Tag archives: Arts & Lectures
Several years ago, Joe Rohde retired from Walt Disney Imagineering after four decades, eventually serving as executive designer and vice president of creative. He was the lead designer for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the zoological theme park near Orlando, Florida, and led the design team for Disney Resort & Spa’s beachside complex Aulani in Oahu. He […]
Meghan Bush, who was appointed the Miller McCune executive director of UCSB Arts & Lectures just over a year ago, is understandably excited about the “Word of Mouth” series in the upcoming 2026-27 season, the part that makes up the bulk of the latter half of the A&L moniker. “We have very high standards and […]
Between conversations, croquettes, and glasses of bubbly, a crowd gathered for the UCSB Arts & Lectures 2026-2027 Season Reveal party at the Hotel Californian. After a touch of cavorting outside, the guests moved into the Alhambra Ballroom to see what is in store for the world-class set of performances and speakers that audiences have come […]
San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet has, for more than half a century, been a leader in expanding the environment and extent of what a string quartet can do. The Quartet’s CV now boasts more than 70 recordings, thousands of concerts across the globe, constant collaborations with composers and other adventurous musicians – and a seemingly endless […]
Whether by accident or design, UCSB Arts & Lectures has dedicated the first three Tuesdays in April to focusing on the L-word part of its name, with the dates offering discussions of some of the most pressing issues of the day. First up is Ibram X. Kendi, one of the world’s leading scholars of racism […]
Several no-cost events are on their way from UCSB’s Arts & Lectures, all with tie-ins to full presentations as part of its current season. The classical corner comes up big this season, first with violinist Nicola Benedetti leading a masterclass on Thursday, January 29, at Geiringer Hall, the morning after her concert at Campbell Hall. […]
Trumpeter Miles Davis and saxophonist John Coltrane, two monumental musicians who turned out to revolutionize jazz and beyond, happened to both be born in 1926. A century later, as their influence continues to reverberate in ways even they couldn’t have imagined, two of today’s visionary giants in Terence Blanchard and Ravi Coltrane come together for […]
After weeks of Nutcrackers and other Christmas-centric holiday shows culminating in big blowout bashes for New Year’s Eve, January’s arrival means we’re back to our usual environment of enviable entertainment in our ultra arts-blessed burg. Here’s some admittedly biased picks and other highly anticipated shows coming our way in winter. Three big comedy performances happen […]
The 7th Annual NatureTrack Film Festival, a celebration of nature and outdoor adventure through film, returns October 9-10 to kick off a year-long celebration of nature, adventure, and environmental stewardship that marks NatureTrack Foundation’s 15th anniversary year. The new slimmed-down format begins with a special opening night event at the Riviera Theatre that has already […]
Another longstanding Santa Barbara-based chamber music program also launches its new season this weekend, as the Santa Barbara Music Club opens its 56th series of concerts featuring purely pianists. The “Six Hands at One Piano: Romantic and Modern Perspectives” program, slated for 3 pm on Saturday, September 27, at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (4575 Auhay […]
With its 2025-26 season UCSB Arts & Lectures is now offering more classical music events than any other programming organization from fall to spring, with a full 14 concerts on the slate for their 66th season. Recitals dominate the schedule, with performances from pianists Daniil Trifonov, Víkingur Ólafsson, Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Aristo Sham and […]
The 2023 short documentary film The Dads featured five fathers of trans children who joined Dennis Shepard – father of 1998’s infamously murdered teen Matthew Shepard – for a weekend fishing trip. In the course of the outing, the dads found common ground across racial, geographical, and generational lines in their unconditional love for their […]
After a nationwide search, UCSB ended up turning to its own backyard to find the new Miller McCune Executive Director of UCSB Arts & Lectures, tapping Meghan Bush, its Associate Director, to step into the role held for 25 years by Celesta Billeci, under whose stewardship A&L became one of the country’s most prominent programs. […]
UCSB Arts & Lectures’ annual series of free summer film screenings outdoors under the stars at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Gardens might have come up with its smartest theme yet. Dubbed “Dog Days of Summer,” the series sports seven nights of dog-themed movies in one of the more spectacular venues in the heart […]
Following a rigorous national search, Meghan Bush has been appointed the Miller McCune Executive Director of UCSB Arts & Lectures effective immediately. Bush brings two decades of dedicated service to A&L and a proven record of creative leadership, operational excellence, and deep commitment to the role of arts in public life. In accepting the new […]
The Montecito Club clubhouse was socially gridlocked when retiring Miller McCune Executive Director Celesta Billeci revealed UCSB Arts & Lectures’ forthcoming 65th season featuring more than 50 events, including seven evenings of newly commissioned works representing its contribution to the national celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. Highlights include legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma performing three new […]
The Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall was totally energized when UCSB Arts & Lectures hosted captivating violinist Tessa Lark in her Santa Barbara debut with pianist Amy Yang, director of chamber music and piano studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. Béla Bartók’s “Romanian Folk Dances” kicked off the concert also featuring Eugène […]
The Santa Barbara Symphony’s adventurous 2024-25 season comes to a close this weekend with another unusual entry, as the pair of concerts represent the first time the organization has booked a soloist – in this case the very estimable violinist Gil Shaham – to perform different repertoire in the Saturday and Sunday concert. The Grammy-decorated […]
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 […]
