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Mainly Mozart soloist Erin Hannigan a standout on oboe and with animals

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Mainly Mozart soloist Erin Hannigan a standout on oboe and with animals


Last month, Erin Hannigan was preparing for her last two performances as Dallas Symphony’s principal oboist before joining the faculty at the prestigious Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston.

Before making the life-changing leap, Hannigan took time to discuss her big move, love of the oboe, reed-making, support of rescue animals and her longtime affiliation with San Diego’s Mainly Mozart.

She will be one of the 70 top musicians to perform at Mainly Mozart’s All-Star Orchestra Festival beginning Wednesday and concluding June 28. Four festival concerts will take place at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla. The other two will be at UC San Diego’s Epstein Family Amphitheater.

Oboist Erin Hannigan will be one of the featured performers at the 2025 Mainly Mozart All Star Orchestra Festival June 18-28. (Sylvia Elzafon)

Hannigan played seven times, from 1999 to 2007, with Mainly Mozart at its original home, downtown’s Balboa Theatre.

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“I started performing with them again at the outdoor concerts the festival had smartly reconfigured for COVID,” she said, speaking from her Dallas home.

“I’ve liked watching how the organization has evolved. It wasn’t easy navigating all that and Mainly Mozart really did it well. And Michael Francis is just the perfect conductor for this orchestra. He’s excellent professionally, but he’s also very personable. Michael creates such a connection with the audience.”

Francis, in turn, calls Hannigan “a wonderful musician.” He expressed delight that she will share first and second oboe roles at the festival with Frank Rosenwein, Cleveland Orchestra’s principal oboe.

“It’s really charming,” Francis said. “They’re good friends.”

Hannigan believes that cooperative spirit is inherent to the festival.

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“The number one thing to know about Mainly Mozart is it’s an amazing gathering of incredible musicians, but with no ego,” she said. “We just work out our assignments and have a good time. That egoless thing really adds to it all. The audience can tell we’re up there having fun.”

Music Director Michael Francis conducts the Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra. The annual classical music festival returns June 18-28. (J. Kat Photography)
Music Director Michael Francis conducts the Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra. The annual classical music festival returns June 18-28. (J. Kat Photography)

`Wonderful musical camaraderie’

This year, Mainly Mozart’s Francis is featuring more orchestra veterans as soloists than in other years. Wednesday’s opening night at the Baker-Baum will feature six concertmasters playing solos in Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

On Friday, two Mainly Mozart mainstays, clarinetist Boris Allakhverdyan and bassoonist Whitney Crockett, will be in the spotlight performing Strauss’s Duet Concertino.

In another unusual touch, the festival is highlighting the work of a contemporary composer. British violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley will perform his own “A Klezmer Concerto” with the orchestra on June 26.

On June 28 at the Epstein, Bendix-Balgley will join acclaimed pianist Joyce Yang and Robert DeMaine, principal cello of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, for Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 will close the festival that night.

“This year’s festival has a great balance,” Francis said. “It’s a terrific opportunity for our audience to hear familiar composers alongside slightly unfamiliar repertoire.

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“I know that the musicians are excited because there will be so many solos. They always bring their best. It’s going to be a wonderful musical camaraderie.”

The Epstein now has more food and seating options for picnickers, noted Nancy Laturno, Mainly Mozart’s CEO. Attendees can buy food or bring their own.

“Before the concert, you can mingle,” Laturno said. “You can have appetizers, wine and other beverages, and then sit down — either on our patio furniture, the Adirondack chairs or a blanket on the grass — and watch the concert from the area where you just had your party.”

Michael Francis conducts the Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall in La Jolla at the 2024 music festival. (J. Kat Photography)
Michael Francis conducts the Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall in La Jolla at the 2024 music festival. (J. Kat Photography)

Artists for Animals

Joining in the camaraderie on stage, Hannigan will be a soloist in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 on June 24 at The Conrad.

When the oboist, a native of Mt. Gretna, Penn., makes the move to Houston, she’ll be accompanied by her husband of six years, Fred Tuomi, Gabby, her Siamese cat, and dog, Jophiel.

During her time with the Dallas Symphony, Hannigan co-founded Artists for Animals, which supports nonprofit animal rescue organizations. The group presents Concerts for Kindness, which has raised over $450,000 for rescue organizations.

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“The money we bring in all goes directly to the animals,” said Hannigan, who has fostered 156 dogs. “I hope to transfer this wonderful project to Houston, once I get the lay of the land. Rice University is very interested in community engagement. I’m sure I’ll find a landing spot for Artists for Animals.”

