You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Band
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 24, 2025

Great White sharks are known to patrol the waters off Santa Barbara and even the coastline on a regular basis – an occasionally toothy swim zone barely a few hundred yards away from the Music Academy’s Miraflores campus. Tonight’s opening concert –by the fellows-powered Academy Festival Orchestra (AFO) – takes place Saturday night at the […]

A Guilty Pleasure
By Richard Mineards   |   June 17, 2025

Ensemble Theatre Company ended its 46th season at the New Vic with the southern California premiere of Justice by Lauren Gunderson, a visceral exploration of courage, legacy, friendship, and the enduring influence of three extraordinary women – Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor – and their impact on the U.S. Supreme Court. […]

 

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And the Beat Goes on at the Granada
By Hattie Beresford   |   June 10, 2025

Forced by COVID to find ways to bring the music to a house-bound audience, the Granada Theatre teamed up with the Santa Barbara Symphony to create intimate podcasts that both illuminated and entertained. Out of this collaboration grew the idea of presenting cross-genre performances, the first one being Moondance which featured the music of Van […]

Orchestra Tours Iceland
By Scott Craig   |   June 10, 2025

The orchestra toured Iceland for nine days following Commencement, visiting tourist sites, including Reykjavík, the Golden Circle, Reykholt, the Ring Road waterfalls, the Blue Lagoon, Akureyri, the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, various botanical gardens and museums.  They performed at Hof Cultural Center, shared a concert and dinner in Langholtskirkja with the University Choir of Iceland, learning more […]

The Musical Apocalypse
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 10, 2025

If a musical about Supreme Court justices seems far afield, how about a zombie apocalypse comedy horror musical spoof?  The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, which performs at Center Stage Theatre in a school-friendly version this weekend, tells the story of what happens when a meteor crashes in a town called Hatchetfield, bearing an extraterrestrial […]

Over in Ojai: Chase-ing the New
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 10, 2025

Claire Chase, the innovative virtuosic flutist who has “world premiered” hundreds of compositions by a new generation of artists, was the first flutist to be awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship (2012) as well as the nearly-as prestigious Avery Fisher Prize (2017). Two years later, she was a Mosher Guest Artist at Music Academy of the […]

Opera Opportunity Outside the Box
By Steven Libowitz   |   June 10, 2025

Opera Santa Barbara has neatly transformed itself into an efficient juggernaut that seems to have made the company more sustainable, at least for the moment, by staging all of their opera productions twice at the Lobero, rather than ranging from the grand stage of the Granada to the Lobero and the intimate Center Stage theatre. […]

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  • ‘The Many Shades of Choral’
    By Richard Mineards   |   June 10, 2025

    Santa Barbara Choral Society marked the conclusion of its 77th season with The Many Shades of Choral under veteran director JoAnne Wasserman with accompaniment by Kevin Su Fukagawa at Trinity Lutheran Church. The entertaining concert featured a wide range of composers beginning with selections from Mozart, including his final work for his hometown Salzburg Cathedral […]

    The Crosby Connection
    By Steven Libowitz   |   May 27, 2025

    There have been two tribute concerts for David Crosby in the 28 months since the legendary singer-songwriter passed away at his Santa Ynez home in 2023. But Locals and Legends: Celebrating the Music of David Crosby, slated for May 24 at the Granada Theatre, offers two significant additions. The show is co-presented by Santa Barbara […]

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    Valley Fever: More Classic Rock in Crosby’s Neck of the Woods
    By Steven Libowitz   |   May 27, 2025

    Three Dog Night – which surprisingly was not named for its innovative idea of a trio of lead singers – was one of the most successful bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s, selling more than 50 million records for such singles as “One,” “Easy To Be Hard,” “Joy to the World,” “Mama Told […]

    Mourning and Dancing: A Double Concerto
    By Steven Libowitz   |   May 20, 2025

    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 […]

    Former Julliard Suitemates Join Forces in Dreammusik 
    By Steven Libowitz   |   May 20, 2025

    There’s another world premiere presenting just its second performance in town this weekend, this one fully commissioned by a patron of the local ensemble that will perform it at Hahn Hall on May 17. But the last time Camerata Pacifica played Dreammusik, written by Lera Auerbach for principal cellist Ani Aznavoorian, was back in 2014 […]

    Music and Words: SYV Struts in both Los Olivos and uptown SB
    By Steven Libowitz   |   May 20, 2025

    The final concert in the current Santa Ynez Valley Concert Series takes place at 4 pm on Saturday, May 17, with the fourth annual Young Artist Showcase featuring young musicians from around Santa Barbara County performing at St. Mark’s in-the-Valley Church in Los Olivos. Admission is free.  The Valley also represents in midtown Santa Barbara […]

    Thirty Years of ‘Brilliance’ with State Street Ballet
    By Steven Libowitz   |   May 13, 2025

    State Street Ballet closes out its 30th season with The Brilliance Program: Balanchine, Arpino, and Beyond, a title meant to characterize the works featured on the May 9-10 performances at the Lobero Theatre – but also apropos for the company’s spectacular season, the first full one under the leadership of Artistic Director Megan Phillips and […]

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