O.K. Choral

Santa Barbara Choral Society, which kicks off its 71st season of song in December with its popular Hallelujah Project at the Lobero, hosted a pre-season reception at the Music Academy of the West’s Marilyn Horne House.

One of the highlights of the new season is Visions of Peace and Freedom, featuring Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem and the Santa Barbara premiere of composer Ron Kean‘s The Journey of Harriet Tubman, a tribute to the former slave and abolitionist, which accompanies a film made by his daughter, Hannah, which takes place at the First Presbyterian Church.

Another highlight is Verdi’s Requiem with the Santa Barbara Symphony, the City College Choral Society and a chorus from Santa Ynez, at the Granada in April, which veteran maestro Nir Kabaretti describes as “a mega production.”

Among the music lovers checking out the bash were JoAnne Wasserman, Marylove Thralls, Debra Stewart, David and Diana Dodds Reichert, Erica DiBartolomeo, Gary and Kate Rees, Karen Williams, Kostis Protopapas, Victoria Dillon, and Brooks and Kate Firestone.