Tag archives: Arts & Lectures
Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater is described as “an American cultural treasure” and after two performances at the Granada, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series, one can see why, as it brought its unique blend of contemporary and classic movement to the cavernous stage. Showcasing a dazzling range of cultural influences and […]
Famed Santa Barbara architect Robin Donaldson has traveled the world with the recent pair of documentary films – The House: 6 Points of Departure and This Is Not a House – that chronicle his immersive work on two important homes in the Montecito foothills; the Crawford House and Hill House. Donaldson, who studied painting and […]
Owls, a New York-based string quartet collective, wooed the audience at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall with their original, visceral performance, part of UCSB Arts and Lectures. The entertaining foursome, which unusually included two cellists rather than two violinists – Gabriel Cabezas and Paul Wiancko, violist Ayane Kozasa, and violinist Alexi Kenney […]
Athleticism ruled supreme when Circa Humans 2.0 – created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Australian Circa Ensemble – performed at the Lobero as part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series. The innovative new world show featured tightly woven choreography that was exhilarating, primal, and deeply engaging as the ten performers moved expressively in […]
Given its members’ history and the quartet’s “inverted” composition, it’s no surprise that Owls has been called “a dream group” by The New York Times. Featuring a distinctive instrumentation variation of the traditional string quartet that trades the second violinist for an additional cellist, the individual Owls are also no strangers to our area. Cellist […]
Legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma reigned supreme when he performed to a sold-out crowd at the Arlington, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series. The Paris-born musician talked about his fascinating life dedicated to music, and played a number of his favorite pieces. Yo-Yo’s career has been multifaceted and a testament to his belief […]
Sultry lounge singer Storm Large lived up to her billing when she sang at the Granada with the Santa Barbara Symphony, under veteran maestro Nir Kabaretti in Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins with additional vocals by the Hudson Shad Quartet. Other sensual works in the concert included Jacques Ibert’s “Divertissement,” William Grant Still’s “Seven Little […]
UCSB Arts & Lectures Miller McCune Executive Director Celesta Billeci was honored by the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce in recognition of her 25 years at the university. Celesta, a longtime friend, received the Visionary Arts Leadership Award as part of the Regional Business Awards Gala at the Hilton from Dr. Colin Marlaire, […]
Security was paramount at the Granada when Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company performed as part of UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures program. A small number of protesters were present, carrying disparaging placards. More than 18 Santa Barbara police officers were stationed in and outside the theater and guests had to go through metal detectors placed in […]
It was definitely a 90-minute production with a difference when Cirque Kalabanté performed at the Lobero, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series. The show, Afrique en Cirque, was created by Yamoussa Bangoura, a multidisciplinary artist of Guinean origin, who eventually joined his country’s Circus Baobab touring Africa and Europe. In early 2000 […]
It was the perfect combination when the 30-year-old Boston Brass and three-time Grammy-nominated Imani Winds performed at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lecture series. Adventurous programming and dynamic playing is the wind quintet’s trademark; playing Paquito D’Rivera’s “Selections from Aires Tropicales” and even Stevie Wonder […]
The Golden Age of Baroque was on full display at the Lobero when Britain’s Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and soprano Julia Bullock performed as part of UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures program. With works by Handel, Vivaldi, Bach, Purcell, Pachelbel, Strozzi, Telemann, Lully, and Rameau, there was something for everybody with the musicians, […]
At Hahn Hall at the Music Academy of the West was brimming for another UCSB Arts & Lectures concert when international Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev showed off his tremendous keyboard talent with works by Schubert, Kabalevsky, Janáček, Liszt, and Scriabin. Now Berlin-based, Malofeev came to international prominence in 2014 when he won the International Tchaikovsky […]
The two theatrical performances that utterly rocked my world and riveted my attention came from UCSB Arts & Lectures dance offerings. Dorrance Dance’s inventive jazz-fueled take on The Nutcracker proved that the old Christmas chestnut can be changed into a charming and cutting-edge work. MOMIX’s Alice showed that the creative mind of artistic director Moses […]
Tchaikovsky might not have approved, but a packed audience at the Arlington Theatre watching the New York-based Dorrance Dance company’s Nutcracker Suite, part of UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures series, showed their approval after a 75-minute jazzy new version of the Christmas tradition. Set to a new arrangement of the Yuletide classic by Duke Ellington […]
Itzhak Perlman, one of the world’s greatest violinists with 16 Grammys and four Emmys, played in a truly memorable chamber music concert at the Granada with the stellar Juilliard String Quartet and two global piano stars Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Emanuel Ax. The event, part of UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures program, included Leclair’s “Sonata for […]
If truth be told, UCSB Theater’s Annie Torsiglieri probably would have preferred that The Threepenny Opera, which she is directing at UCSB’s Performing Arts Theater, wouldn’t have turned out quite so resonant for its November 15-23 run. But she very intentionally chose Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s groundbreaking musical – and dark satirical commentary on […]
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s 13 Tongues at the Granada brought the sights and sounds of Taiwan’s legendary night markets to life in all their human and spiritual dimensions. Mixing traditional storytelling with futuristic imagery and shifting between folk, classical and electronic music sources, the energized production, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series, […]
Miller McCune Executive Director Celesta Billeci, the longest serving director of UCSB Arts & Lectures, is retiring after 25 seasons. Though Celesta’s next chapter will take her beyond the Santa Barbara campus, her legacy of leadership will continue to inspire the community. She is the third director of the organization, following in the footsteps of […]
One of the world’s most historic orchestras, the London Philharmonic, founded in 1932 by the legendary conductor Sir Thomas Beecham, showed off its talents at the Granada, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program. Led by principal conductor Edward Gardner the entertaining performance featured “Raices, (Origins),” a new piece by Pulitzer Prize-winning Cuban […]
