By James Brescia

ED.D County Superintendent of SLOCOEDU

The California Central Coast is rich in arts and often serves as a refuge or haven for artists from the Bay Area and Southern California. Tourists and locals enjoy this beautiful part of California, located between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Our county extends over 70 miles along the Pacific Coast and reaches inland through the desert and mountains to Kern County, covering 3,616 square miles with a population of just over 284,000. Major economic drivers include agriculture, tourism, construction, knowledge and innovation, advanced manufacturing, health services, and energy.

What do these economic drivers have in common? “ArtsBased Leadership.” According to the Oxford Academic Community Development Journal, the arts are often considered peripheral to the community development process and play only a minor role in regenerating areas. Is this all there is to the arts in a community?

Despite increasing globalization, communities are beginning to recognize their own identity, culture, traditional art forms, and the value of working together locally. Take a look around each Central Coast community, and you will notice that the local youth often create that art.

Academics and business leaders acknowledge that arts-based instruction is an interdisciplinary approach to learning. Several firms on the Central Coast are using the arts as a pathway to explore non-art topics, such as leadership, change, and business innovation. San Luis Obispo County is fortunate to have growing Arts Partnerships for many of our schools, districts, and communities.

Involvement in the arts helps us quiet the mind and provides space for inner wisdom. The Arts create bonding experiences that facilitate collaboration and accelerate examining an issue from alternate perspectives. Arts-based activities can develop a sense of belonging, build trust, find shared values, and shift perceptions. Ultimately, arts-based learning, combined with whole-brain creativity and design thinking, can enhance creative skills.

Local arts organizations continue to partner with the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education to support arts outreach. Our partnerships promote the arts by providing students with opportunities to experience and participate in the arts alongside professional artists.

The Libretto Jazz Conservatory, sponsored by the San Luis Obispo Career Technical Education Foundation, local donors, and Libretto owners Corey Jordon and Kate Smith, is a new after-school music program for high school and college students. Libretto and the SLO CTE Foundation collaborated with the Los Angeles-based Michael Ragonese School of Music to bring world-class musical talent and instruction to the next generation of musicians here in San Luis Obispo County.

Michael is a highly accomplished jazz pianist and composer based in Los Angeles, with over 25 years of experience in the music industry. After graduating from CSU Northridge, Ragonese has become one of the most sought-after pianists of his generation, performing, touring, and recording with legends such as Barbara Streisand, Walter Smith III, Mark Turner, Chanett Moffett, Bennie Maupin, Dave Kos, Rick Braun, Norman Brown, Alphonso Johnson, Jonn Daversa, Tierney Sutton, Stanley Jordan, Bob Sheppard, and others.

Michael debuted as a bandleader in 2019 with the release of Day to Day, featuring Walter Smith III. His second album, Stracci, was released in 2023, paying homage to his Italian heritage and classical training. This summer, Michael led the student jam session at Libretto in Paso Robles and the CTE Foundation Encore Center.

Libretto hosts a monthly evening jam session led by Michael and his trio, which is open and free to any student musician in San Luis Obispo County. High school, college, and even middle school students have participated in playing alongside professional musicians like Michael. Jazz legends Luca Alemanno and Mark Ferber have also occasionally joined the Conservatory.

We invite arts nizations interested in collaborating with our local schools to strengthen our community. It is an honor to serve as your County Superintendent.

“The only thing better than singing is more singing.” — Ella Fitzgerald