Saturday, October 19, 2019, 8:00pm
Sunday, October 20, 2019, 3:00pm
Presented by Santa Barbara Symphony

The Santa Barbara Symphony opens its 66th season with a burst of energy courtesy of the great Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi. The overture to his mid-career masterpiece La Forza del Destino covers a range of emotion, but is ultimately propulsive and exhilarating. Critically acclaimed violinist Francesca Dego next performs Niccolò Paganini’s demanding Violin Concerto No. 1. Written during a three-month sojourn in Rome in 1880, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s fantasy Capriccio Italien offers a richly descriptive portrait of Italy. This delightful Italian-themed program concludes with Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, which radiates irresistible joy and affection.

Subscription packages are available through the Santa Barbara Symphony website or by calling (805) 898-9386.

Friday, November 1, 2019, 7:30pm
Sunday, November 3, 2019, 2:30pm
Presented by Opera Santa Barbara

Madama Butterfly
By Giacomo Puccini

As sad as it is beautiful, Puccini’s shimmering classic has been captivating audiences for over a century. Set on the hills above the Nagasaki harbor in Imperial Japan, Madama Butterfly is a window to a world of opposing cultures and values.

Kostis Protopapas conducts. Octavio Cardenas, last with OSB for 2016’s Carmen, directs. Eleni Calenos (Mimi/La Bohème, 2018) and Harold Meers (Le Chevalier des Grieux/Manon, 2017 and Don José/Carmen, 2016) return as the doomed geisha and sailor.

Subscription packages are available through the Lobero Theatre website or by calling (805) 963-0761.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019, 7:00pm
Presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures

Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, Violin
Frederik Øland, Violin
Asbjørn Nørgaard, Viola
Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, Cello
with the Danish National Girls Choir
Philip Faber, Chief Conductor

Witness our beloved Danes performing with 50 sparkling voices from their homeland, featuring a selection of Danish songs, contemporary choral music and quartet movements. The Nordic lads and fierce friends who’ve captured the hearts of Santa Barbara’s music lovers and the world with their “warmth, wit, beautiful tone and technical prowess second to none” (NPR) are returning with two evenings of exquisite musicianship – a spirited concert featuring the 50-voice Danish National Girls Choir followed by a profound evening of classical masterworks by Bach, Beethoven and Mendelssohn.

Tickets may also be available from UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or online through their website.

Saturday, November 16, 2019, 8:00pm
Sunday, November 17, 2019, 3:00pm
Presented by Santa Barbara Symphony

Croatian soprano Lana Kos is increasingly in demand at top opera houses worldwide. Making her Santa Barbara debut, she will lend her powerful voice to a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s joyous religious motet Exsultate Jubilate. The recipient of several prestigious honors, including a Pulitzer Prize, contemporary composer Julia Wolfe draws inspiration from folk, classical, and rock genres. Her virtuosic Fuel was inspired by the renowned chamber orchestra Ensemble Resonanz, as well as the sounds of transport and harbors. Gustav Mahler’s wondrous Symphony No. 4 is the most accessible of his works. Warm and lyrical, it combines deliberate simplicity with a wealth of invention.

Subscription packages are available through the Santa Barbara Symphony website or by calling (805) 898-9386.

Saturday, December 7, 2019, 8:00pm
Presented by Santa Barbara Symphony

(Special Holiday Add-On)

In the spirit of the season, prepare to be delighted by your favorite holiday classics in a program led by guest conductor Andy Einhorn featuring Broadway star and singer Christiane Noll.

Subscription packages are available through the Santa Barbara Symphony website or by calling (805) 898-9386.

Tuesday, December 31, 2019, 8:30pm
Presented by Santa Barbara Symphony

(Special Holiday Add-On)

Celebrating the music of Carole King, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and More.

Subscription packages are available through the Santa Barbara Symphony website or by calling (805) 898-9386.

Saturday, January 18, 2020, 8:00pm
Sunday, January 19, 2020, 3:00pm
Presented by Santa Barbara Symphony

Israeli pianists Sivan Silver and Gil Garburg have thrilled audiences and critics alike on five continents. This performance will see them perform a new concerto based on Johannes Brahms’ G Minor Piano Quartet Op. 25. Created expressly for the duo, this remarkable piece of music is the work of contemporary Austrian composer Richard Dünser, who combined Brahms’ two original versions of the quartet. Honoring Beethoven’s 250th birthday, the symphony will close the evening with the intensely emotional Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”. This piece stands as a landmark achievement and one of the composers most celebrated works. In the words of the late American composer William Flanagan, “The appearance of no single work has so completely and irretrievably altered the face of art.”

Subscription packages are available through the Santa Barbara Symphony website or by calling (805) 898-9386.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020, 6:30pm (note special time)
Presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures
Special 75th Birthday Celebration!

