UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Itzhak Perlman celebrating the 20th Anniversary of his beloved klezmer project “In the Fiddler’s House,” featuring Hankus Netsky, Andy Statman and members of Brave Old World, Klezmer Conservatory Band and The Klezmatics, at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23, at The Granada Theatre.
Twenty years have passed since Perlman made his iconic album of klezmer music, “In the Fiddler’s House.”
The collection of traditional klezmer songs was also filmed as a PBS special, which earned Perlman his third Emmy Award, featuring the reigning violin virtuoso performing in Poland with the world’s finest klezmer musicians.
Marking its 20th anniversary, Perlman revisits this important, personal project, featuring music director Hankus Netsky on saxophone and piano, Andy Statman on clarinet and mandolin, members of the Brave Old World and Klezmer Conservatory Band and other special guests.
Itzhak Perlman, the reigning virtuoso of the violin, is beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent. He is treasured by audiences worldwide who respond not only to his artistry, but also to his irrepressible joy for making music.
Having performed with every major orchestra and at venerable concert halls around the globe, Perlman has established himself as a cultural icon and household name in classical music.
Perlman was granted a Kennedy Center Honor in 2003 by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in celebration of his distinguished achievements and contributions to the cultural and educational life of the U.S. He has been honored with 16 Grammy Awards and four Emmy Awards.
In 2008, Perlman was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in the recording arts. He has received the Medal of Liberty from President Reagan in 1986, the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton in 2000 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2015.
Hankus Netsky, music director of “In the Fiddler’s House,“ is founder and director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, an internationally renowned Yiddish music ensemble. He has collaborated closely with Perlman since 1996.
Netsky was the musical director and arranger for “Eternal Echoes: Songs and Dances for the Soul,” Perlman’s cantorial, a Hassidic and Yiddish music collaboration featuring cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot. Netsky’s most recent project with Perlman, “Rejoice,” aired on PBS Great Performances in 2014.
Netsky also collaborated with such artists as Robin Williams, Joel Grey and Theodore Bikel, composed extensively for film, theater and television and produced numerous recordings, including 10 by the Klezmer Conservatory Band.
Netsky has been the recipient of a 2013 Forward Fifty award, a New England Conservatory Outstanding Alumni award, the Yosl Mlotek award for the perpetuation of Yiddish Culture and Krasner and Lawrence Lesser awards for Excellence in Teaching.
Itzhak Perlman is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures in collaboration with the Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies.
Tickets are $35-$125 for the general public, $19 for UCSB students (valid student ID required). A Granada facility fee will be added to each ticket price.
For tickets and more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535 or visit www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu, or contact the Granada Theatre at 899-2222 orgranadasb.org.
Event sponsors are Sara Miller McCune and Anne and Michael Towbes. Education Sponsor: Sonquist Family Endowment. Media Sponsors: KCBX 89.5 FM Santa Barbara and VOICE Magazine. Wine Sponsor: Alma Rosa Winery and Vineyards.
UCSB Arts & Lectures acknowledges SAGE for its major corporate support of the 2016-17 season.
— Caitlin O’Hara for UCSB Arts & Lectures.