When Hannigan practices the oboe, Jophiel runs the other way. But Gabby will sit for hours while the oboist practices and makes reeds for her instrument. She calculated that she has made 8,000 to 10,000 reeds over the course of a career that began when she joined the Rochester Philharmonic in 1994.

“If you don’t make them yourself, you can end up playing on a setup of oboe and reed that makes it very hard to put your air through,” she said. “The reed needs to be properly balanced.”

Why the oboe, which she has played since the age of 7?

“The sound is incredibly expressive,” Hannigan explained. “Some of the most beautiful solos in the orchestral repertoire were written for the oboe.”

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While teaching at Rice University, she will also be a guest as a soloist and principal for orchestras around the country.

But before embarking on that adventure, Hannigan will be spending two weeks here with Mainly Mozart. Her husband, a former Rancho Santa Fe resident with family in North County, is coming, too.

“I’ve gotten to know San Diego through Mainly Mozart,” Hannigan said. “In the early years, I got to know downtown San Diego, and — these days — La Jolla. Now it’s also family time. Fred spends time with his family, and I join whenever I can.

“It’s a lovely time to visit both San Diego family and the musicians and friends I don’t see other than at Mainly Mozart.”

Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival 2025 Schedule

When: All concerts begin at 7 p.m. Each performance lasts 75-90 minutes. Concerts at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall will have a 15-minute intermission.

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Where: Epstein Family Amphitheater at UC San Diego, 9480 Innovation Lane, La Jolla; The Baker-Baum Concert Hall, Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla.

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, June 18: Mozart’s Serenade in C Major, Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Piazzola’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Friday, June 20: Mozart’s Serenade No. 6 “Serenata Notturna,” Strauss’ Duet Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon featuring Boris Allakhverdyan and Whitney Crockett, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major. Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Saturday, June 21: Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor and Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor featuring pianist Joyce Yang. Epstein Family Amphitheater

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Tuesday, June 24: Stravinsky’s Concerto in E-flat, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos No. 2 and No. 5, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D Major. Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Thursday, June 26: Mozart’s Overture to Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), Bendix-Balgley’s A Klezmer Concerto featuring composer and violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley, and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 in D Major “Reformation.” Baker-Baum Concert Hall

Saturday, June 28: Mozart’s Overture to Così, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C Major, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major. Epstein Family Amphitheater

Tickets: Single tickets for Epstein Family Amphitheater concerts range from $25 to $149. Single tickets for Baker-Baum Concert Hall performances range from $65 to $149. Subscription packages are also available.

Info: 619-239-0100

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Online: mainlymozart.org



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San Diego, CA

Carlsbad considering changing e-bike minimum age limit

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Carlsbad considering changing e-bike minimum age limit


Right now, there’s not age limit for how old someone has to be to ride an e-bike, but Tuesday Carlsbad City leaders will meet here at the City Council Chambers to discuss the possibility to change that age limit to 12-years-old.

“These kids that are riding on the streets they’re taking up traffic, they should be subject to traffic laws,” Rastagar said.

Salomon owns an e-bike and rides his bike to work.

He said he often sees kids on e-bikes riding unsafely.

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“When they change lanes, for example going from a bike lane, which is on the right side turning left, they usually swerve across two, three lanes of traffic without looking, for example, that says the judgement isn’t there,” Rastagar said.

Earlier this year AB2234 passed, allowing cities in unincorporated areas in San Diego County to establish a minimum age for riding e-bikes.

The new law applies to only the class of e-bikes that go 20 miles per hour.

As a result, Tuesday, the Carlsbad City Council will consider approving their traffic and safety mobility commission’s recommendation, that kids 12 and younger…not be allowed to ride e-bikes.

A move that gives residents like Thurza Heim some peace of mind.

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“I understand why they love the e-bikes but they are often riding them without helmets, breaking traffic laws, a lot of them are so young they don’t understand the traffic laws,” Thurza Heim said.

Rastagar wishes the minimum age for riding e-bikes would be 16-years-old and teens were required a license before getting behind the handlebars.

He understands the dangers young kids and teens are exposed to on e-bikes because he’s treated patients who have been seriously injured by them.

“I do recall not too long ago a 16-year-old patient who I saw with the aftermath of a skull fracture, crashed on his e-bike,” Rastagar said. “Look at my helmet it’s a regular bike helmet, this thing will work in a 10, 15 mile per hour crash, sometimes these bikes, particularly these e-motorcycles, they’ll hit 30-40 miles an hour.”

