UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 1 at UCSB Campbell Hall.

Four decades (and 400 million plucks) since its founding, the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain continues to bring its off-beat humor and four-stringed virtuosity to audiences.

Members of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, all wearing black suits, lean against each other during a group photo. (Courtesy photo)
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain is celebrating its 40th anniversary. (Courtesy photo)

With no drums, pianos, backing tracks, guitars, pitch shifters, or electronic trickery, each performance reveals the rich palette of orchestration afforded by ukuleles, fulsome vocals and a bit of whistling.

Help celebrate the 40th anniversary of this institution with its quirky, irreverent, shopping-trolley dash through every kind of musical genre from ABBA to ZZ Top, Tchaikovsky to Nirvana and Bluegrass to Broadway, all played on the “bonsai guitar.”

The musicians include: Peter Brooke Turner (soprano ukulele
); Guy Bellingham (soprano ukulele); 
Ben Rouse (tenor ukulele
); Guy Hargreaves (soprano/concert ukulele
); Leisa Rea (soprano/concert ukulele); 
Laura Currie (tenor ukulele); 
Laurie Higgins (bass ukulele).

Formed in 1985 “as the antidote to mindless pop, egocentric rock and the indulgent bluster of the music business,” the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain donned black tuxedos and began giving “concerts” in tiny rooms above old pubs.

Tickets for Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain are $42.50-$57.50 for general public; $15 for UCSB students with current student ID required.

For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures, 805-893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.