It might seem strange, but sometimes serendipity shows up in classical music. Such was the case a couple of years ago when much heralded Composer Christopher Tin noticed someone leafing through some of his scores at a nearby table in a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles. That turned out to be JoAnne Wasserman, the 33-year […]
Teen Star Santa Barbara, the local youth performing arts program originally based on the singing competitions American Idol, is set to produce its 17th showcase finals on Saturday, May 23, at historic Lobero Theatre. Which means the competitive event that eschews the nasty criticism in favor of encouraging words is now almost older than any […]
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Camerata Pacifica Principal Percussionist Ji Hye Jung has been a part of the Santa Barbara-based, internationally praised chamber music ensemble for more than 15 years. She’s held the position of associate professor of percussion at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music for more than a decade. Since she began performing in her native Korea at […]
Charlie Chaplin has been inextricably linked to Montecito ever since he founded and developed the Montecito Inn almost a century ago to serve as a more accessible yet upscale getaway for Hollywood stars, of which he was one of the biggest. Considered perhaps the greatest comic artist of the silver screen and one of the […]
In a rare confluence of professional ballet companies performing on the same night in two of this theater city’s jewels in the crown, State Street Ballet’s Chaplin competes with another encore presentation, this one of The Sleeping Beauty from International Ballet Stars. The touring ensemble brings its lavish spectacle to the Granada on Friday, May […]
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 […]
Hershey Felder has spent a good part of the last 30 years portraying musical geniuses from Tchaikovsky, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff to George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Leonard Bernstein in his ongoing solo composer series. Now with his latest musical play, Felder is revealing the life and musical experiences of someone he knows much more intimately: […]
Why would anyone choose to go to the Granada on Saturday night for Santa Barbara Records’ second annual Locals & Legends concert, “Celebrating the Music of James Taylor,” when the iconic 78-year-old singer-songwriter himself will be in town just 11 days later? Well, there’s several reasons aside from the fact that tickets to Taylor’s sold-out […]
By Lisa Duncan Santa Barbara’s social set turned out in fine form last week for a most agreeable cause, gathering at the Lobero Theatre in support of More Mesa – that rare, windswept stretch of coastline, wonderfully wild and beautifully free for all to enjoy. The evening began, as all proper evenings should, with a […]
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As the academic year draws to a close, the Westmont music department is set to showcase a global repertoire in a series of final concerts and recitals. The season’s highlights include two major choral performances that celebrate Latin American traditions and serve as a formal send-off for the college’s upcoming international tour. The choral program […]
Jacopo Giacopuzzi’s first visit to Santa Barbara was just shy of 13 years ago. That was when the native of Verona, Italy, studied at the Music Academy of the West as a 2013 solo piano fellow with the legendary Jerome Lowenthal. He basically never left. As soon as he concluded his Masters in piano performance […]
We’re stretching things to suggest Camerata Pacifica is a community organization. Though it was founded and is still based here, most of the principal players live elsewhere. But tried and true Santa Barbara-via-Ireland import Adrian Spence is still the mastermind, as evidenced by pianist Gilles Vonsattel’s presence at Hahn Hall on April 10 for a […]
It was a night full of laughs and surprises at the Santa Barbara Bowl as Westmont celebrated its 65th year of Spring Sing, where students from each residence hall produce musical skits to compete for prizes and bragging rights. Spring Sing, the longest running Westmont tradition, involves hundreds of students who use song, dance and […]
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more perfect pop debut than Marshall Crenshaw’s self-titled 1982 album, which was chock full of indelible hooks and riffs, a sound and a quirky approach to storytelling that were both fresh and classic at the same time. Forty-four years and a dozen albums later, after nearly half a century […]
