovano, Curtis Fuller and jazz legend Sonnie Rollins.

“Kobie absolutely represents a link to the jazz lineage and history; Sonnie Rollins is one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, and to get someone who played with him – to get a musician of his stature at CCU – is an event not to be overlooked,” said Fischer.

Fischer is a jazz guitarist, composer, and educator who has performed across the United States and Europe. His debut album as a leader, “Due South” (2014), features his original compositions and arrangements. Fischer earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in studio/jazz guitar from the University of Southern California.

Trumpeter, composer and educator White is coordinator of ensembles and commercial music and jazz and manager of the Wheelwright Recording Studio at CCU. White recorded “The Super Villain Jazz Band” in 2017, featuring original music including the commissioned St. Helena Suite inspired by the Gullah music of South Carolina’s sea islands.

A native of Greenville, S.C., Belanger earned a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance under the mentorship of Frank Duvall at the College of Charleston and plays professionally throughout the Southeast.

General admission is $17. Senior citizens, OLLI members, CCU alumni, teens and CCU/HGTC faculty and staff are $12. Tickets for children and CCU/HGTC students are $5.

The Edwards Recital Hall is located in Room 152 in the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts at 133 Chanticleer Drive W. on the Conway campus. Parking is available in lots directly adjacent near the back of the building or in J lot near the Singleton building. Visit www.coastal.edu/aboutccu/campusmap.

For tickets or for more information, call the Wheelwright Box Office at 843-349-ARTS (2787) or visit ticketreturn.com or coastal.edu/culturalarts. The Wheelwright Box Office is located at 108 Spadoni Park Circle on the Conway campus, and hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

CCU Choir joins Carolina Master Chorale, Long Bay Symphony to perform ‘Carmina Burana’

The Coastal Carolina University Concert Choir joins a consortium of professional and student musical groups to present Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” Sunday, Sept. 24, at 4 p.m. at the Myrtle Beach High School Music & Arts Center. Tickets are $25, with discounts available.

The performance will feature the Long Bay Symphony, directed by Charles Jones Evans, teaching associate in CCU’s Department of Music; the Carolina Master Chorale and the CCU Concert Choir, both directed by Timothy Koch, teaching associate in the Department of Music; the Hartsville Community Chorus, directed by James Beaumier, chair of the Arts Department at Hartsville High School; and the Waccamaw Intermediate and Middle Schools Treble Choir, co-directed by Bethany Stearns-Miller, choir director at Waccamaw Intermediate School, and Timothy Forline, choir director at Waccamaw Middle School.

Guest vocal soloists will include Louis Otey, baritone; Amanda Horton, soprano; and Khary Wilson, tenor.

“Carmina Burana,” written in 1935, is an epic cantata based on 24 poems from the medieval collection of the same name.

“The piece is based on a collection of romantic, bawdy and irreverent Medieval-era texts,” said Evans. “It is one of the most popular and iconic choral works, the ‘O Fortuna’ excerpt, which opens and closes the cantata, having been used in everything from movies such as ‘Excalibur’ to television ads for Domino’s Pizza.”

“There’s nothing else quite like it,” said Koch. “It’s kind of its own genre and has almost a cult following. There are a lot of people for whom it’s not only their favorite piece of classical music, but also the only one they like. It’s visceral; it has a primal kind of quality to it in many ways.”

Otey, originally from South Dakota, has performed at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London; the Metropolitan Opera in New York City; the San Francisco Opera; the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Italy; the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland; and other major international companies and festivals.

Horton, from Asheville, N.C., performs frequently with the Long Bay Symphony as well as the Asheville Symphony Orchestra and the Asheville Choral Society and Orchestra. She has appeared at the Asheville Symphony Amadeus Festival, Piccolo Spoleto Festival and guest recitals across the Southeast.

Wilson, from Baton Rouge, La., has performed with the Opera Studio Melbourne/Gertrude Opera in Australia; the Capital City Opera in Atlanta; the GLOW Lyric Theater in Mauldin, S.C.; the Louisiana State Opera; the Peach State Opera and the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh.

Evans is in his 21st season as music director and conductor of the Long Bay Symphony and has held conducting positions with numerous professional orchestras and music festivals across the country.