Stories of His Life and Career

Join us for Itzhak Perlman’s special 75th birthday celebration, a uniquely personal multimedia experience that finds the beloved violin virtuoso sharing stories from his life and career and performing with longtime pianist Rohan De Silva. Since his U.S. debut on The Ed Sullivan Show as a child more than 60 years ago, Perlman has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Kennedy Center Honor, 16 Grammy Awards and four Emmy Awards. Along the way, he has shared his love for music with everyone from connoisseurs to Oscar the Grouch. This extraordinary event promises to be an exceptional evening with one of classical music’s singular figures.

Tickets may also be available from UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or online through their website.

Monday, January 27, 2020, 8:00pm
Presented by CAMA

Pinchas Zuckerman, Conductor and Violin

CAMA’s International Series rings in 2020 with the welcome return of London’s ever popular Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Formed in 1946 by Sir Thomas Beecham, it has been at the forefront of music-making in Britain for over seven decades, recognized worldwide as one of the United Kingdom’s most prodigious orchestras. In 1966, Queen Elizabeth conferred the title of “Royal” unconditionally on the orchestra. In its self-appointed role as Britain’s national orchestra, the RPO has toured in more than thirty countries across the globe, as well as performing annual concert series at both London’s Royal Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall. In a career spanning five decades, Pinchas Zukerman (Principal Guest Conductor of the RPO) is universally respected as a virtuoso violinist, violist, conductor and chamber musician with over 100 recordings released to date earning 21 Grammy nominations.

Available now with a CAMA International Series subscription. Single tickets on sale Friday, November 15th at 10am.

Saturday, Februay 15, 2020, 8:00pm
Sunday, February 16, 2020, 3:00pm
Presented by Santa Barbara Symphony

Hailed as one of his generation’s most promising conducting talents, German-born Christian Reif has impressed critics with his phenomenal poise and interpretive prowess. He will lead a program that opens with a work by another musical Wunderkind, Pulitzer Prize-nominated composer Michael Gilbertson. Continuing in a youthful vein, rising cellist Thomas Mesa will perform Tchaikovsky’s stunningly brilliant Variations on a Rococo Theme. Composed at the end of his life, La Clemenza di Tito reveals the full flower of Mozart’s mature genius. There is no mistaking the program’s concluding work – the Viennese master’s timeless and captivating Symphony No. 39

Subscription packages are available through the Santa Barbara Symphony website or by calling (805) 898-9386.

Friday, March 6, 2020, 7:00pm (early start time)
Presented by CAMA

Gustavo Dudamel, Conductor

HISTORIC 100TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
100 years to the day from the LA Phil’s first concert in Santa Barbara on March 6, 1920!
Pre-concert celebratory RED CARPET RECEPTION open to all ticket holders at 6:00 PM — Concert at 7:00 PM

The crown jewel of CAMA’s 101st Concert Season will be the Gala 100th Anniversary Concert of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Gustavo Dudamel on March 6, 2020—exactly 100 years to the day from the orchestra’s very first Santa Barbara concert a century ago on March 6, 1920.

The musical legacy that has evolved between the LA Phil and CAMA over the past century has seen the orchestra perform nearly 300 concerts in Santa Barbara with many of the greatest conductors of the past century such as Otto Klemperer, Leopold Stokowski, Bruno Walter, Georg Solti, Karl Böhm, Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, André Previn, Simon Rattle, Michael Tilson Thomas, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel, to name just a few. As CAMA and the LA Phil both prepare to celebrate their respective Centennials in 2020, CAMA is honored to have collaborated with this great American orchestra and looks forward to continuing this ongoing collaboration for the next 100 years!

Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime historic musical event!

Available now with a CAMA International Series subscription. Single tickets on sale Friday, November 15th at 10am.

Saturday, March 21, 2020, 8:00pm
Sunday, March 22, 2020, 3:00pm
Presented by Santa Barbara Symphony

The iconic musical An American in Paris was inspired by George Gershwin’s jazz-infused orchestral treasure of the same name, and the Santa Barbara Symphony has combined the two for an unforgettable program of music and film! Gershwin’s evocative and vivid An American in Paris is arguably the finest musical love letter ever penned to a city, while director Vincente Minnelli’s Academy Award-winning motion picture starring Gene Kelly has lost none of its insouciant charm. Come hear the Symphony, under the baton of guest conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos, provide live accompaniment to a screening of one of the world’s greatest movie musicals.

Subscription packages are available through the Santa Barbara Symphony website or by calling (805) 898-9386.

Thursday, March 26, 2020, 8:00pm
Presented by CAMA

Lahav Shani, Conductor
Nelson Freire, Piano

Founded in 1918, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra has now passed the century mark in a long Dutch tradition of musical excellence. After a close call in the 1940s, when German bombs destroyed their hall, their music library and all of their instruments, the orchestra rebuilt with community support and has been going strong ever since. Conducted by Israel’s Lahav Shani (winner of the first prize at the 2013 International Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition) and featuring legendary Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, the program includes Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto and Bartók’s virtuosic Concerto for Orchestra.

