UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L), has announced its 2026-27 season of live events, offering a range of cultural and artistic experiences from talks by influential writers and thinkers to reinventions of traditions in dance, music and performance at venues from UCSB to downtown Santa Barbara and beyond.
Series subscriptions go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, June 15. Single tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 7 at 10 a.m.
Find series subscriptions, brochures and more online at www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu, by calling 805-893-3535, or in-person at the Arts & Lectures Ticket Office, Campbell Hall lobby at UCSB campus (walk-up hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday).
“I can’t wait to share this season with our community,” said Meghan Bush, Miller McCune executive director. “Across dance, music, theater, and public conversation, this season brings together artists and thinkers who are helping define the cultural moment.
“Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and supporters, and to the reputation Arts & Lectures has built over decades, we are able to bring extraordinary artists and speakers to Santa Barbara while fostering collaborations, conversations and creative encounters that resonate far beyond the stage.
“Arts & Lectures has always been a place where people gather to experience the kind of connection that only live events can create, and those connections come to life through our audience.”
Highlights include major commissions for Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Marsalis’s final tour as artistic director; three-time Grammy-winning violinist Hilary Hahn and baritone Matthias Goerne performing a new work by Reena Esmail; and Tony-winning choreographer Sonya Tayeh’s “The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O’Connor.”
Audiences can enjoy conversations with cultural figures like Margaret Atwood, Ina Garten and John McEnroe, alongside performances by The Joffrey Ballet, Yuja Wang, Bernadette Peters, and superstar pianist Lang Lang.
Performances include artists reshaping musical traditions, like Don Was’ revisiting of the Grateful Dead’s “Blues for Allah;” Hiromi & Stanley Clarke’s homage to Chick Corea; and Niladri Kumaar honoring his mentor Zakir Hussain.
Making their Arts & Lectures debuts are renowned Serbian violinist Nemanja Radulović who leads the chamber orchestra Double Sens in Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons;” and Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes offering a distinct journey into Beethoven’s late masterpieces.
The Word of Mouth series features discussions of democracy, technology, and public life with influential public thinkers, such as former FBI Director Christopher Wray, historian Anne Applebaum, and journalist Kara Swisher.
The season also marks milestone moments for major artists, including the final international tour of the Akram Khan Company and the final work of Butoh master Ushio Amagatsu as performed by Sankai Juku.
The programs open with entrepreneur and leading podcaster Scott Galloway’s “Notes on Being a Man,” 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 at the Arlington Theatre.