MERCED COLLEGE OFFERING SEVERAL BUS TRIPS THIS SPRING

Merced College Community Services will be offering several day-long bus trips this spring. To make reservations or for further information, please call 209.384.6224, or visit the website at www.mccd.edu/community.
San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. Sat., March 27, 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
The cost is $75 which includes transportation and ticket to the event. Participants will get the opportunity to see thousands of flowers and plants with beautiful colors, fragrances and textures, attend gardening seminars, and conclude the day with some shopping.
Ironstone Winery and concert. Sat., April 17, 2010, 8 .am. – 6 p.m.

The cost is $90 which includes transportation, lunch, concert admission and refreshments.
Participants will visit the beautiful Ironstone Winery and enjoy a private tour of the “Crown of the Sierra” and wine tasting at the ranch complex. Guests will enjoy a luncheon buffet and a full two-hour concert featuring a wide variety of popular music, ballads, show tunes, and light classics.
San Francisco Giants Baseball Game– April 10, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Opening weekend will begin with the Giants vs. Atlanta. The cost is $75. The bus will arrive a couple hours before the game allowing participants to find their seat, have lunch, watch batting practice, visit the gift shop, and try for autographs from Giants players.

MERCED COLLEGE COMMUNITY SERVICES OFFERS SEVERAL COMMUNITY CLASSES THIS SPRING

Merced College Community Services has the following upcoming classes starting in the month of March. These classes are not for credit. For more information please contact Merced College Community Services office at 209-384-6224 or register at www.mccd.edu/community.
Notary Public in One Day. Start your own business, provide customer service, earn additional income and/or get recommissioned. This one-day intensive seminar will teach you the new legislation, how to pass the “new” test, identify document signers, keep a journal, fill out certificates and avoid lawsuits. The class includes a practice Notary Public Exam as well as the official exam. You must be present for the entire course of instruction and be at least 18 years of age. Bring to class a proper ID (license or state issued ID), two #2 pencils, passport size photo, and a check or money order payable to the Secretary of State for $40 for new applicants and renewals.
Sat., March 27, - 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
$125, includes course fee and supplies
Location: Merced College Voc-9
Piano Your Teachers Never Taught You. Todd Walker has taught more than 30,000 students from beginners to those with years of lessons to play the piano in just one day. In three hours, you will learn 72 chords, 156 hand positions, and how to read music from lead sheets and fake books. If you can read notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B you know enough to enroll.
Saturday, March 13, 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Instructor: Todd Walker
Fee $44 plus a $27 lab fee
Location: Music Building 1

Beginners & Intermediate Microsoft Excel 2007. After a quick review of basics, we will work with some decision making techniques using the “if” function. Database techniques with the lookup function will also be introduced. Visual Basic (VBA) objects like text and list boxes, introductory macros will be covered. Other useful statistical functions will be covered.
Wednesday, March 24, 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Instructor: Cary Yanagi
Fee: $50
Location: Downtown Business Resource Center
Canine Obedience Boot Camp. Beginning dog obedience and Canine Good Citizen test. This class will teach dog owners how to train their dogs in basic obedience such as sit, down, stay and recall. The class will also be a Canine Good Citizen test. The dogs will learn not to jump, bark, or be aggressive. At the end of the six weeks, a test will be done, and if the handlers and their dogs pass, a certificate will be awarded.
Tuesdays – March 16, 23, 30, April 13, 20, 27
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Instructor: Carol Reiter
Fee: $60
Location: Merced Cog Park (Yosemite Ave)
Golf for All Ages. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced player, your game will improve. This six week golf lesson course will cover full swing, short game, basic rules, and general golf course etiquette. Bring your own clubs or borrow one of ours.
Saturdays – March 27, April 10, 17, 24, May 1, 8
1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Instructor: Gary Olson
Fee $50 plus range fees
Location: Rancho Del Rey Golf Course, Atwater

NIKIESHA THOMAS IS MERCED COLLEGE OUTSTANDING STUDENT
FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY

Nikiesha Thomas has been chosen as the February Outstanding Student of the Month at Merced College. Thomas was nominated by Merced College Counselor Valerie Lacey for achieving and maintaining a 4.0 GPA during her first semester at Merced College along with carrying a full-time load of 13 units. Thomas is the first person in her generation to attend college and is highly motivated to achieve her educational goals in the field of medicine.
At first, Thomas wanted to double major in Nursing and Health Sciences and obtain her Masters to become a nurse practitioner; but she is now interested in applying to medical school. Thomas says "Merced College is helping me achieve my goals by offering me all the courses I need to transfer and be prepared for university level studies." Thomas plans to transfer to University of California, Davis to finish her undergraduate degree in pre medicine and then apply to medical school to become a doctor.
As a valley native, Thomas was born and raised in Merced. She enjoys spending time with family, shopping, going to the movies, and watching Jeopardy.
Thomas was recognized by the Merced College Board of Trustees for her accomplishments, and the administration, faculty, and staff congratulate her and wish her the very best.