Regina doesn’t allow her eleven-year-old daughter to ride an e-bike because she’s seen the dangers firsthand.

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“I think it was two years ago, when a car hit a mom with a baby, maybe it was about 2-3 years ago. Unfortunately, mom passed away,” Kagramanyan said.

NBC 7 reached out to the City of Carlsbad for comment and is awaiting a response.

According to Carlsbad police, in the last three years, they’ve issued more than 180 e-bike citations and 230 warnings for violations that include running red lights, failing to stop signs, riding on sidewalks, and engaging in dangerous riding behaviors.



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Business Roundup: La Jolla gets a string of new arrivals, from mattresses to bagels

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Business Roundup: La Jolla gets a string of new arrivals, from mattresses to bagels


November was a busy month for new business arrivals in La Jolla, with a couple of long-anticipated restaurants opening along with other establishments. Here’s a look.

Vispring

This new luxury mattress showroom is at 7464 Girard Ave., replacing Faded Awning, which opened in 2010 and closed in January this year.

Vispring officially ushered in the new business with a grand opening Nov. 4.

Vispring, a luxury mattress showroom, held its grand opening Nov. 4 at 7464 Girard Ave. (J.Dixx Photography)

The location marks “a strategic expansion into one of Southern California’s most affluent markets,” according to the business’s website. It’s one of its many expansions this year, starting with Orange County in January and New York City and Dallas in June. Additional locations are set to open soon in Washington, D.C.

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The company, which sells handmade European mattresses, is celebrating its 125th anniversary. To commemorate the La Jolla opening, Vispring is offering a free Heaven mattress topper with the purchase of a mattress until Thursday, Jan. 1.

Vispring is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Learn more at vispring.com.

Hummingbird Fine Jewelry & Piercing

After a year of planning and building, La Plaza La Jolla’s newest addition is here.

Hummingbird Fine Jewelry & Piercing, a sister location to Enigma Professional Piercing Studios, offers gold and implant-grade titanium jewelry for ear and body piercings. Its focus, co-owner Evan Spencer told the La Jolla Light, is offering “a safe, comfortable and high-end experience” with high-quality jewelry and aseptic technique.

Hummingbird Fine Jewelry & Piercing is open at 7863 Girard Ave. (Jessie Ortiz)
Hummingbird Fine Jewelry & Piercing is open at 7863 Girard Ave. (Jessie Ortiz)

Spencer is the lead piercer and store director, joined by co-owner Didier Suarez and piercer Jenna Bee.

Hummingbird opened Nov. 14 at 7863 Girard Ave. and is slated to host a grand-opening celebration from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6.

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“We are extremely enthusiastic about the quality of our products, the level of our service and experience and the safety and care that goes into every service we offer,” Spencer said.

Hummingbird is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day but Wednesdays. Find out more at hummingbirdpiercing.com.

PopUp Bagels

Breakfast is back at 637 Pearl St., with New York chain PopUp Bagels making its local debut Nov. 21.

PopUp Bagels offers fresh-baked bagels and a rotating lineup of schmears ranging from plain cream cheese to spicy buffalo butter. Rather than offering traditional bagels cut in half with cream cheese in the middle, PopUp encourages customers to grip the bagel, rip off a piece and dip it in a cup of schmear.

PopUp Bagels recommends that customers
PopUp Bagels recommends that customers “grip, rip and dip” their bagels in a variety of schmears. (Jen Goldberg)

PopUp Bagels replaces Breakfast Republic, which left the Pearl Street address in March as part of what a representative called a lease buyout from the property owner.

This is PopUp’s first brick-and-mortar location on the West Coast. Its expansion to San Diego was facilitated by San Diego State University graduates Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman, who secured a franchise deal with the corporate team in New York and are now planning 10 PopUp Bagels locations in San Diego County over the next five years.

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PopUp Bagels is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Find out more at popupbagels.com.

Dora Ristorante

This new southern Italian coastal cuisine restaurant opened Nov. 20 at 9165 S. Scholars Drive in the Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood at the southwest corner of UC San Diego’s campus, across the street from La Jolla Playhouse.

Dora Ristorante comes from chef Accursio Lota and his wife, Corinne Goria, of La Jolla, the owners of North Park’s popular Cori Trattoria Pastificio.

As part of the couple’s partnership with La Jolla Playhouse, the Dora team will design prix-fixe menus and cocktails themed to each playhouse production.

