"The horn was so beautiful,” said Judy Hearn after hearing the Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert Saturday at Grace Baptist Church. “It was such a fabulous concert. His tone and his presentation were outstanding. We were blessed to have him in this concert.”

French Horn player Steven Gross played “Concerto No. 4 for Horn and Orchestra” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Other selections during the evening were from Mozart, Frederick Delius, David Bowerman and Franz Joseph Haydn.

John Farrer conducted the orchestra.

“I’m pleased with the way the orchestra played,” John said. “Mozart and Haydn are the most difficult composers to play. There’s no place to hide. I was very proud of the orchestra.”

Verna Racansky and friend Joan Oswood were pleased with the performance. “I liked the horn soloist. He was fantastic. They’re all professional,” Joan said.

“We encourage people to come out and enjoy a good evening,” said Verna, who does volunteer work for the orchestra.

Executive Director George Majoue marveled at the talent onstage. “The philharmonic symphony orchestra is a premiere orchestra here in Santa Maria. In a town of 90,000 people, it’s hard to believe that we have 45 to 50 musicians — all professional — performing here.”

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For more information about the orchestra,

visit www.santamariaphilharmonic.org.

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Santa Barbara County Action Network recognized four individuals and one organization during its Looking Forward Awards Dinner Sunday at Atria Maria del Sol.

Joan Leon of Santa Maria was given the “Looking Forward” Award “for strong leadership and vision in community building, civic engagement and improving the quality of life in our community.”

John Buttny of Santa Ynez was given the Social Justice Award “for promoting fairness, tolerance, respect and compassion in our community.” The Dunes Center of Guadalupe was given the Environmental Protection & Sustainability Award “for valuing, protecting, and preserving the quality of our natural resources and the environment.”

Connie Geiger of Lompoc was recognized with the Giving Back to the Community Award “for giving back selflessly to the community through volunteer activities.” Eric Cardenas of the Central Coast Environmental Health Project was given the Working Families Award “for helping working families by providing education to improve health conditions at work and in the home.”

Retired County Counsel Shane Stark was the guest speaker. The welcome and introductions were given by SB CAN Executive Director Deborah Brasket and SB CORE President Dick Flacks. Joyce Howerton conducted the “FUN-Raising Auction” and SB CAN President Joann Marmolejo said the “Thank You and Farewell. (Full disclosure note: I did some volunteer graphic arts work for this event.)

For more information about SBCAN, visit sbcan.org.

Jeanne Sparks is a writer, photographer and graphic artist. For information, call 739-1836; e-mail Jeanne@JeanneSparks .com; visit www.JeanneSparks .com; or write to her at P.O. Box 6437, Santa Maria, CA 93456.