Idyllwild Arts Academy held its annual Black History Month Concert Saturday night in the William M. Lowman Concert Hall on campus. The hall was filled to capacity with jazz fans, as well as students, faculty and staff. “Afro-American Symphony” by William Grant Still and special performances by Seahawk MoJO (Modern Jazz Orchestra) featuring music from Duke Ellington, Thelonious Sphere Monk and Daniel Jackson rounded out the evening. At left: Black History Month Concert Founder, Conductor, Arranger and Composer Marshall Hawkins (right) watches with the orchestra as the percussionists and traditional dancing take to the stage before intermission. Above: Idyllwild Arts Academy music major Sumi Onoe performed as the piano soloist with the Idyllwild Arts Orchestra, opening the Black History Month Concert with “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin. Sumi and the orchestra received a standing ovation for the performance.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2017-18, which starts on July 1, is prudent. The General Fund expenditures are $122.5 billion, $240 million less than the current-year budget. In his press conference, Brown stressed the states vulnerability to gyrating income tax revenue and possible major shifts in availability of federal funds. The dark…