A Match Made in Mozart
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 18, 2025

The London Symphony Orchestra’s initial partnership with the Music Academy of the West officially came to its pandemic-paused close a couple of summers ago. But the relationship between the two classical music institutions continues with a three-event, two-day residency starting on February 17. President’s Day kicks off at 1 pm with a violin master class […]

Chamber Players Highlight Arias with Amante 
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 4, 2025

April Amante hasn’t had a whole lot of opportunities to sing in Santa Barbara since earning her Doctor of Musical Arts at UCSB in June 2023. There was the concert in May 2024, where the soprano returned to campus for the UCSB Opera Gala, directed by her mentor Isabel Bayrakdarian, the soprano who heads the […]

 

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Fêting Fruin and Rockin’ Responders 
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 4, 2025

SOhO serves as host of a celebration of life and musical tribute to Gary Fruin, the longtime K-LITE Morning Show co-host who passed away in January. The event, at 1 pm on February 2, is an opportunity for listeners, fans, community members and all those whose lives were brightened by Fruin to remember and celebrate […]

Teen Stars Shine On
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 28, 2025

Teen Star Santa Barbara started as a small event meant to employ the American Idol model to highlight the vocal talents of local students in the wake of arts budget cuts in the schools, but it quickly outgrew its original home at San Marcos High’s auditorium. A few years at the Granada turned into an […]

Bullock Is Back, and Going Baroque
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 21, 2025

Although the Baroque ensemble Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) was founded in 1986, it’s taken nearly four decades for the London-based ensemble – which employs period instruments to offer historically accurate performances of the much-beloved repertoire – to make it to Santa Barbara. OAE’s local debut is set for January 21 at the […]

Baroque Continues to Beckon
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 21, 2025

Baroque lovers have an earlier chance to hear even more surprising music from the era as Camerata Pacifica launches its third mini-series of Baroque concerts with Friday’s concert at Hahn Hall featuring series music director-curator and flutist Emi Ferguson, a 2023 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and jazz/Baroque keyboard specialist Dan Tepfer, who […]

Symphony’s ‘Mozart Marathon’ with Members Soloing
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 21, 2025

The Santa Barbara Symphony kicks off the new year with a weekend pair of performances January 18-19 boasting entirely different programs each concert. The beloved and prolific composer Mozart is the focus for the concerts that boast a total of four concertos featuring different instrumental soloists drawn from the ensemble’s impressive principal players, encompassing flute, […]

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  • Miró Makes Its Way to Mary Craig 
    By Steven Libowitz   |   January 21, 2025

    The Austin-based Miró Quartet, long considered one of America’s most celebrated and dedicated string quartets, marks its 30th anniversary with a return to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s laudable chamber music series on January 19. The Miró, which in 2005 became the first ensemble ever to be awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant, […]

    Classical Corner
    By Steven Libowitz   |   January 14, 2025

    This week’s entries include another intriguing entry in the Santa Barbara Music Club’s 55th season of free community concerts at 3 pm on Saturday, January 11, at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Hope Ranch Annex. Composer Eric Valinsky will be joined by piano compatriot Pascal Salomon for the world premiere of Valinsky’s four-handversion of Wisperfal, […]

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    Time Out of Mind
    By Steven Libowitz   |   January 14, 2025

    Lucinda Lane, Santa Barbara’s self-described “IndieBossaJazzTwang” band formed as a duo a dozen years ago by songwriter-guitarist-singer Josef Woodard and jazz-pop vocalist Nicole Lvoff, has finally released its long-awaited debut album. The title Summer is Over is indicative of the delays in completing the recording, which features guest shots from the likes of local heroes […]

    Go Fetch: ‘Mean Girls’ comes to the Granada
    By Steven Libowitz   |   January 7, 2025

    It’s been 20 years since Mean Girls gave us a telling and hilarious glimpse at social cliques in high schools, gave us The Plastics, and made Lindsay Lohan a star. The musical version of the madness, adapted by Tina Fey from her script for the film, was nominated for 12 Tony awards in 2018, including […]

    Can Kirtan Cure Our Conflicted Culture?
    By Steven Libowitz   |   January 7, 2025

    The call-and-response singing of devotional music known as Kirtan can be a joyous experience, but it’s also a healing one that can break down barriers between people. So suggests Darren Marc, the devotional Kirtan artist and singer-songwriter whose eclectic musical career includes more than 30 original songs featured in film and television shows.  For Marc […]

    Wines to Match Holiday Fare… and The Nutcracker
    By Gabe Saglie   |   January 7, 2025

    The ballet, The Nutcracker, is a perennial holiday favorite for its recognizable melodies and a touching storyline set during the Christmas season. This story is an introduction to a multisensory concept that I just put to the test, and with delicious results: Does pairing Tchaikovsky’s sweeping music with wine heighten your enjoyment of it? Or […]

    Having a ‘Hall’ of a time with Revels
    By Steven Libowitz   |   December 24, 2024

    Starring as the Duchess in The Ghosts of Haddon Hall – the 2024 production of “The Christmas Revels: A Winter Solstice Celebration” this weekend – is a real full circle moment 11 years in the making for Gillian Conway. The Montecito native saw her first Santa Barbara Christmas Revels as a family outing back in […]

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