MERCED COLLEGE PRESENTS "INTERNATIONAL GUITAR NIGHT"
FEATURING FRANCESCO BUZZURRO AND RICHARD SMITH

Already well known for its great jazz concerts, Merced is adding another top notch event to its impressive list of accomplishments. "International Guitar Night," presented by the Merced College Music Department and organized by renowned guitarist and Merced College Professor John Albano, will debut on March 31 at 7 p.m. at the Merced College Theater.
The featured artists this year will be Francesco Buzzurro and Richard Smith, both internationally recognized guitarists known for their rich, expressive, and energetic music. "Francesco Buzzurro and Richard Smith are contemporary masters of the guitar," states Professor Albano. "One specializes in music of the Mediterranean and the other, American contemporary jazz. Francesco performs the music of his native Sicily with grace and beauty."
This event will take on a distinctly Italian flavor and is sure to be a hit with the local music aficionados, and anyone else who has an appreciation for music. Thanks to Albano's friendship with Smith, the duo will be making a stop for one night in Merced during their West Coast tour, and our community is lucky to have them. Both are international stars in their own right and were recently awarded the Presidential Medallion of Sicily while on tour in Sicily and Greece.
Francesco Buzzurro, born and raised in Sicily, began to play guitar at the age of six. He graduated from the Conservatory of Trapani, and perfected his talent at the International Arts Academy in Rome. Currently, he is the leader of a quartet and plays at the most important Italian festivals. As a classical guitarist, he has won three national competitions in Savona, Alassio and Caccamo in Sicily where he actually lives, and has played with some of the international jazz greats such as Toots Thielemans, Arturo Sandoval, Diane Schurr, Bob Mintzer, Joe Bowie, and many others. With his guitar, Buzzurro shares with his audience all the joy, excitement and emotion that life has to offer.
Richard Smith was born in Detroit and raised in Eugene, Oregon. Attending a Chick Corea concert at the age of 14 changed his life. "I was so blown away by that concert that I rode my bike home, picked up the phone and promptly broke up with my girlfriend, and tried to stay up all night practicing…come to think of it, I have been working pretty hard at it ever since," states Smith.
At the age of 19, he joined Dan Siegel’s band and recorded two albums with Siegel, which rose to the top of the charts in the early contemporary jazz genre. At age 23, Smith received a teaching fellowship to the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, an event that changed his life and his music forever.

His first break came when guitar legend and USC instructor Joe Diorio recommended him for a performance with contemporary jazz pianist Billy Mitchell., introducing Smith to R&B jazz, a style that has become an indelible part of Richard’s sound. In short order, Smith started playing with the many L.A.-based groups of the day – Siegel, Richard Elliot, Rick Braun, Guitars and Saxes, Max Bennett. He joined Richard Elliot’s group and stayed for 10 years and had six "number one" albums on the Blue Note label. At the same time, Smith was rising in the ranks of the professorate at USC, making professor and department chair in the Studio/Jazz Guitar department before the age of 30. Interestingly enough, Smith became John Albano's advisor as a graduate student at USC.
His Latest album, SOuLIDFIED, spent 17 weeks at the top of the charts and brought Smith unprecedented touring opportunities. In the two years since its release, Smith has performed in almost every state in the union, as well as Italy, England, Greece, Holland, Argentina and Mexico. His upcoming release, L.A. Chillharmonic features the finest musicians in L.A., and the world.
It was during one of his tours in Italy several years ago that Smith met Buzzurro and they formed a small group touring around the Mediterranean for many years. Now Smith is bringing Buzzurro to America for a west coast tour, and Albano is bringing them to Merced.
It just can't get much better than that.
The one-evening performance of "International Guitar Night" will be held Wednesday, March 31 at 7 p.m. at the Merced College Theater. Tickets are $12 for the general public and $8 for students/seniors. For tickets and more information, call the Theater Box Office at 384.6284.