Hours are 4-9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Reservations are available at doralajolla.com.

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— San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Pam Kragen contributed to this report.

La Jolla Business Roundup is published monthly by the La Jolla Light. Send your business news to staff writer Noah Lyons at noah.lyons@lajollalight.com.



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Regrouping Chargers take on the struggling Raiders

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Regrouping Chargers take on the struggling Raiders


Khalil Mack couldn’t wait to watch and rewatch all that went haywire during the Chargers’ 35-6 loss Nov. 16 to the Jacksonville Jaguars. So, he said he began dissecting the video as the team’s bus departed the stadium for the airport and a cross-country flight home.

Mack didn’t have to do it at that moment, but he was eager to learn what he could from the Chargers’ widest margin of defeat in Jim Harbaugh’s two-season tenure as their coach. He could have waited until after the Chargers’ bye in Week 12 and used it as preparation for Week 13.

But he believed it was best to begin the process of fixing all that went wrong as soon as possible, the better to prepare to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at SoFi Stadium and for the final five regular-season games to follow. Clearly, something was amiss in the game against the Jaguars.

There was no time to waste. So, Mack, a future Hall of Fame outside linebacker, went right to work.

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It wasn’t pleasant. It wasn’t fun. It was work.

“I was on the bus, I watched it on the bus on the way to the plane, and some on the plane,” Mack said earlier this week of reviewing the Jacksonville horror show. “So, just to talk through a lot of stuff and correct a lot of stuff and, yeah, looking forward to this opportunity, the next opportunity.”

What did Mack learn from his video study? How can the Chargers improve after hitting rock-bottom during their loss to the Jaguars?

“Just the details, fine-tuning the details,” he said.

No question, it would be a start for a team with a 7-4 record that didn’t play like a team with a 7-4 record against Jacksonville. The Chargers must get back in sync if they are to defeat the Raiders, as expected, and enter the toughest part of their schedule. The Chargers are 9½-point favorites Sunday.

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“Fine-tuning the details,” Mack said again and not for the last time.

It didn’t matter that the Chargers are favored to win by more than a touchdown or that their reeling opponent was 2-9 and fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly after its latest defeat or that the first meeting between the teams was an easy Chargers victory. Mack believed they must get it right Sunday.

“This is no different than any other week, it’s a game we’ve got to win,” said Mack, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection over his 12 seasons in the NFL.

The Chargers’ stretch run gets more difficult after they face the Raiders. They end the regular season with games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos, each opponent jockeying for better playoff position.

The Raiders were the Chargers’ sole focus this week, though, and they weren’t sure what they would see from a Las Vegas team that has lost five consecutive, including a 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 12. The Raiders’ only wins were over the New England Patriots in Week 1 and the Tennessee Titans in Week 6. The Chargers defeated the Raiders in Week 2.

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A change in offensive coordinators, with Greg Olson taking over for Kelly, meant throwing out the game plan, according to Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. He said they would approach Sunday’s game like a Week 1 matchup, focusing more on themselves than on the opposition.

“We spent the majority of the bye week looking at ourselves and then the last part of the week we started on the Raiders,” Minter said. “Obviously, you want to be prepared for the things they like (to run). We need to know where the really good players are that they’re going to feature.”

In the final analysis, the Chargers lost the battle of the offensive and defensive lines in their loss to the Jaguars. They failed to protect quarterback Justin Herbert and didn’t apply sufficient pressure on Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence while also giving up far too much on the ground.

The Jaguars rushed for 192 yards and four touchdowns on 47 attempts.

Harbaugh said Jamaree Salyer would start at left tackle Sunday, the Chargers’ third different starter as Herbert’s blind-side protector after Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending knee injury during training camp in August and Joe Alt sustained a season-ending ankle injury in Week 9.

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The Chargers also could get a boost on their defensive line if Otito Ogbonnia is sound enough to play against the Raiders. He was listed Friday as questionable to play because of an elbow injury that sent him to injured reserve after a loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 7.

“Everybody cares, everybody wants to be good at their work, and that’s what I’ve seen throughout the season,” Harbaugh said of the Chargers’ mindset coming out of the bye week. “The guys came back Monday and I couldn’t have scripted it any better. Every guy was locked in.”

CHARGERS (7-4) vs. RAIDERS (2-9)

When: 1:25 p.m. Sunday

Where: SoFi Stadium

TV/Radio: Ch. 2; 640 AM/94.3 FM (Spanish)

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