Tag archives: MAW
Jerome Lowenthal is one of the most electric pianistic personalities before the public,” so says one of his reviewers. Santa Barbara’s The Music Academy of the West (MAW) claims him for their own because he has been a part of their eight-week summer program for an amazing 50 years mentoring students. Yet he has appeared […]
It was all a case of location, location, location as the Music Academy of the West’s 72nd annual summer festival entered its second week. Having staged all concerts at Hahn Hall on the Miraflores campus with the fest’s kickoff, the Lobero and Granada were added into the mix this week. The Festival Artists Series at […]
The Music Academy of the West transforms the Granada Theatre into Mission Control for a special London Symphony Orchestra space-themed family concert next Friday, July 12, kicking off three straight days of different programs with the esteemed British orchestra in the second year of its partnership with MAW. The Voyager program, which incorporates excerpts from […]
A ten-acre Montecito estate, with seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms, has just come on the market for $17 million. The 13,932 sq. ft. property is just a tiara’s toss or two from the homes of TV talk show titans Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. The expansive grounds include terraced gardens, a pool, spa with a […]
After more than two years and a $12 million budget, the 33-year-old 40,000 sq. ft. Rescue Mission is ready for its closeup. The extensive project represents five years of planning, permitting, fundraising and rebuilding the facility, which has served more than three million meals and provided 1.6 million stays for the homeless since 1986. The […]
In just his third season at the Music Academy of the West, Los Angeles-based director and designer James Darrah has already had a dramatic effect on the seven-decades-old summer festival – employing his unique collaborative focus and vision at a convergence of opera, classical music, and theater to the already well-respected program at the stunning […]
Piano legend Jerome Lowenthal was honored for his half century of teaching at the Music Academy of the West and the launch of the institution’s 72nd annual summer school and festival at a record-breaking gala, which netted $475,000 towards scholarships and other funding. New York-based Lowenthal, 87, who is also chair of the prestigious Juilliard […]
Michael Werner, who left college when he was appointed Principal Percussionist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, also played percussion with the Metropolitan Opera for 13 years before joining the Seattle Symphony as its principal in 2009. So the 15-year MAW veteran faculty member pronounced himself pretty thrilled that the academy will perform the West Coast […]
Finding a selection of events to highlight from the new Music Academy of the West summer festival isn’t an issue. Distilling the 200-some offerings over the eight weeks down to a manageable preview is a much greater challenge. That’s because MAW has been moving in leaps and bounds in its wildly successful recent efforts to […]
It’s no surprise that Jerome Lowenthal responds to interview questions with the same sort of erudite yet playful tone anyone familiar with his master classes has come to know and love, as well as a particular precision, with personal flair, that mark his piano performances. So when asked what it means to be notching his […]
Santa Barbara Quire of Voyces performs a pair of “Cathedral Classics” concerts May 18-19 at St. Anthony’s Chapel, closing out its 25th anniversary season… Earlier that same Saturday afternoon, the Santa Barbara Music Club presents the first of two free concerts featuring winners of the 2019 Scholarship Awards at First United Methodist Church, 305 East […]
Jazz singer Tierney Sutton has such a clear, compelling, and communicative voice, it’s surprising to learn that early on in the 20-plus-year career of the band that carries her name, Sutton was a reluctant focal (and vocal) point for the group. “When I came out to L.A., my heroes were Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau, Flora […]
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 […]
Sophiko Simsive, who won the Music Academy of the West’s second annual Solo Piano Competition last summer, was a little bit shaken when she answered the phone on Monday afternoon. She’d just learned of the fire at Notre Dame, and had yet to come to terms with the ongoing devastation. That personal connection might seem […]
Hahn Hall at the Music Academy of the West was gridlocked when Moldovan violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, accompanied by pianist Polina Leschenko, put on a sizzling display of her musical dexterity. The Grammy-nominee, clearly at the top of her form, played works by Bartok, Poulenc, and Romanian composer Georges Enescu. Afterwards major supporters of UCSB Arts […]
The Music Academy of the West’s [MAW] esteemed Women’s Auxiliary [MAWWA] under the dynamic leadership of chair Evie Vesper, is launching a new direction for the first time in 47 years, with its first – and soon to be annual – Music in the Garden event on Sunday, October 21, at the academy. The occasion […]
The Music Academy of the West gave its 2018 Summer Festival Gala weaving its magic to turn a parking lot into an elegant, glamorous venue. Co-chairs Regina Roney and Judy Getto called it a “Feast for the Senses”. After cocktails in the garden with a white Steinway player piano tinkling away, guests made their way […]
It couldn’t have been a more splendiferous end to the Music Academy of the West’s 71st annual summer fest when the Academy Festival Orchestra, under Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel, in his academy debut, performed with the L.A. Master Chorale, under artistic director Grant Gershon, at a sold-out Santa Barbara Bowl. Soprano Susanna Phillips […]
Like just about every other community across the nation and around the world, Santa Barbara had to wait 40 years to see the singer-songwriter Rodriguez perform in concert in town – something they didn’t even realize they were missing until the movie Searching for Sugar Man appeared five years ago – when he performed at […]
Normally, classical musicians who end up collaborating might meet in a conservatory or perhaps sharing a seminar or the stage at a summer program. Maybe they’re introduced by colleagues or are drawn in by listening to each other’s recording. Not so much with SB native flamenco-influenced guitarist Chris Fossek and Paul Merkelo, the principal trumpet […]