Available now with a CAMA International Series subscription. Single tickets on sale Friday, November 15th at 10am.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020, 8:00pm
Presented by CAMA

Kevin John Edusei, Conductor
Stewart Goodyear, Piano

The Chineke! Orchestra, one of Britain’s most exciting new orchestras, was formed in London in 2015 to champion at the highest level career opportunities for young Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) classical musicians in Europe. The name Chineke!—coined by founder/double bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku—is of Nigerian Igbo origin and roughly translates as “the spirit of creation”. In the words of Sir Simon Rattle, “Chineke! represents the kind of idea which could deepen and enrich classical in the UK for generations. What a thrilling prospect!” Led by Kevin John Edusei, a German conductor of Ghanaian ancestry, and featuring Canadian pianist/composer Stewart Goodyear, this concert will mark the West Coast debut of this intriguing and ambitious young orchestra.

Available now with a CAMA International Series subscription. Single tickets on sale Friday, November 15th at 10am.

Saturday, April 18, 2020, 8:00pm
Sunday, April 19, 2020, 3:00pm
Presented by Santa Barbara Symphony

Cameron Carpenter is an organist like no other. A former child prodigy, he has made an unlikely career of re-imagining the instrument while methodically dismantling the musty stereotypes that have long attended it. Known for his musical brilliance and flamboyant performances, he continues to push the boundaries of organ technique to breathtaking heights. Among other distinctions, Mr. Carpenter is the first solo organist ever nominated for a Grammy Award. For this program, he will perform Francis Poulenc’s Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Timpani, as well as Camille Saint-Säens’ Symphony No. 3. Additionally, prepare to be delighted by the first two movements of Claude Debussy’s mesmerizing Nocturnes.

Subscription packages are available through the Santa Barbara Symphony website or by calling (805) 898-9386.

Monday, April 27, 2020, 7:00pm
Presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures
The Must-See Classical Music Pairing of the Season!

Gautier Capuçon, Cello
Yuja Wang, Piano

Incandescent pianist Yuja Wang returns in an exceptional duo alongside the dazzling French cellist Gautier Capuçon, her close friend and source of inspiration. One of the world’s finest performers celebrated for her keen musical insight and quicksilver versatility, Wang is an artist armed with the ability to challenge the status quo. Capuçon is acclaimed internationally for his deeply expressive musicianship and exuberant virtuosity. Their partnership promises consummate technical skills, inexhaustible creative imagination, unmatched artistry and charisma in abundance in this must-see recital of Chopin and Franck.

Tickets may also be available from UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or online through their website.

Tuesday, April 28, 2020, 8:00pm
Presented by CAMA

Jonathan Cohen, Conductor
Avi Avital, Mandolin

Canada’s highly acclaimed Les Violons du Roy (The Violins of the King) has been a focal point of French-Canadian Québec City’s musical life since it was founded in 1984 and continues to explore the nearly boundless repertoire of music for chamber orchestra under its new Music Director, British conductor Jonathan Cohen. It takes its name from the legendary 17th-century French royal court orchestra Les Vingt-quatre Violons du Roy. They will perform a full evening of Bach and Vivaldi concertos featuring the return of virtuoso Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital, who wowed a sold-out Granada audience of enthusiastic Baroque music fans at CAMA’s recent 100th Season Community Concert with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in December 2018.

Available now with a CAMA International Series subscription. Single tickets on sale Friday, November 15th at 10am.

Saturday, May 16, 2020, 8:00pm
Sunday, May 17, 2020, 3:00pm
Presented by Santa Barbara Symphony

The Symphony closes the season with a celebratory tribute to Ludwig van Beethoven, an artist who is arguably the defining figure in the history of Western music. Inspired by Beethoven’s epic benefit concert of December 1808, which saw premieres of his Fourth Piano Concerto and Choral Fantasy, this program will also include his C major Mass in all its glory. Join Maestro Kabaretti and the Santa Barbara Symphony as they combine forces with pianist Alessio Bax, four talented vocal soloists, the Santa Barbara Choral Society and Quire of Voyces for an unforgettable 250th.

Subscription packages are available through the Santa Barbara Symphony website or by calling (805) 898-9386.

Monday, May 18, 2020, 8:00pm
Presented by CAMA

Jamie Martín, Conductor
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Cello

The acclaimed Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra returns to close out CAMA’s 101st Season with a symphonic evening led by LACO’s new Music Director, Spanish conductor Jaime Martín, who also serves as the Principal Conductor of the RTE National Radio Orchestra in Dublin. The concert will feature the 20-year old British cello sensation Sheku Kanneh-Mason who won the 2016 BBC Young Musician of The Year award and then in 2018 enthralled the world with his televised command performance at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, viewed by a global TV audience of one billion people. The program includes the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 and opens with the World Premiere of a new work by Los Angeles composer Derrick Spiva, Jr. commissioned by LACO.

Available now with a CAMA International Series subscription. Single tickets on sale Friday, November 15th at 10am.