SLO Legends
Michael Nowak
The conductor of the San Luis Obispo Symphony has called this area home for over 20 years.
It’s special to him because of its unique mix of coastal ambiance, culture, and quiet.
Little town with lots of culture
When Michael Nowak accepted a position as conductor of the San Luis Obispo Symphony, he spent his first four years commuting from his home near Los Angeles. But the unpretentious charm, the low-stress lifestyle, and the cultural richness of SLO eventually worked its magic: Nowak became a resident in 1988 and hasn’t left yet.
“(The culture here) really blows you away. You don't have to go that far to get something of quality.”—Michael Nowak
“It’s perfect. It’s very relaxing, and there’s a myriad of things people can do here,” he says. It’s close enough to Southern California to accommodate his other work (writing and conducting film scores), but a world away from big-city stress and frustration. Nowak jokes that while the traffic jams in L.A. are caused by diesel trucks, SLO’s rare freeway slowdowns are due to drivers soaking up the ocean views.
SLO offers an amazing amount of culture, says Nowak, from the symphony to the chorales, dance and theater troupes, and ubiquitous art, music, and film festivals. The people are also surprisingly sophisticated. Nowak recalls a recent gas-station encounter with the driver of a bumper-sticker-addled pickup truck. “I thought to myself, look out for the red marks on his neck – and then he looked over and said, ‘Wow, we really enjoyed that Rachmaninoff last week!’ I was shocked,” he laughs.
All in all, Nowak thinks SLO is the perfect place for a culture vulture in search of some peace and quiet. “I’m grateful that I’m here,” says Nowak. “It’s just a gem. This is a very, very special place on Earth.”
