Movie Scenes, Music and Guests, oh my! 
By Steven Libowitz   |   March 12, 2024

If you find yourself still craving Academy Award-winning cinematic splendor on the big screen, the Santa Barbara Symphony has just the ticket. In its return to the Granada – following a forced move to the Lobero last month due to water damage at The G – the symphony builds on the Oscar buzz with its […]

A Romantic Serenade
By Richard Mineards   |   February 27, 2024

It was the musical version of pouring a gallon into a pint pot when Santa Barbara Symphony under maestro Nir Kabaretti performed “Serenade for Romance” at the 604-seat Lobero, having moved the show from the 1,553-seat Granada after a sprinkler mishap soaked the capacious stage. The decidedly cozy concert featured violinist Sirena Huang, artist-in-residence for […]

 

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A Fitting Fête for a Lady
By Scott Craig   |   February 20, 2024

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art and Westmont Music Department threw a grand party on Jan. 3 in honor of the late Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree, whose generosity benefited not only the college but the entire Santa Barbara community. The Westmont String Quartet played as celebrants enjoyed champagne and crêpe while taking in the stunning ocean […]

Santa Barbara Symphony
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 13, 2024

For the Santa Barbara Symphony, the 2023-24 season expresses a number of the outreach efforts in its mission: to enrich residents’ lives by producing and presenting the highest quality musical experiences, performed with artistic excellence and accessible to the entire community – as well as inspire a passion for symphonic music in the next generation […]

Beatles, Eubanks and You 
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 13, 2024

Programming an event during SBIFF can be an iffy affair, but booking The Beatles would seem to stand a pretty good chance of success. The Fab Four of course aren’t showing up, but the producers of 60 Years of Beatlemania! have come up with the next best thing. Make that “things”, plural.  The February 9 […]

NAMM 2024 Part II: Top Four Education Tracks
By Joanne A Calitri   |   February 13, 2024

Here are some highlighted talks from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show that recently took place. In Conversation with The Immediate Family The Immediate Family is a super group of famed session musicians Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar,and Steve Postell. Their work includes James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Keith […]

Far Fung Fun
By Richard Mineards   |   February 13, 2024

The week kicked off with another UCSB Arts & Lectures concert at the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall with cellist Zlatomir Fung and pianist Benjamin Hochman with a mixed program featuring works by Britten, Schumann, Tsintsadze, and Marshall Estrin, a longtime collaborator of Fung’s. Estrin’s composition “Cinematheque” was based on the creative pair’s mutual love of […]

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  • 12th Annual She Rocks Awards at NAMM 2024
    By Joanne A Calitri   |   February 6, 2024

    On January 25th the Anaheim Convention Center ballroom was rocked by the Women’s International Music Network (WiMN) She Rocks Awards. The group was founded in 2012 by Laura B. Whitmore to create a support system for women in the Music Industry and honor them via the annual awards presented with support by the NAMM Foundation. […]

    A Pretty Big Break for Baker
    By Steven Libowitz   |   January 23, 2024

    In the film Pretty Woman, courtesan Vivian catches lightning in a bottle when she meets Richard Gere’s charming and chivalrous billionaire businessman. Being cast in the title role of the film’s touring stage musical serves as a similarly unlikely lucky break for Ellie Baker. A really big break.  Not only does Pretty Woman: The Musical represent […]

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    Dar She Goes
    By Steven Libowitz   |   January 16, 2024

    It might be her breathy and vibratoless soprano that somehow suggests both urgency and a leisurely, steady pace. Maybe it’s her knack for rhymes that never feel forced, or her commitment to a more universal truth in her songwriting. Or her ability to erase any divide between passionate politics and personal songs. Whatever the reason, […]

    Nicks of Time 
    By Steven Libowitz   |   January 9, 2024

    Fleetwood Mac’s former heroine Stevie Nicks is still active on the road – the 75-year-old singer-songwriter having booked a series of dates starting in February. But none of those shows announced so far are west of Texas, so perhaps a close approximation will have to do. Diana Grace’s turn as the star of Stevie Nicks […]

    Musical Moments of 2023: Catching up, Concert-wise
    By Steven Libowitz   |   January 9, 2024

    The last concert of the year, ending just two hours before midnight on December 31, found the Santa Barbara Symphony rocking out to close out 2023, a far cry from its usual New Year’s Eve pop concert fare as guest conductor/host Andrew Lipke led the chamber-sized orchestra-plus (with electric bass, drum kit, and Lipke’s own […]

    Symphony’s NYE Host Lipke: Time Is on His Side
    By Steven Libowitz   |   January 2, 2024

    Andrew Lipke makes his Santa Barbara Symphony debut Sunday night as guest conductor for the annual New Year’s Eve concert, but he’ll be doing much more than waving the baton around to close out 2023. The composer, arranger, conductor, guitarist, and vocalist will actually display all of those talents at the Granada in a program […]

    Examining Mendelssohn, Protestant Music
    By Scott Craig   |   December 26, 2023

    For two decades, Siegwart ‘Zig’ Reichwald, Westmont’s Adams professor of music and worship, engrossed himself in the sacred music of German composer and performer Felix Mendelssohn. But when he came to his works written for the Berlin Cathedral in 1843-44, he was struck by how unusual they were compared to the rest of Mendelssohn’s musical […]

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