Tag archives: lectures
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 […]
Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights, UCSB Reads’ 2025 selection, is a New York Times bestselling collection of essays – written daily over the course of a year – celebrating small, ordinary wonders. Gay’s humorous, poetic and philosophical essays cover a wide range of topics, with vignettes that include such luminous oddities as sharing a […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
UCSB Arts & Lectures kicked off its 65th latest entertaining season with a concert by Snarky Puppy, the North Texas instrumental band, at the Arlington. Rousing solos from the powerhouse ensemble showed why they enjoy the justifiable reputation as proponents of jazz funk. Dueling drummers and a rotating roster of elite solo musicians showed why […]
UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures program is celebrating its 65th anniversary in grand style with more than 47 events in the entertaining lineup for 2024-2025 featuring world-renowned artists, forward thinking speakers, and impressive ensembles. Performance highlights include legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Wynton Marsalis Ensemble, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, violinist Itzhak Perlman, the Alvin Ailey […]
Pulitzer Prize finalist, culture critic, producer, and screenwriter Xochitl Gonzalez is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of its newsletter Brooklyn, Everywhere, about class, gentrification, and the American Dream. Her debut novel, Olga Dies Dreaming, was a critical fave in 2022, while the follow-up, Anita de Monte Laughs Last, came out this […]
Roger and Robin Himowitz opened the doors of their charming Provencal-style Montecito estate to host a sunset soirée honoring former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich before he spoke at UCSB’s Campbell Hall, part of the popular Arts & Lectures program. Reich, 77, who studied at Dartmouth College, Yale Law School, and won a Rhodes […]
After postponing their concert in February given a mandatory evacuation warning because of heavy rain, the charmingly named Grammy Award-winning octet Roomful of Teeth with pianist-guitarist Gabriel Kahane, performed in a UCSB Arts & Lectures show at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall. The tony troupe is dedicated to reimagining the expressive potential […]
Grad Slam, the annual event in which UCSB graduate students present their research in three-minute talks meant to quickly spotlight the exciting work they are doing on campus, wraps up its 11th year with presentations from the seven finalists on April 5 at Campbell Hall. The pitches are designed to captures the students’ research in […]
Considered one of America’s foremost experts on jobs and the economy, Robert B. Reich was part of the administrations of three presidents – Ford and Carter and Secretary of Labor for Bill Clinton’s first term – and is also a bestselling author, award-winning documentarian, and a respected commentator. Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at Berkeley […]
UCSB Arts & Lectures’ fall season was one for the ages, with enviable events throughout the breadth of its programming. The dance program boasted an era-spanning array, from the launch of the Martha Graham Dance Company’s Graham100 programs to the stunning West Coast debut of Turn it Out with Tiler Peck & Friends. Pop music […]
UCSB Arts & Lectures was on a roll at the Granada last week with two major productions within 48 hours. Kicking off the impressive program was Japanese violinist Midori and the Festival Strings Lucerne, under artistic director Daniel Dodds. Founded in 1956, the Swiss company is now considered one of the world’s most distinguished chamber […]
Organizational psychologist and best-selling author Adam Grant’s new book Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things, explores a new framework for raising aspirations and exceeding expectations, including how to build the skills and structures for success and create opportunities for those who have been overlooked. Grant will share his concepts in a paradigm-shifting conversation […]
The annual discount derby for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival next year is going on right now. SBIFF returns to town – or more accurately, dominates the entertainment calendar – from February 7-17, 2024, with its usual slate of celebrity tributes, industry panels, and 200 or so new independent and international films, including daily […]
Jenna Hamilton-Rolle, former director of education at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Sea Center, is the new director of education and community engagement for UCSB Arts & Lectures. She brings many community connections to her new role, including administrators and educators at the Goleta and Santa Barbara Unified school districts, and […]
From DakhaBrakha and The Linda Lindas to Lang Lang and Ballet Preljocaj, UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2022-2023 season included a luminous lineup of both world-renowned and up-and-coming musicians in a variety of genres, dance companies of far-reaching dimensions, and a full slate of forward-thinking and timely speakers and spoken word artists. The season was a […]
