What are your plans for New Year’s Eve? Of course, most of you already know where you’ll be at midnight, but what about the long evening leading up to it?
If you are an inveterate party animal, who lives to join forces with a noisy bacchanal, you need no suggestions from me, before plunging into the heart of New Year’s Eve.
If, on the other hand, you have achieved some maturity, some equilibrium, and are no longer convinced that the wilder a party is, the more you need to be there — if, that is, carpe diem is no longer your guiding motto — then you will know that you have other, mellower, options to consider, chief among them being the Santa Barbara Symphony’s worthy tradition of a New Year’s Eve pops concert/gathering, 8:30-10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31, in the Granada Theater. Champagne, noisemakers, and party hats included!
Here, indeed, is the proverbial eye of the New Year’s hurricane, an island of sane pleasure in the midst of what is usually a frantic and futile search for connections, followed by a blinding hangover — and, like the island in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” is full of “Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.”
For a blissful hour and a half, you can relax in your seat, smile and soak up the delightful music, secure in the knowledge that no one will be watching you, and no one will expect you to DO anything.
And, of course, when it is over, you have two whole hours to rush out, like E.A. Poe‘s “Man of the Crowd,” and fling your self into the midst of any passing group of revellers. Or, you can go home with your loved ones, drink a glass of champaigne, and go to bed.
Every one of these concerts that I have attended, since begun by the late, lamented Varujan Kojian (“shall auld acquaitance be forgot, and never brought to mind?” indeed!), has left me feeling better upon leaving than when I went in.
It’s not like anything remarkable or special happened; it was just that, about 15 minutes into the evening, a warm, happy glow began to suffuse my being; not as a loud, violent rush, but like a photograph slowly coming into focus in its bath of developing fluids.
So, that’s my pitch. Here is the way the people at the symphony describe it:
“The Santa Barbara Symphony [presents] its beloved New Year’s Eve concert tradition. Downtown will be dazzling with the music of Broadway and other celebratory symphonic favorites, on Saturday, December 31 from 8:30 pm – 10:00 pm at the Granada Theatre.
“Pops conductor and host Bob Bernhardt will be joined by acclaimed guest soprano Mela Sarajane Dailey, to deliver an unforgettable last evening of the year filled with music and celebration.
“This New Year’s Eve, guests can reminisce to Broadway’s most memorable musicals, including ‘The Sound of Music,’ ‘Chicago,’ ‘My Fair Lady,’ ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ and ‘Into the Woods’ to name a few.
“Champagne, party favors, and a sing-along of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ will round out the festivities. The concert concludes by 10 p.m., leaving plenty of time to enjoy dinner downtown beforehand and ring in the New Year afterward!”
New Year’s Eve with the Symphony is supported by Principal Concert Sponsor, Samuel M. and Alene S. Hedgpeth; Artist Sponsor, Patricia Gregory* for the Baker Foundation; Conducting Sponsor, Dr. Bob Weinman; and Champagne Sponsor, Marilynn Sullivan.
Tickets can be purchased online here.
For full details about the Santa Barbara Symphony’s 2022-23 season, and to buy season subscriptions or single tickets, click https://thesymphony.org/concerts-events/orchestra-concerts/, or call 805-898-9386.