Koch is music director and conductor of the Carolina Master Chorale, based in Myrtle Beach. Now in his 17th season as music director, Koch has led the group in tour performances in New York and Europe.

Beaumier directs the Hartsville High School singers, the Red Fox Choir, and the Freshmen Select Choir at Hartsville High School. He has directed the Hartsville Community Choir in Hartsville, S.C., for more than 27 years. He is a 2018 quarterfinalist for the national Grammy Music Educator of the Year award.

Miller has been choir director at Waccamaw Intermediate School for 10 years and played principal clarinet with the Long Bay Symphony for 15 years.

Forline is in his first year at Waccamaw Middle School and graduated from CCU with a bachelor’s degree in music in May 2017.

General admission tickets are $25. CCU/HGTC student tickets (21 and under with student ID) are $10. For tickets, call the box office at 843-448-8379, or purchase them online at longbaysymphony.com or in person at 1107 48th Ave. N., Suite 310-E, Myrtle Beach.

The Myrtle Beach High School Music & Arts Center is located at 3302 Grissom Parkway in Myrtle Beach.

America’s Boating Course offered by Sail and Power Squadron

For many boaters a day on the water can be quite intimidating. The mere operation of the boat is complex, let alone attempting to maneuver and dock the boat. The sight of those colored, funny-shaped markers and floating cans in the water arouses your curiosity.

Worries of potential weather or mechanical problems weigh heavy on your mind. And, if some adverse situation arises, what do you do? The sight of a police boat creates an anxiety rush as you wonder if you are legal and the thought of being responsible for all aboard becomes overwhelming. This does not sound like a day of fun on the water.

The North Strand Sail and Power Squadron, headquartered in Little River, is offering their America’s Boating Course in a one-day format on Saturday, September 30, 2017. This class will teach you basic boat handling, how to be prepared and prevent problems as well as how to deal with the unexpected when it arises.

The class will be held at the Little River Elks Lodge, 150 SC Hwy 57S from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. with coffee and donuts in the morning and a light lunch provided for all participants. The only cost is for materials and a spouse can share a book.

This is a one-day class with those who pass receiving a certificate at the end of the day.

Once again, we are happy to announce that all 31 students passed in the February 2017 class. Historically, our passing rate is just about 100%! This certificate meets the North and South Carolina requirements for boating certifications (in NC, anyone under the age of 26 must have it and in SC, anyone under the age of 16).

George Theriault of Calabash, N.C., is Commander of the Squadron and John Schwab of Little River, is our Education Officer. Our instructors live and boat in South and North Carolina and enjoy passing on their knowledge. They join our members in inviting you to take this course or others offered such as Seamanship, Piloting, Navigation and Engine Maintenance. It’s a great group of boaters who carry out their mission “to provide leadership in recreational boating safety through education and civic activities while promoting fellowship for it members.”

If you are a new or worried boater wanting to be a smart boater who enjoys the experience, sign up for this next class on September 30 so you can join the thousands of boaters having fun on the water. Boating should be fun - an informed boater is certainly a happy boater. In addition, passing the test given at day’s end and receiving certification could make you eligible for insurance discounts.

For more information you can email John Schwab at www.sailnorstar@gmail.com, call him at 910.393.9262 or leave a message on the Squadron’s voicemail at 843-399-1342 and someone will return your call. You can request information or register online at https://www.usps.org/cgi-bin- nat/eddept/800/getregformx.cgi?C-15856.

The North Strand Sail and Power Squadron is a unit of the United States Power Squadrons with three primary objectives – education, civic service and fraternal boating. Meetings are held in Little River at the Elks Lodge on Highway 57 on the second Saturday of every month. Whether or not you own a boat now, anyone interested in boating is invited to attend a meeting, to take a basic or advanced boating course, or to join the Squadron. Call 843-399-1342 for details or go on-line to www.NorthStrandSquadron.com.

Rotarians participate in National Day of Service

North Strand Housing Shelter held a National Day of Service and Remembrance Project on Sept. 9 at the shelter on S.C. 9 in Longs. Members of the Rotary Club of Little River installed a sign in the new children's playground. A Rotary District matching grant funded most of the project. Dana Black, founder and director of the shelter, is the immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Little River and Paula Yanis is the current president. Nolan Black, Ed Horton and Craig Hill are members of the RCLR.

This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Grand Strand Newsmakers."