The Community Arts Music Association (CAMA) of Santa Barbara will present a free community concert featuring renowned mandolin soloist Avi Avital and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra performing works by Italian Baroque master Antonio Vivaldi, 8 p.m. Dec. 11 at The Granada Theatre.
The performance will include Vivaldi’s “Concerto for Two Violins in G Minor,” his “Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor,” and “The Four Seasons,” his collection of violin concerti. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
“In celebration of a century of great music in Santa Barbara and with continuing appreciation for the generations of concertgoers and patrons who have made this legacy possible, CAMA’s Board of Directors is pleased to sponsor this free community concert,” said Mark Trueblood, CAMA executive director.
Before the Dec. 11 performance, there will be a lecture by musicologist David Malvinni. A classical guitarist and author, Malvinni created CAMA’s music education program, which reaches students in more than a dozen area elementary schools, grades four through six. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. for the 7 p.m. lecture in the McCune Founders Room.
“In keeping with our rich history of civic engagement, we are emphasizing community partnerships throughout our centennial season in 2018-19. Thank you to the CAMA family of engaged music lovers who have made Santa Barbara a classical music capital for 100 concert seasons.”
The first mandolin soloist to be nominated for a classical Grammy, Avital is one of the world’s foremost ambassadors for his instrument. Passionate and “explosively charismatic” (The New York Times) in live performance, he is a driving force behind the reinvigoration of the mandolin repertory.
Some 90 contemporary compositions, 15 of them concertos, have been written for him. He continues to re-imagine music composed for other instruments. A Deutsche Grammophon artist, he has made four recordings for the label, including his Echo Klassik Award-winning “Vivaldi” (2015).
Recently released Avital meets Avital (2017), with oud/bassist Omer Avital, explores their shared cultural heritage and brings their differing classical and jazz musical backgrounds into dialogue.
Earlier releases featured his own Bach concerto transcriptions (2012) and I (2014), a cross-genre chamber collection exploring the nexus between classical and traditional music.
He has also recorded for Naxos and Sony Classical, winning a first Echo Klassik Award for his 2008 collaboration with the David Orlowsky Trio.
He has performed with the BBC, Chicago, and St Louis symphony orchestras; Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; Tonhalle Orchester Zürich; the Israel Philharmonic; Orchestre symphonique de Montréal; the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra; and the Venice Baroque Orchestra.
Avital is the first mandolinist to win Israel’s Aviv Competition (2007).
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) is a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks, as well as a champion of contemporary composers.
The ensemble has been proclaimed “America’s finest chamber orchestra” (Public Radio International), and “LA’s most unintimidating chamber music experience” (Los Angeles Magazine).
Founded in 1968 as an artistic outlet for the recording industry’s most gifted musicians, the orchestra has made 31 recordings; toured Europe, South America, and Japan; performed across North America; and garnered eight ASCAP Awards for adventurous programming.
CAMA’s centennial concert season continues Nov. 9 with a performance by pianist Richard Goode at The Lobero Theatre. Additional highlights include appearances by violinist Itzhak Perlman, Jan. 15, at the Granada Theatre; and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Feb. 5, also at the Granada.
Complete season information is available online at https://camasb.org.
Single ticket prices are $39-$119. Tickets for the Dec. 11 concert available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call 805-966-4324 or email info@camasb.org.
— Tim Dougherty for Community Arts Music Association.