Those who enjoy a good mingle — and what music lover does not? — will want to avail themselves of an opportunity to do so in style by answering the invitation from the Santa Barbara Symphony to our community to attend, free of charge, a Season Preview event at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, in the Lobero Theatre.
Music & Artistic Director Nir Kabaretti will host the preview, which will include intimate glimpses of:
– Why and how Kabaretti selects the season’s musical pieces and guest artists.
– Symphony collaborations with multiple organizations and bringing over 150 performers on stage at once together.
– How the Chumash spoken word art form is to be included in a new world premiere composition by local resident Cody Westheimer.
– How Beethoven’s dreams inspired the orchestra and the Ensemble Theatre Company’s Director Jonathan Fox to envision it staged with the symphony.
– This season, the symphony invites the community to “Go Beyond The Music … Connect. Engage. Be part of the Family.” Attendees will hear about Open Rehearsals, new program notes, ways to volunteer, and more.
The program will also feature special guests, including Jonathan Fox, artistic director, Ensemble Theatre Company; composer Cody Westheimer; Leila Drake, retired ballet dancer, and former State Street Ballet administrator; and a string quartet performance featuring Santa Barbara Symphony musicians Andrew Kwon & Kyle Gilner, violins; Hyeree Yu, viola; and Ismael Guerrero Bombut, cello.
The 2022-23 season will feature three world premieres, a West Coast premiere, fully staged collaborative performances of works by Carl Orff and Ludwig Beethoven, and a special tribute to Frank Sinatra.
A subscriber after-party will follow; those interested in attending the after-party can become a subscriber by Aug. 31. Visit https://secure.thesymphony.org/packages/.
For more information, visit www.TheSymphony.org.
— Gerald Carpenter covers the arts as a Noozhawk contributing writer. He can be reached at gerald.carpenter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are his own.