Tag archives: UCSB

Fun After the Sun: Fifties Flicks al Fresco
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 11, 2019

What could be more fun than spending a Friday evening with your friends watching a free classic film outdoors in a gorgeous garden setting? That’s basically the premise behind UCSB Arts & Lectures and the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture’s annual summer film series at the Courthouse Sunken Gardens downtown – a […]

Go Where You Wanna Go
By Steven Libowitz   |   July 4, 2019

Echo In The Canyon, Andrew Slater’s documentary about the 1964-68 era in Laurel Canyon when folk-rock bands formed in the neighborhood that offered both seclusion and proximity to Hollywood studios before giving way to the psychedelic and singer-songwriter movements, may well prove to be the most commercially successful movie to have emerged from this year’s […]

Sizzling Season
By Richard Mineards   |   June 20, 2019

UCSB Arts & Lectures 61st season promises to be a cracker! With 60 world class events, including 11 Santa Barbara debuts, two world premieres of new works commissioned by the popular program, a U.S. premiere, and a West Coast debut, Miller McCune executive director Celesta Billeci described it as events for the “intellectually curious, the […]

Soirée at Sara’s
By Richard Mineards   |   May 23, 2019

Uber philanthropist Sara Miller McCune opened the doors of her Montecito home, just a tiara’s toss or two from the San Ysidro Ranch, to host a dinner, along with her publishing company, SAGE Publications, for a 60th anniversary benefit for UCSB’s Arts & Lectures program featuring CNN host and Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria. The […]

Three’s Company
By Richard Mineards   |   May 16, 2019

At the Granada it was time for the tony triumvirate of violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Steven Isserlis, and pianist Jeremy Denk to shine, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program. The talented threesome were in glorious harmony playing works by Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff and Ravel. A blockbuster show… Like Father, Like Daughter CAMA […]

Arts & Lectures
By Lynda Millner   |   May 9, 2019

UCSB Arts & Lectures brought best-selling Blue Zones author Dan Buettner and photographer David McLain to Campbell Hall on the campus for their presentation on the secrets to living longer and better lives after studying the world’s happiest, healthiest, and longest-living people. Prior to the talk there was a private dinner reception at sponsors Nicole […]

Nachle Deewane 2019
By Richard Mineards   |   May 2, 2019

The Granada was full of Eastern promise when UCSB’s 6th annual Dhadkan Nachle Deewane dance competition, run by founders Soham Tikekar and Nishu Viswanathan, filled the stage with 20 dancers and 24 a cappella artists. The colorful and energized sold-out show included Hindi-film Fusion and Bhangra dance teams representing a host of colleges, including USC, […]

Man in the Middle: 3Qs with “Left, Right & Center” Host Barro
By Steven Libowitz   |   May 2, 2019

While politics appear more partisan than ever, at least one weekly news show takes pains to pair party opposites in discussions that are polite if still vociferous. “Left, Right & Center,” produced by KCRW, features one panelist from each position to argue, civilly, the particulars of policy and issues as well as the politics. The […]

Legal Immigrant
By Richard Mineards   |   April 25, 2019

Multi-talented Scottish actor and performer Alan Cumming brought his highly entertaining show Legal Immigrant to the sold-out Granada, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program. The almost two-hour intermission-free performance, with a four-member backup band, was a meditation on his ten years as an American citizen and the experiences and change has witnessed […]

Marilyn Horne Song Competition Winners Recital
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 18, 2019

Also on the horizon before the opening of the Music Academy’s impressive eight-week 2019 Summer Music Festival in mid-June is the recital featuring the 2018 Marilyn Horne Song Competition Winners mezzo-soprano Kelsey Lauritano and pianist Andrew Sun at Hahn Hall on May 24. The singer joined the Oper Frankfurt studio last September two months after […]

Captivated by Koh
By Richard Mineards   |   April 18, 2019

UCSB Arts & Lectures supporters, Richard and Annette Caleel, opened the doors of their magnificent modern and tribal art filled Birnam Wood home for a reception for violinist Jennifer Koh, who later performed to a sold-out audience at St. Anthony’s Chapel, her second consecutive year, featuring works by Philip Glass, David Lang, Bryce Dessner, Andrew […]

Lucidity 2019: What a Little Moonlight Can Do
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 11, 2019

To the uninitiated, the Lucidity Festival, which offers its eighth iteration this weekend, might still come off as a haven for hardcore drug users, a three-day escape for spaced-out revelers intent on leaving reality behind. But maybe that mistaken notion will finally be put to rest, as Lucidity was recognized as the world’s best family-friendly […]

Generous Grants from Garufis
By Richard Mineards   |   March 28, 2019

To mark its 44th anniversary, Montecito Bank & Trust hosted a grants reception at its majestic State Street headquarters when president and CEO Janet Garufis handed out checks worth $20,000 to 10 local charities. Along with the checks, the nonprofits also received a professionally produced one-minute promotional video. Employees of the bank, which since its […]

Still Alice: Understanding Alzheimer’s
By Lynda Millner   |   March 28, 2019

Still Alice is considered the definitive and illuminating novel about Alzheimer’s disease and it was written by Lisa Genova. She recently gave a lecture on the subject for UCSB’s Arts & Lectures at Campbell Hall. Prior to the talk, sponsors Hollye and Jeff Jacobs gave a private reception for her at their home. Genova’s TED […]

Charting a World Without Borders with Pico Iyer
By Joanne A Calitri   |   March 28, 2019

On March 15, one of our town’s world celebrated authors, Pico Iyer, had an open discussion about travel, literature, and what brings people of different cultures together. Roman Baratiak from UCSB Arts & Lectures led the discussion. The free event was at the SB Public Library downtown. Pico is usually quoted for saying, “We travel, […]

Pulitzer Prize Winner
By Lynda Millner   |   March 21, 2019

Author Eli Saslow was brought here by UCSB Arts & Lectures and the Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life as well as sponsors Tracy and Michael Bollag. Susan Rose had a private reception at her Hope Ranch home for Eli before his presentation at Campbell Hall. This handsome […]

The Verdict is in
By Richard Mineards   |   March 14, 2019

Montecito author Jane De Hart, who spent 15 years researching and writing a hefty tome on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is reaping the rewards for her Herculean project. Jane, a professor of women’s history at UCSB, tells me her mammoth 752-page work, Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life, is now in its seventh printing […]

Genova’s Unforgettable Journey
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 14, 2019

Lisa Genova graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and earned a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University. But it wasn’t all that long before she took a left turn, employing her scientific knowledge in service of writing fiction in an effort to humanize brain diseases […]

Finding Passion in Playing Through Tragedy
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 14, 2019

The last week of February was a tough one for Anne-Sophie Mutter. Not only did the famed violinist lose her former husband and longtime musical partner when André Previn died on February 28, but she also came down with influenza, forcing postponement of the Los Angeles opening concert in her upcoming five-city American tour, making […]

The Profitable Future of Traditional Philanthropy
By Peter Brill   |   March 14, 2019

by Dr. Peter Brill, with Mariah Miller QUESTION: I hear there are 1,000 non-profits in Santa Barbara. I am newly retired and moved here from Chicago after selling my business. I look at an organization like the Girl Scouts, which provides for a significant portion of their financial needs by selling cookies and other things. […]