The Santa Barbara Symphony will close its 2022-23 season with An Evening with Sinatra, a one-night-only tribute to the singer and actor whose long career left an indelible stamp on American culture in the second half of the 20th Century.
Starring the multi-talented singer-songwriter Tony DeSare — “two parts Frank Sinatra and one part Billy Joel” — the concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 15, in the Granada Theater.
The concert, says the symphony, “will have audiences humming along, sipping festive cocktails, and capturing memories at the Supper Club-themed selfie station. Grab some gloves and sequins, don a fedora, and dress to impress for an evening as unforgettable as ‘ol’ blue eyes” himself!'”
The symphony’s charismatic music and artistic director, Nir Kabaretti, says, “We are excited to close this milestone season with such a special tribute concert, honoring the legendary Frank Sinatra.
“Our intention this season was to create unique symphonic experiences with audiences across an expansive range of musical genres — from jazz, pop, film scores, theater, and even the art of Chumash spoken word.
“We are honored to have shared this season with you, and thank you for your continued support of the Santa Barbara Symphony!”
Frank Sinatra’s career began before I was born, and it was my parents’ generation that made him a star. I was early recruited into the world of Dylan and the Beatles, yet all through the 1960s and ’70s, it was a rare top 10 list that didn’t contain at least one song by Frank Sinatra, and while his singing referenced a rather old fashioned kind of cool, it was genuine to the core.
He never wrote a song, but almost every song he sang, by virtue of his authoritative performance, became a Sinatra song, became his.
He continues to attract young fans, through his total involvement with each song and his laid-back self-assurance.
It is, however, as an actor that I chiefly revere him: in “From Here to Eternity,” “Some Came Running,” “Ocean’s Eleven,” “White Christmas,” and many, many more, but especially “The Manchurian Candidate,” which he owned, and which, when his friend John F. Kennedy was murdered, he withdrew from circulation for more than two decades.
An Evening with Sinatra is generously supported by Principal Concert Sponsor Dan and Meg Burnham, and Artist Sponsor Anne F. Sage and Jesse D. Sgro.
Tickets for An Evening with Sinatra are $55-$250, and can be purchased in person at the Granada Ticket office, 1214 State St.; by phone, 805-899-2222; or online at https://ticketing.granadasb.org/16897.
For more about this concert, or about the Santa Barbara Symphony, visit www.thesymphony.org.