Tag archives: music
Miraflores, the charming 10-acre estate that has been the Montecito home of the Music Academy of the West since 1951, was the site of major social gridlock when it hosted its annual gala with a sell-out crowd of more than 300, raising nearly $450,000 for funding and scholarships. The boffo bash, “Return to Miraflores,” was […]
Jamie Broumas, the Music Academy of the West’s second year chief artistic officer, had the unenviable task of trying to program a performance-packed summer music festival during the ups and downs of the pandemic and the ever-changing protocols. “It was very, very, very challenging,” she admitted over the phone the other day. “Were we going […]
Santa Barbara music man Alan Parsons’ organic avocado ranch in the Goleta foothills turned into a colorful outpost of his native England when 150 guests turned out to celebrate his newly awarded OBE — Order of the British Empire — from Queen Elizabeth in her birthday honors list. The red, white, and blue of the […]
Growing up in New York during the 1950s turned me into a lover of Broadway theatre — especially musicals. By the age of 18 I’d been fortunate enough to see wonderful productions of West Side Story, My Fair Lady, and close to a hundred other musicals, dramas, and comedies. I next fell in love with […]
Opera Santa Barbara won’t ease back into action, instead taking on a first-time production of Das Rheingold at the Lobero Theatre Anyone who thought Opera Santa Barbara might ease its reentry into live indoor operas with something out of the standard repertoire clearly doesn’t know Kostis Protopapas very well. OSB’s artistic and general director has […]
Alan Parsons, 72, who lives and works from a multi-million dollar recording studio on an organic avocado ranch in the Goleta foothills with his wife, Lisa, has been awarded an OBE — Order of the British Empire — for his work over the decades in Queen Elizabeth’s birthday honors list. “I actually heard from the […]
It was a late afternoon in early 2017 and Jonathan Fox was en route to a pre-dinner cocktail with Lee Luria, the philanthropist extraordinaire that had just given Fox’s Ensemble Theatre Company a new lease on life — quite literally. With her favorite gin and tonic at her side and Fox acquiring a glass of […]
Who could have predicted dance as the art form that would dominate reopening at the Center Stage Theater? Sure, the “black box” theater upstairs in Paseo Nuevo has been a happy home for several of the local dance companies that produce their own periodic performances and has also hosted a few festivals featuring revues. But […]
Faced with the pervasive pandemic protocols in the summer of 2020, the Music Academy of the West proved its mettle by coming up with MARLI — the Music Academy Remote Learning Institute — a technical wonder that allowed students and faculty to immerse themselves in learning and music making even if only virtually and in […]
Meredith Cabaniss-Ventura, the Selah Dance Collective founder and artistic director, doesn’t remember where she first found the main word of her dance company other than remembering it’s featured heavily in the Bible in the Book of Psalms. But while she liked that the word isn’t directly translatable to English, one of the meanings struck her […]
Rod Rolle is both an esteemed professional news and public relations photographer and local jazz drummer with Tom Murray of 30 years in their duo, The Stiff Pickle Orchestra. His motto “Images with A Global View” is most accurate, currently an affiliate with SIPA USA, he has worked as a stringer for Getty Images, Associated […]
Santa Barbara High Junior singer Sydney Rae is going global! A self-taught musician who plays guitar, bass, and ukulele, says she has been singing since she could talk, naturally leading to the launch of her first original song “Inside Jokes” on Spotify, one of the world’s largest music streaming service providers, with more than 356 […]
With the continued easing of pandemic restrictions, PCPA is returning after two summers to the Solvang Festival Theater, the charming outdoor amphitheater in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley village. The stars will be live on stage as well as visible in the sky above starting in mid-July, when PCPA debuts an original production […]
During a year when the performing arts faced challenges beyond measure, the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony held its Concerto Competition virtually, featuring some of the county’s finest young musicians. Participation allows students to showcase their best efforts and hard work in performances scheduled for next season, with one lucky musician winning the opportunity to perform […]
The Amazons of the Music Academy of the West were positively unleashed after more than a year of monthly meetings via Zoom for a “Sip n’ Stroll” sunset soirée on the picturesque terrace of Hahn Hall on the Miraflores campus. “It is an absolutely fabulous feeling,” exclaimed event chair Roberta Grant. “Everybody has been absolutely […]
Back in the virtual world, the Marjorie Luke Theatre this weekend unveils its eighth video presentation in its virtual concert series spotlighting local musicians and others in highly produced digital productions shot with multiple cameras and professional sound on the stage of the historic venue. All In For Love represents the live concert full-set debut […]
David Asbell has had it up to here with the pandemic. The longtime general manager of the Lobero Theatre piloted the venue through a pandemic pivot along with everybody else to stay relevant during the last 14 months. For the Lobero, this meant partnering up with an indie producer to host live streaming shows from […]
Nicole Lamartine, PhD, is the new Sorenson Director of Choral Music at UCSB, filling a position vacant since Michel Marc Gervais retired in 2016, and will oversee all UCSB’s choruses and ensembles. Originally from New Mexico, she comes to Santa Barbara from the University of Wyoming Department of Music faculty (2008-2020), where she won the […]
On May 17, 2021, a car was parked on Mountain Drive near the corner of East Mountain Drive and Hot Springs Road. It was barely sticking into the road, less than other hikers’ cars further west, near Ashley Road. A note was placed on it which said, “Park here again and you will be towed […]
It’s no surprise that UCSB Arts & Lectures has turned to the XIV Dalai Lama for the keynote event in its year-long 2021-2022 Creating Hope programming initiative. After all, not only has His Holiness, who is believed to be a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, spent much of his life encouraging people to be […]
