St. Philip music teacher offers 'Salute to Women of Jazz'
Growing up in Pasadena, Cheryl Conley remembers listening to jazz greats like Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole and Etta James. Now, the accomplished singer --- who joined the Ike and Tina Turner Review during her senior year of high school --- will be exploring women's contributions to jazz in a musical review through a recent grant presented by the City of Pasadena/Cultural Affairs Division.

"A Salute to Women of Jazz" will be held April 19, 7 p.m. at Holy Angel Hall on the campus of St. Philip the Apostle School, Pasadena where Conley has taught music for 17 years.

Accompanied by a five-piece band, Conley will present a musical journey through the decades of influential women in jazz, familiar and less so. "I am also going to feature women instrumentalists like trumpeter Valaida Snow who was called the 'Little Louie' after Louis Armstrong," says Conley.

From Tin Pan Alley tunes to modern arrangements, Conley says the evening should be both educational and entertaining. "I've really enjoyed researching this project," she says. "And my students have been inspirational for me as well."

Conley was part of the John Muir High School choral groups and later recorded with the pop group The Free Movement, where she appeared on "Soul Train" and "American Bandstand." She was the first voice major to receive a music degree in Jazz Studies from California State University Los Angeles.

A recipient of the Florence LaRue/Gordon Award and the Stan Kenton and Woody Herman Scholarships, Conley was a vocalist with the CSULA Jazz Band when they opened the 1982 Playboy Jazz Festival. For more than 15 years, Conley has directed a gospel choir at Sacred Heart Church in Altadena.

Donation is $10 donation with proceeds going to charity. For more information, call (626) 794-3210.

Vatican Observatory astronomer to speak at Caltech
How religion works in a society shaped by science and technology and the ways scientists and engineers practice their religion will be among the discussion topics when Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, curator of Meteorites at the Vatican Observatory, speaks at a Caltech luncheon April 15, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Author of "God's Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion," Brother Consolmagno will share his interview discoveries about the personal religious lives of scientists as well as reflecting on his own work as an astronomer and MIT graduate with a PhD in planetary science.

Serving as chair of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, Brother Consolmagno is past president of Commission 16 (Planets and Satellites) of the International Astronomical Union.

The luncheon is sponsored by the Friends of the Caltech Libraries and will be held at the Athenaeun. Cost for the luncheon is $35. For more information and reservations, call (626) 395-6411.

Don Bosco speech-debate team heads to tournaments
The Don Bosco Technical Institute speech and debate team recently qualified its largest contingent ever to postseason competition in state and national debate tournaments.

The Rosemead all-boys school will send five policy debate teams to the State Championships this month in Santa Clara, and, for the first time in the school's history, will send a public forum debate team to the National Championship in June in Las Vegas.

Policy debate team members include: Evan Godfrey and Steven Williams, Aris Govjian and Spencer Stephens, Michael Dandurand and Jonathan Peņa, Edber Macedo and Nicholas Loya, and Dennis Ramos and Elias Perales. The public forum debate team includes juniors Evan Godfrey and Aris Govjian.

The teams are guided by head coach Dr. Kathleen Rabago of Cal State Long Beach, assisted by David Medina, Don Bosco teacher.