Tag archives: music

Wind Beneath Their Wings
By Scott Craig   |   March 12, 2024

The only active-duty Air Force band west of the Rockies energized audiences at two free performances on Feb. 27 at Westmont and Montecito Covenant Church.  The United States Air Force Band of the Golden West Winds woodwind dectet performed several patriotic and classical pieces, including one song that featured kazoos to the delight of the […]

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 […]

On Tour with Ivor
By Richard Mineards   |   March 12, 2024

How fitting that on the 60th anniversary of The Beatles “invasion” of America, an old friend, Ivor Davis – who toured with the Fab Four as an “embedded” correspondent for the London Daily Express, one of the world’s largest newspapers at the time with five million readers – should give a fascinating talk at the […]

Grimaud on Key
By Richard Schultz   |   March 5, 2024

French pianist Hélène Grimaud made her third CAMA Masterseries appearance at the Lobero and, true to form, was at the top of her game. In the penultimate show of her U.S. tour, Grimaud, 54, played the “B” list with works including Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major,” Brahms’ 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117 and […]

Colorful Choral
By Richard Schultz   |   March 5, 2024

Santa Barbara Choral Society showed its true colors when it staged a Red, White, and Blues concert under veteran conductor JoAnne Wasserman at Trinity Episcopal Church. In a nod to America’s rich multi-cultured heritage of musical traditions featuring works by Leonard Bernstein, Randall Thompson, Shawn Kirchner, and Eric Whitacre, the entertaining show was a musical […]

Student Musicians Shine in Orchestra Concerto
By Scott Craig   |   February 27, 2024

The Westmont Music Department offers its orchestra concerto concert, featuring the winners of its concerto/aria competition, Nathan Carlin, Karla Munoz, Tasha Loh, and Leah Nieman, on Friday, Feb. 23, at 7 pm at the college’s Page Hall and on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 3 pm in Hahn Hall at the Music Academy. Both performances are […]

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 […]

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 […]

A Verdi Good Show
By Richard Mineards   |   February 20, 2024

Opera Santa Barbara’s newest production – Verdi’s historical melodrama Il Trovatore, a story of superstition, revenge, and ill-fated love in medieval Spain, including the famous “Anvil Chorus” – was an absolute delight. Featuring a powerhouse cast at the Lobero with tenor Harold Meers, soprano Karin Wolverton, baritone Timothy Mix, bass Andrew Potter, with mezzo soprano […]

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 […]

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. […]

The NAMM Show 2024 Part 1 of 2: Gear, Artists & Awards
By Joanne A Calitri   |   February 6, 2024

The National Association of Music Merchants held their annual NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center on January 24 – 28. It featured over 3,000 brands, 500 events, 200 performances, over 200 educational tracks, with members from 101 countries. It was indeed booth intensive, with brands stacked together on the floor.  Here is part 1of […]

Symphonic Triplets
By Richard Mineards   |   January 30, 2024

Magnificent classical music reigned supreme with three impressive concerts in our Eden by the Beach, two at the venerable Granada and one at the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall. Kicking off the week was the Community Arts Music Association’s first concert of the new year with London’s 79-year-old Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko, […]

‘Texican’ Rock & Rollers: Lonely in Name Only
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 30, 2024

It wasn’t pre-ordained that Los Lonely Boys member Ringo Garza, Jr. – who was named after a John Wayne movie, not the ex-Beatle – was going to end up being the sibling band’s drummer. It had a lot more to do with the fact that, not only was he the youngest sibling of the three […]

Alcazar Theatre Announces Renovation Fundraiser with the Doublewide Kings
By Joanne A Calitri   |   January 23, 2024

Palmer Jackson Jr.’s band, the Doublewide Kings, is doing a benefit show to raise funding for the Alcazar Theatre’s 2024 renovations on February 2 and February 3. The band has a huge following and announced that early sponsorship VIPs include Montecito’s Scott Brittingham of Brittingham Family Foundation, Bill and Katie Garland,Board Treasurer of Casa del […]

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, […]

Ybarra Does the Beatles 
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 9, 2024

Over the years, we’ve seen Santa Barbara native Tony Ybarra in a wide variety of settings. One of the most sought-after Spanish/Latin guitarists on the West Coast, Ybarra is also an active composer and recording artist whose music has been featured in such TV shows as Dexter and Madam Secretary. He’s performed with jazz composer […]